STROBE Awards – Page 4

Congratulations to Brendan McBennett for Being Named as the 2023 Recipient of the Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship

December 21, 2022|SPIE|

Brendan McBennett has been announced as the 2023 recipient of the $10,000 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Siemens EDA — formerly Mentor, a Siemens company — for his potential contributions to the field related to advanced lithography. McBennett will also be honored during 2023’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.

Congratulations to Chen-Ting Liao for Receiving a Young Investigator Research Program Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research

December 14, 2022|The Air Force Research Laboratory|

Dr. Chen-Ting (Ting) Liao has been selected as an AFOSR Young Investigator. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, or AFOSR, the basic research arm of the Air Force Research Laboratory, will award approximately $25 million in grants to 58 scientists and engineers from 44 research institutions and businesses in 22 states under the fiscal year 2023 Young Investigator Research Program, or YIP.

“Through the YIP, the Department of the Air Force fosters creative basic research in science and engineering, enhances early career development of outstanding young investigators and increases opportunities for the young investigators to engage in forwarding the DAF mission and related challenges in science and engineering,” said Ellen Robinson, YIP program manager.

YIP recipients receive three-year grants of up to $450,000. The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are scientists and engineers at U.S. research institutions. Individuals must have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in the last seven years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research of Department of the Air Force, or DAF, relevance. Award selections are subject to successful completion of negotiations with the academic institutions and businesses.

Congratulations to Margaret Murnane for Being Named One of the Best Female Scientists in the World in 2022

November 14, 2022|Research.com|

Margaret Murnane is one of five women scientists in Colorado named among the best in the world. The 1st edition of Research.com ranking of top female scientists in the world is based on data collected from Microsoft Academic Graph on 06-12-2021. Position in the ranking is based on a scientist’s general H-index. The Research.com ranking of top female scientists in the world includes leading female scientists from all major areas of science. It was based on a meticulous examination of 166,880 scientists on Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph.

Congratulations to Stan Osher for Being Nominated as the Distinguished Ordway Lecturer by the University of Minnesota

October 31, 2022|University of Minnesota School of Mathematics|

The Ordway visitor program brings in distinguished, well-known mathematicians with a record of major accomplishments. The Distinguished Ordway Lecturer spends one week in residence. Professor Stan Osher from UCLA will visit during October 31–November 3, 2022.

Congrats to Alexander Stevens for Being Awarded a 2022 Audree V. Fowler Fellowship in Protein Science

October 27, 2022|UCLA|

Graduate students Cody Gillman (Gonen lab), Declan Evans (Houk lab), Troy Lowe (Backus lab), Ashley Julio (Backus lab), and Alex Stevens (Hong Zhou lab) have been selected as 2022-2023 Fowler Fellows.

Each Fellow presented a talk at the Audree V. Fowler Fellowships in Protein Science Special Seminar on Tuesday, October 7, 2022.

A strong supporter of the basic sciences and medicine at UCLA, alumna Dr. Audree Fowler (B.S. ’56 chemistry, Ph.D. ’63 biochemistry) established the Audree V. Fowler Fellows in Protein Science in 2008. Fowler was Director UCLA Protein Microsequencing Facility from 1984-1999 and is a Researcher Emeritus of the UCLA Department of Biological Chemistry. She is one of the first four women to receive a Ph.D. from the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. In 2018, the women were awarded the department’s 2018 Alumni Legacy Awards in recognition of their achievements in life, and generous support and service to UCLA. “The sciences gave me a great life. Now I want to help others have access to the same opportunities I enjoyed,” Fowler explained when she established the Fowler Fellowships endowment.

Applications for the fellowships are solicited from graduate students in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental (MBI) Ph.D. Program, Biological Chemistry, and Chemistry & Biochemistry Departments. In addition to presenting their research at a special seminar, the recipients each receive a $5,000 award.

Alex Stevens is a fourth year Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB) graduate student in Professor Hong Zhou’s group.

Alex received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University, where he researched G protein-coupled receptor structures in the lab of Dr. Wei Liu. Alex’s graduate work leverages the recent advancements in cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) to resolve high-resolution structures of the proteins that drive assembly and replication in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses. Because dsRNA is alien to eukaryotes and thus a useful inducer of the antiviral response, these viruses have evolved to transcribe nucleotides at transcriptional enzymatic complexes (TECs) within their proteinaceous capsids which simultaneously undergo large architectural changes. Alex investigates this dynamic within complex dsRNA viruses, like the economically important aquareovirus, to determine how their TECs and capsids change throughout their lifecycle. He has also characterized a minimally complex dsRNA virus which he plans to use as a model to probe the rules of intracellular replication amongst these ubiquitous pathogens.

Congratulations to Margaret Murnane for Receiving the 2022 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize

October 24, 2022|IOP: Institute of Physics|

Professor Margaret Murnane has received the 2022 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize for pioneering and sustained contributions to the development of ultrafast lasers and coherent X-ray sources and the use of such sources to understand the quantum nature of materials.

The discoveries of Professor Margaret Murnane in ultrafast laser and X-ray science have transformed the field, making it possible to capture and manipulate quantum dynamics on the fastest timescales relevant to atoms, molecules and materials. Her research is distinguished by its breadth and impact in developing new understanding in optical physics.

Murnane has demonstrated that it is possible to generate coherent, laser-like X-ray beams by upconverting laser light from the infrared directly into the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray regions of the spectrum. Over more than 20 years, she uncovered how to harness the unique high-order harmonic generation process to create new quantum light sources. This work represents one of the most significant new fundamental developments in optical science in past decades, with a host of practical applications in understanding and imaging materials.

Congratulations to Franklin Dollar for Being Named a Fellow of the American Physical Society

October 19, 2022|American Physical Society, University of California Irvine|

Professor Franklin Dollar has been named Fellow of the American Physical Society. Dollar works to further research into high-intensity laser physics, as well as to make his field more inclusive, diverse and equitable. The honor recognizes not only Dollar’s research into high-intensity laser physics, but also his committed efforts to change the culture of his field in the realms of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “The main impacts of my work are in short pulse laser interactions with matter, and their uses as radiation sources,” said Dollar. “I led a lot of early work in ion acceleration, but also have been involved with electron acceleration, positron beams, and directed neutron beams.”

Congratulations to Mary Scott for Receiving Tenure at University of California Berkeley

October 1, 2022|University of California Berkeley|

Professor Mary Scott received tenure at University of California Berkeley in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering. Congratulations, Mary!

Prof. Mary Scott received her Ph. D in Physics from UCLA in 2015. She was a Postdoctoral Researcher at UC Berkeley from 2015-2017 and has been a faculty scientist at Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2017.

Congratulations to Katie Shulenberger for Being Named CU Boulder Outstanding Postdoc of the Year

September 12, 2022|University of Colorado Boulder|

Katie Shulenberger has been named as one of two “Outstanding Postdocs of the Year” at CU Boulder. The university-wide award recognizes postdocs who excel in research, productivity, innovation, communication, leadership, and advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Congrats Katie!

Congratulations to Dr. Chen-Ting Liao for Being Accepted into the 2023 American Physical Society Career Mentoring Fellows Program

September 9, 2022|American Physical Society|

The APS Career Mentoring Fellows Program has accepted Dr. Chen-Ting Liao into their 2022-2023 cohort! The Career Mentoring (CM) Fellows program seeks physicists working in industry, government/national labs, or academia, who are interested in mentoring undergraduate students, learning and teaching about diverse career paths of physics degree holders, and establishing a stronger connection with the physics community.