News – Page 27

Henry Kapteyn Elected as 2018 Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

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.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Awards SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal to Leading Physicist Prof Margaret Murnane and Technology Innovator David McCourt

Washington D.C., 14th March 2018 – An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, has today presented Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) prestigious ‘St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal’ to Professor Margaret Murnane, Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Colorado; and David McCourt, Founder and CEO of Granahan McCourt Capital, for their significant contribution to academia, research and industry.

Now in its fifth year, the SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal recognises the outstanding contributions of Prof Margaret Murnane and David McCourt in their respective areas, as well as their role in supporting and engaging with the research ecosystem in Ireland. The Medal is awarded annually to a distinguished Irish scientist, engineer or technology leader living and working in the USA.

One New Honor for 213 Exceptional Individuals: American Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects New Members

Dr. Henry Kapteyn is elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

CAMBRIDGE, MA | April 18, 2018 — As part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ commitment to recognizing and celebrating excellence, 213 individuals in a wide range of disciplines and professions have been elected as members of the Class of 2018. Founded in 1780, the Academy honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists, and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the world.

UCLA study produces clearest images to date of HSV-1, the virus that causes cold sores

UCLA researchers have produced the clearest 3-D images to date of the virus that causes cold sores, herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1. The images enabled them to map the virus’ structure and offered new insights into how HSV-1 works. A report on the research was published online by the journal Science. The scientists used cryo electron microscopy, or cryoEM, to obtain the first atomic model of the virus particle, which is made up of more than 3,000 protein molecules comprising tens of millions of atoms.

Department of Energy Announces $99 Million for Small Business Research and Development Grants

STROBE’s Markus Raschke received a Phase II STTR to continue work with STROBE industry partner, Anaysis.

82 Grants Will Support Scientific Innovation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy will award 82 grants totaling $99 million to 69 small businesses in 26 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for Phase II research and development.

Congrats to Drew Morrill on Receiving the NNSA Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship

Murnane wins SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal

JILA Fellow Margaret Murnane was awarded the Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) prestigious St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal on 14 March 2018 in Washington D.C., for her significant contribution to academia, research and industry.

Murnane’s many achievements include designing some of the fastest lasers in the world and creating table-top affordable X-ray lasers. Applications of both works advance the wider research community.

The SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science medal is awarded annually to distinguished Irish scientists, engineers, or technology leaders living and working in the US.

Murnane was born and raised in County Limerick, Ireland, before moving to the US to complete her PhD in physics at the University of California at Berkeley. She continues to play a significant role in research and the promotion of science in Ireland, in her keen and ongoing support of the Tyndall National Institute of Cork.

From the SFI website: On accepting her SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal, Prof Murnane said: “My passion and love for physics first came from my father who was a teacher, and this grew when I attended University College Cork and completed my Bachelors there. Today I am proud to say that the education I started in Ireland and continue to develop in the US has allowed me to follow my interests and create technology and systems which can be used across different areas of research in both countries today. In my work with the Tyndall Institute, I have seen first-hand the fantastic research taking place in Ireland which has applications around the world. As an Irish citizen living in America, it heartens me to see the continued collaboration between the two countries to ensure the research community in both Ireland and the US can produce the very best work. Today, I am very honoured to receive the SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal.”

The award was presented by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to both Murnane and David McCourt, Founder and CEO of Granahan McCourt Capital. Read more about the award on the SFI website.

Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers: Reaching for the Brightest Light

The U.S. is losing ground in a second laser revolution of highly intense, ultrafast lasers that have broad applications in manufacturing, medicine, and national security, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Currently, 80 percent to 90 percent of the high-intensity laser systems are overseas, and all of the highest power research lasers currently in construction or already built are overseas as well. The report makes five recommendations that would improve the nation’s position in the field, including for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create a broad network to support science, applications, and technology of these lasers, as well as for DOE to plan for at least one large-scale, open-access high-intensity laser facility that leverages other major science infrastructures in the DOE complex.

NSF, which has supported national centers of excellence, such as the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan (1991-2002),52 appears to no longer be directly involved in the development of high-powered or high-intensity lasers, except for some spin-off applications such as the new NSF STROBE Science and Technology Center at University of Colorado.

Semiconductor nanosensor measures membrane potential

Researchers in the US have developed nanosensors that can be directly inserted into a cell’s lipid membrane and be used to measure membrane potential. The devices, which are based on inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles, could potentially record action potentials from multiple neurons as well as electrical signals on the nanoscale – for example, across just one synapse.

Image Courtesy: Y Kuo and S Sasaki / University of California, Los Angeles

Semiconductor nanosensor measures membrane potential

Professor Shimon Weiss leads team to develop nanosensors that can be directly inserted into a cell’s lipid membrane and be used to measure membrane potential.

The devices, which are based on inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles, could potentially record action potentials from multiple neurons as well as electrical signals on the nanoscale – for example, across just one synapse. Their paper, “Membrane insertion of—and membrane potential sensing by—semiconductor voltage nanosensors: Feasibility demonstration” was published in the January, 12, 2018 issue of Science Advances.