Eight Women Receive Prestigious Awards from the American Physical Society

Marsha I. Lester, the Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professor in the department of chemistry of the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, is the 2019 recipient of the Herbert P. Broida Prize. The award is presented biannually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of atomic and molecular spectroscopy or chemical physics. Dr. Lester holds a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College at Rutgers University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

M. Cristina Marchetti, a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the 2019 recipient of the Leo P. Kadanoff Prize. The award honors a scientist or scientists whose work has opened new vistas for statistical and/or nonlinear physics. Dr. Marchetti holds a degree in physics from the University of Pavia in Italy and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Florida.

Katherine Freese, the George E. Uhlenbeck Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, is the 2019 recipient of the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to physics and who has exceptional skills in lecturing to diverse audiences. Dr. Freese holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Princeton University, a master’s degree in physics from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago.

Shirley Ann Jackson, the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York,, is the 2019 recipient of the Joseph A. Burton Forum Award. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the public understanding or resolution of issues involving the interface of physics and society. Dr. Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics both from MIT.

Tanya Zelevinsky, an associate professor of physics at Columbia University, is the 2019 recipient of the Francis M. Pipkin Award. The award honors a scientist who has held a Ph.D. degree for 15 years or less and who conducted outstanding work in the area of precision measurement and fundamental constants. Dr. Zelevinsky holds a bachelor’s degree from MIT and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Sharon C. Glotzer, the Anthony C. Lembke chair of the department of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, is the 2019 recipient of the Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in computational physics research. Dr. Glotzer holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in physics from Boston University.

Heather J. Lewandowski, an associate professor and associate chair of physics at the University of Colorado, is the 2019 recipient of the Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence in Advance Laboratory Instruction. The award is presented to an individual or team who have taught, developed, and sustained an excellent advanced undergraduate physics laboratory course for at least four years at a United States educational institution. Dr. Lewandowski holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Colorado.

Julia Mundy, an assistant professor of physics at Harvard University, is the 2019 recipient of the George E. Valley, Jr. Prize. The award recognizes an individual in the early stages of his or her career for an outstanding contribution to physics that is deemed to have significant potential for a dramatic impact on the field. Dr. Mundy holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics from Harvard and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Cornell University.