August 08 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine

Kudos

Atcher named president of Society of Nuclear Medicine

Robert Atcher of the Bioscience Division is the 2008-2009 president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, a multidisciplinary international scientific and professional organization of more than 16,000 physicians, technologists, and scientists.

Atcher served as the program manager for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and group leader for the former Michelson and Szilard Resources in the Bioscience Division. He also is the University of New Mexico/Los Alamos National Laboratory professor of pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy at UNM.

Werder named 2007 CLES Technician of the Year

Don Werder of Physical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy and Softmatter Nanotechnology and Advanced Spectroscopy recently received the 2007 Chemistry, Life, and Earth Sciences Technician of the Year award.

Werder's achievements include purchasing a transmission electron microscope (TEM), building a controlled environment room for it in record time, and operating the instrument. Werder also developed a class-10,000 clean room for the fabrication of nanocrystal quantum dot-based devices and made numerous research contributions on colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots, as well as collaborating with non-Lab scientists on TEM studies. His work was recently published in the journal Nanotechnology.

The award recognizes outstanding technicians in CLES and their contributions to science and programs. Werder received a certificate, silver star, and monetary award at a CLES directoratewide meeting.

Koushiappas wins Heller Postdoctoral Publication Prize

Postdoctoral researcher Savvas Koushiappas of Theoretical Astrophysics and Space Science and Applications is the 14th recipient of the Leon Heller Postdoctoral Publication Prize in Theoretical Physics. His winning paper, "Proper Motion of Gamma Rays from Microhalo Sources," is published in Physical Review Letters.

Pinaki Sengupta, a postdoc jointly sponsored by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Condensed Matter Statistical Physics, received honorable mention for his paper, "Field-Induced Supersolid Phase in Spin-One Heisenberg Models," also published in Physical Review Letters.

The biennial prize, jointly sponsored by the Laboratory and retired staff member Leon Heller, is awarded for the best article in theoretical physics published or accepted for publication after January 1, 2006. Heller created the prize in 1976 and provides the monetary award.

Koushiappas and Sengupta will be honored at a Physics/Theoretical Division colloquium this fall.

Loaiza appointed White House Fellow

David Loaiza of Nuclear Nonproliferation was appointed by President Bush as a class of 2008-2009 White House Fellow and will participate in the nation's most prestigious fellowship program for leadership development and public service.

"I am honored to have been selected for this fellowship," Loaiza said. "I realize that by being selected as a fellow, someone else was denied the opportunity. I take this responsibility to heart, and I am committed to living up to the expectations of the White House Fellowship."

Loaiza currently serves as an advisor to the Department of Energy's Office of Dismantlement and Transparency and is involved in the formulation of U.S. nonproliferation policy at the national and international level. He is a technical team lead for U.S. delegations monitoring the denuclearization of North Korea. He also provides technical briefs and training to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

White House Fellows are selected by the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.