Three Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty Receive Awards From American Physical Society
Three Penn Arts and Sciences researchers have been awarded prizes by the American Physical Society (APS). The recipients are Zahra Fakhraai, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair in Chemistry; Marsha I. Lester, Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professor in Chemistry; and Abraham Nitzan, Donner Professor of Physical Sciences and Professor of Chemistry.
One of the largest scholarly societies and journal publishers in physics, APS annually honors members of the scientific community in the United States and abroad who are making lasting contributions in physics and its subfields and specialties.
Fakhraai received the APS John H. Dillon Medal for outstanding accomplishment and unusual promise in research in polymer physics. APS recognized Fakhraai for her "exceptional investigations of surface effects in polymer glasses and amyloid aggregation."
Lester received the APS Herbert P. Broida Prize in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of chemical physics. Lester received the honor for her work in “the development of innovative methods for generating and characterizing reactive intermediates using sophisticated laser techniques that elucidate important reaction pathways in atmospheric and combustion chemistry."
The APS Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics was received by Nitzan. He was recognized by APS for his notable contributions to molecular spectroscopy and dynamics and for his “deep physical insights in the fields of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and molecular electronics."
