Dr. Adrienne Stiff-Roberts was recently awarded one of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The PECASE awards were commissioned by President Clinton to
honor and support the extraordinary achievements of young scientists and engineers at the outset of their independent research careers. These Presidential awards are the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers just beginning their independent careers.

Dr. Stiff-Roberts is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. Her research involves the design, fabrication, and characterization of opto-electronic/photonic devices, particularly those in the infrared spectrum.  She also does research on multifunctional sensors featuring hybrid nanomaterials.

She is a graduate of Spelman College and the University of Michigan.
Professor Nadya Mason wins Denise Denton Award

Dr. Nadya Mason is the 2009 winner of the Denise Denton Emerging Leader Award.   Dr. Mason is currently and assistant professor of physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.   She is co-chair of the NSBP Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Section.

Given by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI),  the Denice Denton Emerging Leader Award is given each year to a junior non-tenured faculty member under the age of 40 at an academic or research institution pursuing high-quality research in any field of engineering or physical sciences while contributing significantly to promoting diversity in his/her environment.  The Denice Denton Award is underwritten by Microsoft.

Dr. Mason’s research focuses on electron behavior in low-dimensional, correlated materials, where enhanced novel interactions are expected to give novel results.  She is particularly interested in the effect of reduced dimensionality and correlations on electron coherence, and uses novel fabrication techniques to study quantum properties of carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and wires.   She has several publications in top-flight journals including Nature, Science and Physical Review Letters.

In addition to her research, Dr. Mason is a spokesperson for increasing diversity in physics and for creating a climate in academia that embraces and supports minorities and women.

She is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford University.