Martinez-Miranda Receives American Physical Society's Bouchet Award

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Associate Professor Luz J. Martínez-Miranda.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Maryland NanoCenter associate professor Luz J. Martínez-Miranda has received the American Physical Society's (APS) Edward R. Bouchet Award. The award, established to promote the participation of underrepresented minorities in physics, recognizes minority physicists who have distinguished themselves in and made significant contributions to the field.

Martínez-Miranda, an elected Fellow of the APS and past president of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists, was selected "for her pioneering research on liquid crystals, in particular on the interactions of ordered liquid crystals and nanoparticles, and their applications; and [for her] extensive effort in mentoring and increasing diversity in physics and materials science." She will be honored at the society's annual March Meeting in 2014, and has also been invited to deliver a talk at the conference.

In addition to a cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to the March Meeting, the Bouchet Award funds at least three presentations by the awardee at high schools or universities where the promotion of research, studies or careers in physics would have the most impact on minority students. The presentations may range from outreach to informal discussions or technical seminars.

The American Physical Society is the premiere physics society in the U.S., with over 40,000 members involved in academic, national, international, and governmental work. It publishes some of the most prestigious physics journals, including Physical Review Letters. Its March Meeting, which focuses on condensed matter and materials physics, is the largest it sponsors.

Read an APS interview with Professor Martinez-Miranda in APS News
Read APS's Award Announcement

Published November 1, 2013