February 24, 2010

5 UCSB Scientists Receive National Science Foundation CAREER Awards

George Foulsham

Five assistant professors at UC Santa Barbara have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awards.

The Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of the early career development activities of those teacher-scholars who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. The awards provide a financial stipend to support research activity for a period of five years.

The UCSB recipients are:

Christopher Kruegel, computer science, for research on eliminating malicious code on the Internet.

M. Scott Shell, chemical engineering, for research on an integrated multiscale platform for fundamental studies of peptide self-assembly.

Liming Zhang, chemistry, for research on Au (gold) catalysis: from versatile synthetic methods to complex natural structure.

Michael Gordon, chemical engineering, for research on manipulating near-field optical interactions for nanoscale chemical imaging.

Baron Peters, chemical engineering, for research on nucleation from solution: a new frontier for molecular simulation.

"When making a CAREER award, the National Science Foundation is giving an exceptionally promising scientist the chance to establish a research program that will serve as the foundation for his or her career," said Michael Witherell, vice chancellor for research. "We are very pleased to have recruited such a strong group of scientists to our faculty, and we anticipate great things from their research."

NSF explains that CAREER awardees are selected on the basis of creative proposals that effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. The plans are expected to build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education.

The NSF promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.