STROBE Awards

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.

UCLA chemistry professor Jose Rodriguez has been selected among 22 Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences for 2018. The honor provides funding to outstanding young researchers whose work is relevant to the advancement of human health. The scholars, who were selected from 184 nominations, will receive four-year, $300,000 grants to advance their explorations of biological mechanisms underpinning human health and disease.

Each year in March, the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) hosts the Awards for Excellence in Environmental Education Awards Celebration, a recognition event that honors demonstrated leadership among individuals and environmental education programs that are unique, effective and collaborative.

Photo credit: Fort Lewis College

Henry Kapteyn has been elected as a 2018 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He joins some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities, and the arts, including JILA Fellows David Nesbitt (2013), Margaret Murnane (2006), Eric Cornell (2005), and Carl Lineberger (1995), and such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin (1781), Alexander Hamilton (1791), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1864), Charles Darwin (1874), Albert Einstein (1924), and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966).

“I am delighted to congratulate Henry on  behalf of all of JILA,” said JILA chair Thomas Perkins. “Henry, the taller half of the Kapteyn-Murnane partnership, has helped drive the development ultrafast laser sources since graduate school. His impact is seen in the application of ultrafast lasers to diverse application in attosecond non-linear optics,  molecular dynamics, and nanoscale imaging as well as the many alumni of their group that have gone on to success in both academia and industry.”

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected 213 individuals to the class of 2018. The new members span a wide range of disciplines and professions, and include Netflix, Inc. CEO W. Reed Hastings, Jr.;  actor Tom Hanks; 44th President of the United States Barack H. Obama, and CU professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Natalie Ahn.

Kapteyn joins one of the nation’s most prestigious organizations, which engages its members to share knowledge and address challenges facing the world. Its members make contributions to the arts, citizenship, education, energy, government, the humanities, international relations, science, and more.

“Membership in the Academy is not only an honor, but also an opportunity and a responsibility,” said Jonathan Fanton, President of the American Academy. “Members can be inspired and engaged by connecting with one another and through Academy projects dedicated to the common good. The intellect, creativity, and commitment of the 2018 Class will enrich the work of the Academy and the world in which we live.”