AAAS and Los Alamos announce 2020 Fellows

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Nov. 24, 2020— Five Los Alamos scientists have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.  

“The range of science contributions that this year’s Fellows have made is an excellent example of the high quality and extensive impact of our national security science at Los Alamos,” said John Sarrao, Deputy Director for Science, Technology & Engineering. “We are honored to have these five researchers among the Laboratory community.”

The new Fellows from Los Alamos and their Laboratory organizations are the following: 

• David Chavez, of the High Explosives Science and Technology group—For distinguished contributions to the field of energetic materials, particularly the development of highly energetic, fundamentally novel and environmentally friendly materials important to national security. 
• Patrick Fitch, Associate Laboratory Director for Chemistry, Earth and Life Sciences—For distinguished research and science leadership in the application of genomics, host-pathogen biology, and biosafety to bioforensic analysis and threat characterization in biodefense. 
• Chris Fryer, of the Computational Physics and Methods group—For distinguished contributions to computational and theoretical astrophysics. 
• Marcelo Jaime, of the National High Magnetic Field Lab group—For distinguished contributions to the field of experimental physics, particularly for the study of strongly correlated electron systems and quantum phase transitions in extreme magnetic fields. 
• Robert Williams, of the Bioenergy and Biome Sciences group—For seminal contributions to the field of Bioorganic Chemistry, in particular stable isotope labeling as well as detection and mitigation of chemical and biological threats. 

This year’s AAAS Fellows will be formally announced Nov. 27, 2020 in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science. A virtual Fellows Forum – an induction ceremony for the new Fellows – will be held on Feb. 13, 2021.

About Los Alamos National Laboratory (www.lanl.gov)Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.
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