March 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine

Guitar-playing scientist gets start as postdoc

Gives back by mentoring

Kathy Prestridge plays a Fender Telecaster electric guitar in her spare time. Photo by Dixon Wolf

Kathy Prestridge of Neutron Science and Technology sees her work at Los Alamos as an exciting learning experience. "There is a lot of interesting science going on here, and I enjoy working with a technically diverse group of people," she said.

Prestridge holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University and a doctorate in applied mechanics from the University of California, San Diego. She won the 2000 Postdoctoral Publication Prize in Experimental Sciences and currently is studying shock-driven fluid instabilities to better understand how such instabilities hinder the development of a fusion energy source.

Prestridge was named a LANL Star by the Women's Diversity Working Group for her technical work and her achievements as a mentor, project leader, and deputy group leader. "I think the Star program is a nice way for the Lab to recognize the achievements of women," she said. "There still are not a lot of women with doctorates in either physics or mechanical engineering, and if our professional work is highlighted, it can offer hope for young women interested in pursuing these career paths."

Prestridge said she joined Los Alamos because retired Laboratory Fellow Robert Benjamin recommended the Lab's postdoctoral experience. "I met Benjamin at an American Physical Society conference and came here as a postdoc in 1998," she said. Benjamin, who became her mentor, was very supportive of her career. "He gave me lots of opportunities to thrive," she said, adding, "I've tried to use his philosophy as a model for the students and postdocs that I now mentor."

In her spare time, Prestridge plays acoustic and electric guitar, she said. "And my husband, Ben Sims, who works in Statistical Sciences, plays lap steel guitar. Because we are so busy with work and kids, it's fun for us to have a hobby that we do together."

—Tatjana K. Rosev

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