STROBE Awards – Page 8

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.

Congratulations to Bin Wang for Receiving the 2022 SPIE BACUS Scholarship

August 9, 2022|SPIE|

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.

Congratulations to Atharva Kulkarni for Being Awarded the Best Student Presentation at the North American Particle Accelerator Conference

August 7, 2022|North American Particle Accelerator Conference|

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 Daniel Durham for Receiving the Microscopy & Microanalysis Student Scholar Award

August 1, 2022|Microscopy Society of America|

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.

Congrats to Yao Yang for Receiving a Postdoc Award at the 2022 M&M Scholar Awards

July 31, 2022|Microanalysis Society|

Yao Yang received a Postdoc Award from the Microanalysis Society at the 2022 Microscopy & Microanalysis Conference in 2022 in Portland, Oregon. The research that Yao presented was “Determining the 3D Atomic Structure of Metallic Glass.”