UCLA Researcher Among Energy Department Grant Winners

A UCLA superconductivity researcher and two UC Irvine scientists were among the 35 winners of the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Early Career Research Program grants announced on May 7. Both UCLA and UC Irvine were the only Southern California schools to receive grants under this program.

University-based winners will receive at least $150,000 per year over five years to cover summer salary and research expenses.

The DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences chose UCLA’s Ni Ni for “Exploring Superconductivity at the Edge of Magnetic or Structural Instabilities.”

UC Irvine’s Mike Pritchard was chosen by the DOE’s Office of Biological & Environmental Research based on “Understanding the Roles of Cloud Microphysics and Land Surface Coupling Feedback in Multi-Scale Predictions of Central U.S. Summer Hydroclimate.”

Jenny Yang, also of UC Irvine, was chosen by the DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences based on “Design of Efficient Molecular Electrocatalysts for Water and Carbon Dioxide Reduction Using Predictive Models of Thermodynamic Properties.”

The program’s goal is to support researchers in their early years, when many do their most formative work.

“By supporting our most creative and productive researchers early in their careers, this program is helping to build and sustain America’s scientific workforce,” said Patricia Dehmer, acting director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.