RCSA Names 25 New Cottrell Scholars for 2020
Research Corporation for Science Advancement, America's first foundation dedicated wholly to science, has named a diverse group of 25 early-career scholars in chemistry, physics and astronomy as recipients of its 2020 Cottrell Scholar Awards. Each awardee receives $100,000.
“We are excited to welcome our 2020 class of Cottrell Scholars, 25 outstanding teacher-scholars in the physical sciences from across the country,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer.
Recipients, identified as leaders in integrating science teaching and research at a top U.S. research university, a degree-granting research institute, or a primarily undergraduate institution, are chosen through a rigorous peer-review process.
“The quality of the applicants and the many terrific proposals we receive can make it difficult to choose,” said RCSA Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “We look for innovative ideas that are likely to make a positive impact on science and on the education of tomorrow’s scientists.”
Once designated a Cottrell Scholar, several additional levels of competitive funding become available to develop initiatives to enhance science education or promote career growth.
New and established Cottrell Scholars also meet each year to share insights and inspiration at the Cottrell Scholar Conference. This year’s event, to be held July 8-10 in Tucson, Ariz., will focus on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset through research and educational activities.
This year’s Cottrell Scholars are:
Carlos R. Baiz, chemistry, University of Texas at Austin – Molecular Dynamics at Heterogeneous Oil-Water Interfaces and a New Approach to Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Graduate Students
Kateri H. DuBay, chemistry, University of Virginia – Teaching Entropy and Modeling the Sequence-Determinants of Surface-Initiated Copolymerizations
Keary M. Engle, chemistry, Scripps Research Institute – Catalytic Difunctionalization of Alkenes Using Transient Directing Groups
Pengfei Huo, chemistry, University of Rochester – Enabling New Chemical Reactivities Through Polariton Photochemistry
Catherine Kealhofer, physics, Williams College – Nonequilibrium Phonon Dynamics in Two-dimensional Materials
Elena F. Koslover, physics, University of California, San Diego – Physics of Cellular Distribution Networks: Morphology and Transport in the Endoplasmic Reticulum
Kristin S. Koutmou, chemistry, University of Michigan – Chemical Modifications to mRNA Nucleosides: A New Frontier in Gene Regulation
Kah Chun Lau, physics, California State University, Northridge – Data-Driven Solubility Model Development of Concentrated Non-aqueous Electrolytes
Frank A. Leibfarth, chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Organocatalytic Kinetic Resolution Polymerization of Lactones
Huey-Wen Lin, physics, Michigan State University – Unveiling the Three-Dimensional Structure of Nucleons
Song Lin, chemistry, Cornell University – New Catalytic Methods for Enantioselective Electrosynthesis and Introducing Electrosynthesis to College and Graduate Curricula
Britt F. Lundgren, astronomy, University of North Carolina Asheville – Shedding Light on Star Formation Driven Galaxy Outflows across Cosmic Time
Elisabetta Matsumoto, physics, Georgia Institute of Technology – Knotty Knits: Using Topological Constraints to Program Geometry and Elastic Response in Knitted Textiles with Lattice Defects
Sharon R. Neufeldt, chemistry, Montana State University – Combined Experimental and Computational Approach to Improving Nickel and Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Couplings
Glen D. O'Neil, chemistry, Montclair State University – Neurotransmitter Detection using Light-Addressable Electrochemical Sensors: Investigating the Role of Metal Morphology and Coverage on Sensor Response using Scanning Electrochemical Methods
Peter P. Orth, physics, Iowa State University – Probing Fractionalization and Entanglement in Quantum Spin Liquids: Theory of Two-dimensional Spectroscopy
Cedric Owens, chemistry, Chapman University – Constructing a Better Nitrogenase by Uncovering Protein-protein Interactions That Protect the Enzyme and Expand its Chemistry
Dennis V. Perepelitsa, physics, University of Colorado Boulder – Next-Generation Experimental Probes of Hot and Dense Nuclear Matter
Leslie A. Rogers, astronomy, University of Chicago – Searching for Water in Distant Worlds: Connecting the Atmospheric and Bulk Compositions of Sub-Neptune-Size Planets
Brenda M. Rubenstein, chemistry, Brown University – Advancing Chemistry through Data Science: Catalyst Design via Data-Enabled Quantum Chemistry and Integrating Data Science into the Chemistry Curriculum
Lorenzo Sironi, astronomy, Columbia University – To B or Not to B: The Birth and Death of Magnetic Fields in the Universe
David A. Strubbe, physics, University of California, Merced – Light-induced Structural Dynamics in Materials: New Theoretical Insight into Ultrafast Phenomena
Claire P. Till, chemistry, Humboldt State University – Scandium and Iron: Parallels in Chemical Reactivity, and Reducing the Opportunity Gap in the HSU Chemistry Department and Beyond
Jesus M. Velazquez, chemistry, University of California, Davis – Achieving Energy Conversion Functionality Through Compositional Modification: The Role of Metal Promotion in Chalcogenide Frameworks
Jessica K. Werk, astronomy, University of Washington – The Observational Signatures of Cosmic Gas Flows in a Hydrodynamic Framework
