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In this issue:
Zhang and Martinez Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Reminder: Inaugural Scientific Computing Seminar Today

SLAC Today

Tuesday - April 26, 2011

Zhang and Martinez Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Two SLAC researchers are among a total of eight Stanford faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this year. The academy brought in 212 new members in all, leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts.

The acedemy is a leading honorary society and center for independent policy research, founded during the American revolution with a charter "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honour, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." Its members contribute to academy studies of science and technology policy, global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and education.

"It was a complete surprise," said theoretical chemist Todd Martinez of his election to academy membership. "One of my colleagues congratulated me and I then found a FedEx letter from the academy in my mailbox. I am honored to be elected and gratified that the membership recognizes the importance of our work."

Martinez, a professor of photon science in the PULSE Institute at SLAC and professor of chemistry at Stanford, studies physical and theoretical chemistry. His research group models the behavior of both atoms and electrons together—bridging traditional chemical and quantum models—to explore photochemical reactions in important biological molecules, such as the pigments that make vision possible. His researchers also seek to understand how mechanical stresses can affect the chemical properties in materials. Before joining Stanford in 2009, he was a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He earned his bachelor's degree at Calvin College and his doctorate from the University of California Los Angeles.

Also honored is Shoucheng Zhang, a researcher in the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science at SLAC and professor of physics at Stanford. His research focuses in theoretical condensed matter physics, including the quantum spin Hall effect, topological insulators and superconductors, quantum spintronics, superfluidity and magnetism. Before coming to Stanford, Zhang worked in the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose. He earned his diploma in physics from the Free University of Berlin and his doctorate in physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

"It is of course a great honor and recognition for my work," Zhang said. "The election also inspires me to become a broader scientist and a more active citizen. The founding member of the academy Ben Frankin is a good role model for me now."

Reminder: Inaugural Scientific Computing Seminar Today

Today at 4 p.m. in Kavli Auditorium, please join SLAC colleagues and fellow scientific computing enthusiasts to hear Garth Williams from the Linac Coherent Light Source present "Challenges from LCLS: New Methods in Coherent Imaging and Nano Crystallography." Williams will discuss how the raw data taken by the Coherent X-ray Imaging instrument—which can already exceed 700 megabytes per second and total more than 100 terabytes for some experiments—is converted into molecular and atomic structures. Join in for coffee and discussion after the talk.

This talk launches the SLAC Scientific Computing Seminar Series, with lectures currently scheduled for one Tuesday a month in Kavli Auditorium. The next will place on May 17.

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