Eleven MIT faculty, including nine from the School of Engineering and two from the School of Science, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Fifteen other MIT alumni were also honored.
Established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, PECASE is awarded to scientists and engineers who “demonstrate exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers.” The White House announced the latest recipients on January 14 during President Joe Biden’s presidency. Fourteen government organizations recommended the researchers for the award.
MIT faculty and alumni include 400 scientists and engineers who are recognized for their innovations and scientific contributions. Honorees from the School of Engineering and the School of Science include:
- Tamara Broderick, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), has been nominated by the Office of Naval Research for her project in support of “Lightweight Representations for Decentralized Learning in Data-Rich Environments.”
- Michael James Carbin SM ’09, PhD ’15, associate professor in the EECS department, has been nominated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a CAREER award, a project that develops techniques for reliably running programs on approximate and unreliable computing platforms.
- Cristina DeLimitero, KDD Career Development Professor in Communication and Technology and Associate Professor in the Department of EECS, was nominated by the NSF for her group’s work on reimagining the cloud system stack with new cloud programming frameworks such as microservices and serverless computing, as well as for designing hardware re-acceleration techniques and a hardware-predictable data center that makes the cloud data center more predictable and predictable.
- Neta Engelhardt, Biedenharn Career Development Associate Professor of Physics, was nominated by the Department of Energy for her research on the black hole information paradox and its implications for the fundamental quantum structure of space and time.
- Robert Gilliard Jr., an associate professor of chemistry at Novartis, was selected based on his 2020 National Science Foundation Career Award for his thesis: “Thesis: Boracycles with Unusual Bonding as Creative Strategies for Main Group Functional Materials.”
- Heather Janine Kulik PD ’09, PhD ’09, Lammot du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering, was nominated by the NSF for her 2019 proposal titled “Thesis: Uncovering Spin-State-Dependent Reactivity in Open-Shell Monatomic Catalysts with Systematic Demonstrable Tools.”
- Nuno Loureiro, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Physics, was nominated by the NSF for his work in creating and strengthening magnetic fields around the world.
- Robert McFarlane, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was nominated by the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Scientific Research. His research focuses on the construction of new materials using molecular and nanoscale building blocks.
- Ritu Raman, professor of tissue engineering in the Eugene Bell Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been nominated by the U.S. Department of Defense for research conducted with ARO funding.
- Ellen Roche, Latham Family Career Development Professor and associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been nominated by the NSF for a CAREER Award, a project that aims to create an advanced desktop computer model combining soft robotics and organic tissue to accurately simulate the movements of the heart and diaphragm.
- Justin Wilkerson, a visiting associate professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was nominated by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) for his research, which primarily concerns the design and optimization of new multipurpose composite materials that can survive in extreme environments.
Former MIT alumni: Ambika Bajpayee MNG ’07, PhD ’15; Katherine Bouman SM ’13, PhD ’17; Walter Cheng Wan Lee 95, MNG 95, PhD Ishmael Dabo ’08; Ying Diao SM ’10, PhD ’12; Everyone went to Ebong ’99. Soheil Faizi-Khankendi SM ’10, PhD ’16; Mark Finlayson SM ’01, PhD ’12; Chelsea B. Finn ’14; Grace Xiang Gu SM ’14, PhD ’18; Dr. David Michael Isaacson ’06, AF ’16; Lewei Lin ’05; Michelle Sander PhD ’12; Kevin Solomon SM ’08, PhD ’12; and Zhiting Tian PhD ’14.
