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Congratulations to Laura Waller for being Awarded the Max Planck-Humboldt Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Computational Microscopy

September 10, 2024|The Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation|

Laura Waller, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at University of California Berkeley, has been awarded the Max Planck-Humboldt Medal for her outstanding achievements in computational microscopy.

Prof. Waller uses algorithms – some of which are based on machine learning – to improve microscopy, particularly of biological samples, as well as the imaging of astronomical objects. This pioneer of computational microscopy is combining computer science and simple instruments to achieve such things as making more details visible and creating three-dimensional images or videos. Among other things, Laura Waller has further developed the phase contrast microscope, which can also image transparent objects. She has formulated algorithms that determine quantitative information about the phase of light waves – in simple terms, this is the displacement of light waves relative to each other– from a few images with illumination from different angles. The resulting images not only better visualise the shape of cells, but also allow better cell tracking. In another invention, the DiffuserCam, Waller places an uneven plastic plate on a light sensor, which scatters the incoming light. Very detailed 3D images can then be reconstructed from a single sensor reading, with applications in microscopy and astronomical imaging. The technology also makes it possible to create high-speed videos with low-speed camera equipment.

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Congratulations to Benjamin Hammel and Emma Nelson for receiving Poster Awards at the CU Boulder Innovation in Materials Symposium 2024

August 16, 2024|University of Colorado Boulder|

Congratulations to Benjamin Hammel for receiving the First Place Poster Award and Emma Nelson for receiving the Third Place Poster Award at the 2024 Innovation in Materials Symposium! This symposium brought together the materials research community at CU Boulder and beyond for presentations by faculty and students as well as discussion and collaboration opportunities.

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Congratulations to Anya Grafov for being awarded the Best Poster Award at the IEEE Magnetics Summer School in Taipei

June 14, 2024|IEEE Magnetics Summer School|

Anya Grafov, a graduate student at JILA, has been awarded the Best Poster Award at the IEEE Magnetics Society Summer School 2024. Studying under JILA Fellows and University of Colorado Boulder Physics professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, Grafov’s poster titled “Probing Ultrafast Spin Dynamics with Extreme Ultraviolet High Harmonics” was one of only nine to receive this prestigious recognition.

“Winning this award from the IEEE Magnetics Society is an incredible honor. It validates the hard work and dedication put into our research and motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries in magnetics research,” stated Grafov. “Our technique is quite niche, so I wanted to focus my poster on our actual measurement technique and the experiments we conduct. It’s an overview of the measurement technique and examples of two recent projects we’ve been working on using our beamline.”

Highlighting the fundamentals and new research, like Grafov’s, in magnetics, the annual summer school brings together graduate students worldwide to study magnetism through lectures by international experts and poster presentations.

“It was a great experience to learn about different aspects of magnetism, from fundamental research to applied technologies like spintronic devices and magnetic artificial intelligence,” she added.

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Congratulations to Oliver Shao for being awarded the Best Paper Award at the IEEE Conference on Computational Imaging Using Synthetic Apertures

June 14, 2024|NIST, IEEE Conference on Computational Imaging Using Synthetic Apertures|

Yunzhe “Oliver” Shao, a graduate student at JILA in the group led by JILA Fellows and University of Colorado Boulder Physics professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the IEEE Conference on Computational Imaging Using Synthetic Apertures.

Shao’s winning research focused on developing an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflectometer. This innovative instrument is designed to characterize various nanostructured samples’ chemical compositions and spatial properties.

“This research represents a first-iteration, proof-of-concept instrumentation for nanostructure metrology,” Shao explained. “It has been constructed, developed, and improved over several generations of graduate students in our group. It is reassuring and inspiring to share its new capabilities and witness the interest it generates from the metrology community.”

The paper was submitted to the 2024 IEEE Conference on Computational Imaging Using Synthetic Apertures, created in partnership with and hosted by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology). The annual event highlights advancements in cutting-edge computer imaging and sensing using high-resolution imaging systems, like the reflectometer Shao and the KM group work on.

Shao expressed gratitude for the recognition, highlighting the collective effort behind the project. “Apart from its founding members, whose names are listed in several previous publications, the reflectometer does not exist without the continuing efforts of current students and postdocs from our group, including Nick Jenkins, Clay Klein, Yunhao Li, and Jiayi Liu. We are motivated to further develop and improve this metrology instrument beyond its current limitations.”

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Congrats to Gordana Dukovic for Being A Recipient of the 2024 National Brown Investigator Award

May 29, 2024|The Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech|

The Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech today announced the 2024 class of Brown Investigators. The cohort, the first selected through the newly formed Brown Institute for Basic Sciences, comprises eight distinguished mid-career faculty working on fundamental challenges in the physical sciences, particularly those with potential long-term practical applications in chemistry and physics. Each investigator will receive up to $2 million over five years.

The Brown Institute for basic Sciences at Caltech was established in 2023 through a $400-million gift to the Institute from entrepreneur, philanthropist, and alumnus Ross M. Brown (BS ’56, MS ’57).

Caltech and Brown share a common purpose: advancing fundamental science discoveries with the potential to seed breakthroughs that benefit society.

Gordana Dukovic, professor of chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, will develop methods for chemical structure determination of biomolecules bound to inorganic nanoparticles—materials that could be useful for the conversion of solar energy directly into new chemical bonds.

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Congrats to Kwabena Bediako for Being Awarded a 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry

February 20, 2024|Sloan Foundation|

Congratulations to the Sloan Research Fellows of 2024. The following 126 early-career scholars represent the most promising scientific researchers working today. Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada. Winners receive $75,000, which may be spent over a two-year term on any expense supportive of their research.

Research efforts in the Bediako Group involve the mesoscopic investigation of interfacial charge transfer and charge transport in two-dimensional (2D) materials and heterostructures. We emphasize the design of materials with modular interfaces that can be controlled at atomically precise length scales to study and overcome contemporary challenges in electrochemical energy conversion and quantum electronics.

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Congrats to Skylar Sherman for Being Awarded a 2024 Department of Chemistry Fellowship

February 20, 2024|Department of Chemistry, CU Boulder|

Skylar Sherman, a graduate student in Gordana Dukovic’s group at CU Boulder, was awarded a fellowship from the Department of Chemistry that will fund research for the spring semester and summer. Congrats Skylar!

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Congrats to Hong Zhou for Being Named a 2024 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

February 15, 2024|American Society for Microbiology|

Congratulations to professor Hong Zhou on being named a 2024 fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology! In addition to his role as a professor at UCLA MIMG, Zhou is the faculty director of the Electron Imaging Center for NanoMachines (EICN), part of the CNSI Technology Centers.

In Feb., the American Academy of Microbiology (Academy) elected 65 new fellows to the Class of 2024. Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. The Academy received 156 nominations for fellowship this year. There are over 2,600 fellows in the Academy representing all subspecialties of the microbial sciences and who are involved in basic and applied research, teaching, public health, industry and government service.

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Congrats to Nicholas Jenkins for Being Named as the 2024 Recipient of the SPIE Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship

December 14, 2023|SPIE|

Nicholas Jenkinshas been announced as the 2024 recipient of the $10,000 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Siemens EDA — formally Mentor, a Siemens company — for potential contributions to advanced lithography or a related field. Jenkins will also be honored during 2024’s SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning conference.

The Nick Cobb scholarship recognizes an exemplary graduate student working in the field of lithography for semiconductor manufacturing. The award honors the memory of Nick Cobb, who was an SPIE Senior Member and chief engineer at Mentor. His groundbreaking contributions enabled optical and process proximity correction for IC manufacturing. Originally funded for three years ending in 2021, the Nick Cobb Scholarship will be awarded to one student annually for an additional period of three years, through 2024.

Jenkins is pursuing a PhD in Physics at JILA and the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU). His research, under the guidance of Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, focuses on the precise fabrication and metrology of nanomaterials and devices to advance science and technology in areas such as nanoelectronics and metamaterials. As a final-year PhD student, Jenkins leads several experimental campaigns to use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scatterometry and imaging in order to more precisely measure the structure and composition of nanoscale objects. Jenkins received his BS in Physics, summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, in 2018, and his MS in Physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2021. He won the 2022 Colorado Photonics Industry Student Poster Contest, is currently working on projects for Samsung, 3M, and the Moore Foundation, and excels in his commitment to mentoring others.

“I’m honored to receive the Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship and I’m excited for the opportunity to share my research with others in the field at the upcoming SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning meeting,” notes Jenkins. “The metrology community has continued to help push forward what humans are capable of on the nanoscale, and I’m glad to be part of the effort.”

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Congrats to Thomas Feggeler for Receiving the AVS Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Division Postdoctoral Award at the AVS 69th International Symposium

November 9, 2023|AVS Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Division|

The MIND (Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Division) Postdoctoral Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the areas of interest to MIND. The award comes with a certificate and a cash prize for the winner. Congratulations to Dr. Thomas Feggeler for receiving this award!

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