Richard Vaia, Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, was recently elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

He was selected for his distinguished contributions to engineering based on “aerospace applications of polymeric nanomaterials and for technical leadership in materials for national defense applications.”

Vaia has pioneered discoveries in polymer nanocomposites that are used in stronger, lighter, and more functional components in commercial and military sectors.

Chennupati Jagadish, Distinguished Professor at The Australian National University, Australia, was recently elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

He was selected for contributions to nanotechnology for optoelectronic devices.

Jagadish’s research focuses on compound semiconductor optoelectronics, nanotechnology, photovoltaics, neuroscience, and neurotechnology.

Kristi Anseth, Distinguished Professor, Tisone Professor, and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado Boulder, is a recipient of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award for her outstanding contributions in converging engineering and biology to develop innovative biomaterials that help tissue regeneration and drug delivery.

There are five recipients of this award, and they are recognized alongside 15 Rising Talents, young women scientists from all over the world. UNESCO and L’Oréal Foundation actively support women in science in order to increase their visibility, raise awareness of their talent, and inspire more of them to work in science.

Chad Mirkin, Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University, is the winner of the 2020 Philip Hauge Abelson Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The award is presented to a scientist or public servant who has contributed significantly to the advancement of science in the United States.

A professor of chemistry, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering, materials science and engineering, and medicine, Mirkin is being honored for multiple contributions to the fields of chemistry and nanoscience.

Anirudha Sumant was promoted to Group Leader of Nanofabrication and Devices at Argonne National Laboratory. His current research interests include superlubricity, nucleation, and growth mechanisms of chemical vapor deposition diamond, graphene, and carbon nanotubes, microscale and nanoscale tribology, and electronic and mechanical properties of carbon-based materials.

Tina Nenoff, a senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, was recently elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was awarded this honor for the “advancement of science in service to society” for her research and leadership in the field of nanoporous materials, particularly in ion and gas separations for energy and environmental applications.

Congratulations to the following MRS members for their recent election as Fellows: