Teresa J. Bandosz, a chemical engineer, chemist and internationally renowned authority in nano-engineered carbon-based materials and composites, is The City College of New York’s latest CUNY Distinguished Professor. The position is the highest academic honor that The City University of New York (CUNY) can offer its faculty and is approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees. “This is a timely and highly deserved title for Teresa, whose prolific scholarly contributions to the application of materials science to environmental chemistry, a highly multidisciplinary activity, has had influence around the world,” says Stephen O’Brien, chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Sarbajit Banerjee, Davidson Chair in Science and professor of chemistry and materials science & engineering, Texas A&M University, is the recipient of the 2022 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas. He was chosen for his utilization of solid-state chemistry and materials science to impact the future of new technologies in energy conversion, energy storage, computing and even artificial intelligence.

Markus Buehler, the Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been awarded the 2021 Daniel C. Drucker Medal by the Applied Mechanics Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his “contributions to the use of molecular mechanics and chemical principles to elucidate the mechanics of natural and bio-inspired materials, and the design of mechanically optimized composite materials through hierarchical structuring from nano to macroscales.”

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has named Joseph Falson, assistant professor of materials science, as a 2021 Fellow in Materials Synthesis. Falson will receive a grant for USD$1.2 million as part of the foundation’s Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems (EPiQS) Initiative, which seeks “to deepen our understanding of the organizing principles that lead to complex collective behaviors of electrons in materials and engineered structures,” according to the Moore Foundation.

Giulia Galli, the Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, a group leader in Argonne National Laboratory’s Materials Science Division, and director of the Midwest Integrated Center for Computational Materials, has received the 2022 Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics. Galli has been recognized for her contributions to the fields of computational condensed matter, materials science, and nanoscience. In addition, she has made great strides in first-principles simulations of materials and liquids, in particular, materials for energy, properties of water, and excited-state phenomena. Her research focuses on problems relevant to the development of sustainable energy sources and quantum technologies.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has recruited Shirley Meng to serve as chief scientist of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science. In this capacity, Meng will help drive energy storage research strategy at Argonne, which has a storied history of breakthrough battery and energy storage innovations. Meng is an internationally recognized leader in energy storage research and currently serves as a materials scientist and professor at the University of California, San Diego. Her new role comes with a joint appointment as a professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago.

The 2021 MIT Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching has been presented to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Associate Professor Elsa Olivetti. “Professor Olivetti’s dedication to teaching is truly inspiring,” says Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “She has an extraordinary ability to engage her students, and has developed transformational approaches to curriculum and mentoring.” Olivetti is the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, and co-director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium.

Ramamoorthy Ramesh, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, has been elected to the Indian Science Academy as a Foreign Fellow of the Academy. Ramesh’s work on complex oxide thin-film epitaxy, heterostructure and superlattice synthesis has led to several fundamental and applied discoveries, spanning atomic-scale design of interfaces in ferroelectric materials and memories, colossal magneto resistance in manganite, and electric-field control of magnetism using multiferroics.

Cynthia Sides has been named assistant vice chancellor, director of research advancement, in the Division of Research and Innovation at the University of Arkansas. “Cynthia Sides brings talent, drive and institutional knowledge to this vital role,” says John English, vice chancellor for research and innovation. “Her experience both as a researcher and an administrator, and her passion for connecting innovation with industry, make her the ideal fit for the division.” Sides holds adjunct and graduate faculty status in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and has taught nine semesters of Emerging Technologies in Industry through the graduate school’s Materials Science and Engineering interdisciplinary program.

Spread the good news, and send your announcement to Bulletin@mrs.org.