Assistant Professor Raúl Briceño and Associate Professor Raffaela Margutti
Two Berkeley Physics faculty members were among the nearly 400 scientists and engineers awarded by President Biden to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. The award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhances connections between research and impacts on society, and highlights the importance of science and technology for our nation’s future.
Raúl Briceño is an assistant professor of Physics and a faculty scientist in the Nuclear Sciences Division’s Nuclear Theory Group. His research focuses on aspects of theoretical nuclear and particle physics using Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) to study fundamental nuclear reactions that may provide insight into phenomena ranging from the formation of nuclear matter to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model.
Raffaela Margutti is an associate professor of Astronomy and Physics. The selection for this distinguished award was based on Professor Margutti’s NSF CAREER Grant entitled, CAREER: A Holistic Study of Compact-Object Mergers across the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs) are the densest objects in our Universe. Margutti’s project aims at advancing our understanding of BHs and NSs by studying their collisions in space.
Established by President Clinton in 1996, PECASE recognizes scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers. The award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhances connections between research and impacts on society, and highlights the importance of science and technology for our nation’s future.