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.
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!
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.
Congratulations to Bin Wang for receiving the 2022 SPIE BACUS Scholarship! The SPIE BACUS Scholarship was set up in 1998 to reward the most qualified students who wish to work in the fields of photomask and microlithography manufacturing for the semiconductor industry. This award will partially assist with pursuing Bin’s career goals in the fields of microlithography, photomask technology and/or optical/EUV photolithography technologies.
The BACUS Steering Committee, in concert with the SPIE Scholarship Committee, will work with institutions of higher learning to identify candidates and award scholarships to help prepare them to make significant contributions to industry.
Atharva Kulkarni, an undergraduate student in Pietro Musumeci’s research group at UCLA, received the Best Student Presentation Award for “Dual Radiofrequency Cavity Based Monochromatization for High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy” at the 2022 North American Particle Accelerator Conference.
Congratulations to Dan for receiving an M&M Student Scholar Award! These awards are a joint effort with MSA’s sister society, the Microanalysis Society (MAS), and are judged on the quality of the two-page proceeding papers submitted to the M&M meeting. Between the two societies, approximately 30 of 200 annual student submissions are given the award. The award package provides complimentary registration to the M&M meeting, travel and lodging reimbursement up to $1,000, and an invitation to the Presidents’ reception. Awardees are recognized during the awards portion of the opening plenary session.
Charles A. Desoer was a professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. An endowed chair in Desoer’s name has been established in the College of Engineering. Laura Waller has been named the Charles A Desoer Endowed Chair in Engineering as of July 2022.
Congratulations to Fort Lewis College, University of California Irvine, and Florida International University for being awarded and recognized in the NSF COVID-19 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Challenge.
Fort Lewis College, a Native American serving, non-tribal institution, awards more undergraduate degrees to Native American students than any other college in the U.S. Prior to COVID-19, first-to-second year retention rates among native students increased from 55% to 67% between 2015-2019; however, for the 2020 first-year cohort there was a 20% decline to 47%. The short-term impacts of COVID-19 revealed challenges in student academic preparedness. Many of the challenges have been exacerbated among Native American students, all of whom are pursuing STEM degrees, and at a stage where college readiness is critical. The Fort Lewis College Taking Action submission describes three evidence-based and system efforts (first-year launch course, foundational mathematics support, and holistic student support services) to increase student success, retention and ultimately in the long-term, conferral of STEM baccalaureate degrees.
At the University of California, Irvine (UCI), 20% of the student population is Hispanic, Latino, or Pacific Islanders. Surveys demonstrated that COVID exacerbated the already existing challenges for many of these students working as teaching assistants, especially with pivoting to remote learning. In support of these students, the UCI developed three different initiatives. Fellowships were provided for students to conduct contact tracing. A Summer Fellows program was also developed to train graduate students in inclusive pedagogy, with a focus on cultural competency, and innovative technologies. Assessment of the program demonstrated improved outcomes for undergraduate students from underrepresented populations taught by Fellows. In addition, UCI offered funding for summer research to graduate students from underrepresented populations who had a record of participation in DEI activities such as mentoring other students from underrepresented populations. Support for Graduate Inclusive Excellence Fellows continued in 2021 and is expected to continue in the future. All of these initiatives are undergoing iterative improvement through assessment and evaluation.
The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced 31 finalists today for the 2022 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, the world’s largest unrestricted prize honoring early-career scientists and engineers. From that exceptional group, three winners—in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences & engineering—will be named on June 29, each receiving $250,000 as a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate. The honorees were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 309 nominees from 150 leading universities and scientific institutions from 38 states across the United States.