The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, established in 2007, supports unusually innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received a research project grant or equivalent NIH grant.
Friday, October 5, 2018 – Last night CO-LABS presented JILA’s ultrafast imaging team, led by Fellows Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, the 2018 Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research.
Murnane and Kapteyn were honored for their work in revolutionizing ultrafast and nanoscale imaging through the research and development of tabletop x-ray sources. These advancements enable real-time imaging of the structure, chemistry, and dynamics of materials at the level of small collections of atoms. The applications range from improving semiconductor devices and magnetic storage to understanding the fundamental physics and chemistry of complex materials. By designing, developing, and eventually enabling the availability of this technology through KM-Labs, Murnane and Kapteyn have enabled many curious researchers to further their discoveries.
Walter Copan, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), presented the award to Murnane and Kapteyn. “What Henry and Margaret have done is truly emblematic of collaboration and of this long-standing partnership between NIST and the University of Colorado,” said Copan.
JILA Chair Thomas Perkins was also present at last night’s awards ceremony. “We are thrilled to celebrate the announcement of 2018 Governor’s award for High-Impact Research to JILA’s Ultrafast Imaging Team, led by Professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn,” said Perkins. “This award honors their triumvirate of ongoing success: pioneering the frontier in ultrafast x-ray laser science and application, training dozens of young scientists, and growing a successful Colorado high-tech company.”
This year marked the tenth anniversary of CO-LABS gathering scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and government officials to celebrate the exceptional and groundbreaking work of scientists and engineers from Colorado’s federally-funded research labs and institutions.
“These discoveries highlight the diversity and impact of the science and technology coming out of Colorado’s research labs that make our state and the world a better place,” said Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. “We are indeed fortunate to be home to an incredible concentration of brilliant scientists whose work is having profound impacts on society.”
JILA’s award was one of three bestowed last night. Other winners included the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for their Metabolic biomarkers that improved diagnosis and prognosis of early Lyme disease, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for their sustainable and elegant solution to produce cost-competitive acrylonitrile. The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences received an honorary mention for their pioneering study of how the growing emissions from consumer products affects our understanding of air pollution and environmental regulation.
Previous JILA recipients of the CO-LABS Governor’s Award include current JILA Chair Thomas Perkins in 2017, JILA Fellows Cindy Regal and Konrad Lehnert in 2016, Dana Anderson in 2014, and Jan Hall in 2010.
The keynote speaker of the event was Alice Jackson, the President of Xcel Energy – Colorado. She discussed Xcel’s partnership with federal research laboratories such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
CO-LABS was started in 2007 as a non-profit consortium of federal research labs, research universities, businesses and economic development organizations with a mission to support and expand the positive impacts of Colorado’s science and technology resources.
The awards ceremony and reception was held at Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Dr. Milan Delor, a postdoctoral researcher in Naomi Ginsberg’s group at the University of California Berkeley, received the Postdoc Leadership Award for his role as President of the Berkeley Postdoc Association. This this role, Milan organizes networking events, conferences, seminars, and other events, as well as represents and advocates for Berkeley’s postdocs and visiting scholars to university administration. Congratulations, Milan!
Congratulations to Dr. Nico Hernandez-Charpak, Dr. Tess Eidem, Caz Margenau, Joyce Kroll, and Lauren Mason for receiving JILA Exemplary contribution awards for their efforts to write three funded proposals: the NSF PREM, MRI and Supplemental funding for STROBE!
Welcome to the fourth annual Talented 12 issue. We’ve spent months searching high and low for these bright, young scientific minds and are excited to finally introduce you to them. Here, you’ll meet a dozen chemists pushing the boundaries in their fields. To say they are tackling life’s great mysteries would be an understatement. The interests of these distinguished researchers include deciphering the chemistry that enabled life on Earth, exploring molecules in far-flung parts of our solar system, designing out-of-this-world materials that can store energy or mimic human organs, and developing technology to precisely alter the code of life.
Four researchers in computer science in the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have been ranked in the top 100 computer scientists in the United States based on their productivity and influence in the field.
Stan Osher, a professor of mathematics and computer science, electrical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering, ranked 39. He is known for his many contributions in shock capturing, level set methods, and PDE-based methods in computer vision and image processing.
The Fort Lewis College and Norfolk State University STROBE Science and Technology Center will focus on advanced imaging and characterization of functional nanomaterials. Fort Lewis College is a Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution, and additionally serves a significant Hispanic population. The PREM framework elements of this project will provide undergraduate students access to research mentors, guided research experiences, professional development activities, a peer support network and leadership opportunities.
MRI STROBE CONSORTIUM: Development of a Hybrid Photon-Electron Microscopy System for Functional Imaging of Multi-Scale Materials
STROBE received supplmental funding from the National Science Foundation to amplify our efforts in the STROBE Summer Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, Research Experience for Teachers, collaborations with CU Science Discovery, and more.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has invested $150 million in 307 early career engineering and computer science faculty to advance fields from intelligent infrastructure and collaborative robots to secure communications and brain-related technologies.
Over the next five years, each researcher will receive up to $500,000 from NSF to build a firm scientific footing for solving challenges and scaling new heights for the nation, as well as serve as academic role models in research and education.