CSE scientist receives presidential award for advancement of science

Physicist Robin Santra has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) to recognize his contribution to the advancement of science.

The Presidential Awards are intended to recognize and nurture some of the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the 21st century. The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers.

“These awards recognize some of the outstanding people affiliated with the Department of Energy whose extraordinary talents are discovering the solutions to power and secure America 's future,” said Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. “Each honoree has made a unique contribution to fulfilling the department's mission and to enhancing scientific knowledge at large. I am proud of the awardees and appreciative of their efforts.”

Santra was recognized for theoretical contributions to the field of atomic, molecular and optical science in the areas of high-order harmonic generation and strong-field absorption and ionization; and for scientific mentoring of students and the public.

Santra received his Ph.D. in theoretical chemical physics from the University of Heidelberg in 2001. As a postdoctoral researcher, he worked at JILA, which is jointly operated by the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Santra joined Argonne National Laboratory in 2005. In 2007, he was awarded by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics the Young Scientist Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and has given 50 invited presentations.

Also receiving a PECASE award this year was Yugang Sun of Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials.

The winning scientists are among 68 researchers supported by nine federal departments and agencies who received the award. In addition to a citation and a plaque, each PECASE winner receives up to five years of funding from their agency to advance his or her research. John Marburger, Science Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, presented the awards.

—Excerpted from Argonne National Laboratory news release, December 19, 2008.