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Quantum transport delivers award
PEOPLE & PLACES UPDATE
Griffin appointed NASA chief Michael D. Griffin, a former chief engineer at NASA, has been appointed as its 11th Administrator. Nominated by US President George W. Bush, Griffin’s appointment has now been confirmed by the US Senate. Griffin, who prior to this was Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, says that “in the 21st century and beyond, for America to continue to be preeminent among nations, it is necessary for us also to be the preeminent spacefaring nation”. Quantum transport delivers award Silvano De Franceschi of TASCINFM National Laboratory in Trieste, Italy has been awarded the Nicholas Kurti Prize for 2005. The prize was established in 2004 to support young scientists conducting low temperature and/or high magnetic field research in Europe. De Franceschi wins the award for his achievements in the field of quantum transport. NESTA bids farewell to CEO After seven years, the founding chief executive (CEO) of the UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, Jeremy Newton, has stepped down. Newton was responsible for establishing the organization, which began with three pioneering programs designed to offer tailored support of talented individuals in science, technology, and the arts. Newton’s role will be filled temporarily by the current deputy CEO, Janet Morrison. New director for Argonne Robert Rosner has been appointed director of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) by the University of Chicago. Rosner has been chief scientist at ANL since 2002, during which time he oversaw the laboratory’s scientific programs and research and planning activities. He succeeds Hermann Grunder who has been named director emeritus.
Materials pioneers win $1 million
Promising medical investigators
A $1 million Dan David Prize has been shared by three materials scientists as part of the overall $3 million prize fund for scientific, technological, and cultural achievements. Robert Langer of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), George Robert Langer of MIT. Whitesides of Harvard (Credit: Donna Coveney/MIT.) University, and C. N. R. Rao of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre in Bangalore, India, are credited for making “breakthrough, innovative discoveries in one or more of the areas of chemical and electrochemical materials, electronic and optical materials, biomaterials, as well as the understanding of nanoscale phenomena and materials”. Dan David, the international businessman who founded the award in 2001, says the “prize recognizes the exceptional contribution of scientists whose pioneering research offers a brighter future”.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected 43 promising biomedical scientists from 31 institutions in the US as new HHMI investigators. The scientists represent a range of biomedical research areas, including two with backgrounds in materials sciences. The aim of the people-focused investigator program, as opposed to a grant award, is to enable the scientists to have the “freedom and flexibility they need in order to make lasting contributions to mankind”, says institute president, Thomas R. Cech. The chosen investigators are perceived as innovative and in an ascending period of their careers. Milan Mrksich from the University of Chicago focuses on engineering the interface between cells and surfaces. His research extends beyond the material science and includes chemistry, molecular biology, and nanotechnology. Stephen R. Quake from Stanford University has focused over the past five years on microfluidic technology and its applications within biology.
Cornell to develop X-ray source The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $18 million to Cornell University to fund the development of a new Energy Recovery Linac (ERL). The advanced synchrotron X-ray radiation source will be based on accelerator physics and superconducting microwave technology. The extreme brightness produced by this source will enable the structures of materials to be determined in a way that is not possible with current X-ray sources. The ERL will improve nanoscale studies of advanced materials and provide insight into making stronger metals and composites and better drug delivery systems. “The X-ray beams produced by the new source will be roughly a thousand times better in brightness, coherence and, pulse duration than currently is possible,” says Sol Gruner, professor of physics at Cornell and principal investigator on the ERL project. The NSF award will fund the prototyping of the ERL’s critical components at Cornell’s Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory. Once the construction and testing of the prototype has been completed, expected by 2008, Cornell will then seek funding for a full-scale ERL facility.
Because they’re worth it L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have presented their 2005 Women in Science Award to five materials scientists. The winners, chosen from five continents, have been credited for their work in areas of nanoscience and quantum physics. Zohra Ben Lakhdar of the University of Tunis El Manar in Tunisia is recognized for her “experiments and models on infrared spectroscopy and its applications to pollution, detection and medicine”; Belita Koiller from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for “innovative theoretical research on electrons in disordered materials such as glass”; Myriam P. Sarachik of City College of New York is rewarded for carrying out “important experiments on electrical conduction and the transition between metals and insulators”; Fumiko Yonezawa of Keio University in Japan receives the award for her “pioneering theory on computer simulations of amorphous semiconductors and liquid metals”; and Dominique Langevin from the University of Paris-Sud in France is selected for “fundamental investigations of detergents, emulsions, and foams”. The Laureates will each receive $100 000. It is hoped that these awards will help recognize the achievements of women researchers, who are underrepresented in the materials sciences, and bridge the gender gap.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
June 2005
53
Griffin appointed NASA chief Michael D. Griffin, a former chief engineer at NASA, has been appointed as its 11th Administrator. Nominated by US President George W. Bush, Griffin’s appointment has now been confirmed by the US Senate. Griffin, who prior to this was Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, says that “in the 21st century and beyond, for America to continue to be preeminent among nations, it is necessary for us also to be the preeminent spacefaring nation”. Quantum transport delivers award Silvano De Franceschi of TASCINFM National Laboratory in Trieste, Italy has been awarded the Nicholas Kurti Prize for 2005. The prize was established in 2004 to support young scientists conducting low temperature and/or high magnetic field research in Europe. De Franceschi wins the award for his achievements in the field of quantum transport. NESTA bids farewell to CEO After seven years, the founding chief executive (CEO) of the UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, Jeremy Newton, has stepped down. Newton was responsible for establishing the organization, which began with three pioneering programs designed to offer tailored support of talented individuals in science, technology, and the arts. Newton’s role will be filled temporarily by the current deputy CEO, Janet Morrison. New director for Argonne Robert Rosner has been appointed director of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) by the University of Chicago. Rosner has been chief scientist at ANL since 2002, during which time he oversaw the laboratory’s scientific programs and research and planning activities. He succeeds Hermann Grunder who has been named director emeritus.
Materials pioneers win $1 million
Promising medical investigators
A $1 million Dan David Prize has been shared by three materials scientists as part of the overall $3 million prize fund for scientific, technological, and cultural achievements. Robert Langer of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), George Robert Langer of MIT. Whitesides of Harvard (Credit: Donna Coveney/MIT.) University, and C. N. R. Rao of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre in Bangalore, India, are credited for making “breakthrough, innovative discoveries in one or more of the areas of chemical and electrochemical materials, electronic and optical materials, biomaterials, as well as the understanding of nanoscale phenomena and materials”. Dan David, the international businessman who founded the award in 2001, says the “prize recognizes the exceptional contribution of scientists whose pioneering research offers a brighter future”.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected 43 promising biomedical scientists from 31 institutions in the US as new HHMI investigators. The scientists represent a range of biomedical research areas, including two with backgrounds in materials sciences. The aim of the people-focused investigator program, as opposed to a grant award, is to enable the scientists to have the “freedom and flexibility they need in order to make lasting contributions to mankind”, says institute president, Thomas R. Cech. The chosen investigators are perceived as innovative and in an ascending period of their careers. Milan Mrksich from the University of Chicago focuses on engineering the interface between cells and surfaces. His research extends beyond the material science and includes chemistry, molecular biology, and nanotechnology. Stephen R. Quake from Stanford University has focused over the past five years on microfluidic technology and its applications within biology.
Cornell to develop X-ray source The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $18 million to Cornell University to fund the development of a new Energy Recovery Linac (ERL). The advanced synchrotron X-ray radiation source will be based on accelerator physics and superconducting microwave technology. The extreme brightness produced by this source will enable the structures of materials to be determined in a way that is not possible with current X-ray sources. The ERL will improve nanoscale studies of advanced materials and provide insight into making stronger metals and composites and better drug delivery systems. “The X-ray beams produced by the new source will be roughly a thousand times better in brightness, coherence and, pulse duration than currently is possible,” says Sol Gruner, professor of physics at Cornell and principal investigator on the ERL project. The NSF award will fund the prototyping of the ERL’s critical components at Cornell’s Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory. Once the construction and testing of the prototype has been completed, expected by 2008, Cornell will then seek funding for a full-scale ERL facility.
Because they’re worth it L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have presented their 2005 Women in Science Award to five materials scientists. The winners, chosen from five continents, have been credited for their work in areas of nanoscience and quantum physics. Zohra Ben Lakhdar of the University of Tunis El Manar in Tunisia is recognized for her “experiments and models on infrared spectroscopy and its applications to pollution, detection and medicine”; Belita Koiller from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for “innovative theoretical research on electrons in disordered materials such as glass”; Myriam P. Sarachik of City College of New York is rewarded for carrying out “important experiments on electrical conduction and the transition between metals and insulators”; Fumiko Yonezawa of Keio University in Japan receives the award for her “pioneering theory on computer simulations of amorphous semiconductors and liquid metals”; and Dominique Langevin from the University of Paris-Sud in France is selected for “fundamental investigations of detergents, emulsions, and foams”. The Laureates will each receive $100 000. It is hoped that these awards will help recognize the achievements of women researchers, who are underrepresented in the materials sciences, and bridge the gender gap.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
June 2005
53