Two scientists with the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley
Lab) were among the 85 researchers named by President Barack Obama to receive
the prestigious Presidential Early Career for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
Award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on early-career
researchers.
The Berkeley Lab recipients were Gavin Crooks, a theoretical chemist with Berkeley
Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division, and Trent Northen, a staff scientist
with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division and with the Joint BioEnergy
Institute (JBEI). They join 11 other DOE recipients of the 2010 PECASE Award,
which will be received later this year at a White House ceremony. In addition
to a citation and a plaque, each PECASE winner will receive DOE funding for
up to five years to advance his or her research.
Top: Gavin Crooks. Bottom: Trent Northen
“Science and technology have long been at the core of America’s
economic strength and global leadership,” President Obama said in announcing
the awards. “I am confident that these individuals, who have shown such
tremendous promise so early in their careers, will go on to make breakthroughs
and discoveries that will continue to move our nation forward in the years ahead.”
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate scientist, extended his own
congratulations to the award winners.
“These gifted young scientists and engineers represent the best in our
country,” Secretary Chu said. “The awards recognize ingenuity, dedication,
diligence and talent. I congratulate the 2009 PECASE awardees and wish them
continued success towards new discoveries and advances in science, energy research,
and national security.”
Crooks was recognized “For groundbreaking development of the Crooks’
fluctuation theorem of statistical mechanics to describe thermodynamics for
systems far from equilibrium which impact nano-scale device performance, materials
design, and energy storage and capture; and for excellent and extensive mentorship
of developing scientists.”
Understanding the thermodynamics of a molecular system – central to energy
capture and storage – requires measurements of free energy changes within
that system. Prior to Crooks’ fluctuation theorem it was almost impossible
to measure changes in free energy for molecular systems that were not in equilibrium
with their surroundings – a system is said to be in equilibrium when it
does not change with time. Crooks’ discovery allows highly accurate measurements
of free energy in molecular systems that are far from equilibrium.
Northen received his PECASE Award “For pioneering analysis of metabolomic
features of biological systems with previously unattainable sensitivity and
spatial resolution, providing new insights impacting biofuel development, understanding
biofilms, and biological responses to low dose ionizing radiation; and for community
service and diverse educational outreach.”
Among other achievements, Northen is the inventor of the Nanostructure-Initiator
Mass Spectrometry (NIMS) technology, a highly sensitive method used to study
and image metabolism within complex cellular communities. He also invented a
related enzyme assay called “Nimzyme, which is a powerful analytical tool
for directly detecting and characterizing enzymatic activities in environmental
samples and other complex biological mixtures. At Berkeley Lab, he is using
NIMS in collaboration with breast cancer researchers to evaluate the effects
of low-dose radiation on cell metabolism within tissues. The Nimzyme assay is
being used at JBEI to screen for enzymes that can be used to modify lignocellulose
for the production of advanced biofuels that could replace gasoline on a gallon-for-gallon
basis.
The PECASE Awards were established by President Clinton in February 1996, and
are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive
Office of the President. Awardees are selected on the basis of two criteria:
Pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and
a commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership,
public education, or community outreach. Winning scientists and engineers receive
up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical
government missions.