{"142021":{"#nid":"142021","#data":{"type":"news","title":"White House Names Two Georgia Tech Professors PECASE Honorees","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe White House named Baratunde Cola, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Meghan Duffy, assistant professor in the School of Biology, two of 96 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the White House, the PECASE awards embody the high priority the Obama Administration places on producing outstanding scientists and engineers to advance the nation\u2019s goals, tackle grand challenges and contribute to the American economy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy interests and accomplishments are shaped by the ethos of my family, friends and all of those who have supported and encouraged me,\u201d said Cola, who is the director of the NanoEngineered Systems and Transport Lab (NEST). \u201cI am thrilled to have an opportunity to represent them on this national stage.\u0026nbsp; I feel honored to be considered in this group and to be able to share our discoveries of new ways to improve the conversion of waste heat to electricity with a wider audience.\u0026nbsp;\u201c\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cReceiving this award is a tremendous honor,\u201d said Duffy. \u201c One thing I love about my research is that it combines a lot of different approaches \u2013 for example, we go out in the field and get muddy, but then also come back to the lab and use advanced molecular techniques to study these parasites. And the goal of all of that is to answer questions that I think are really important, such as what allows disease outbreaks to occur?\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAwardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the White House, Cola was selected for his outstanding research on energy conversion, nanoscale transport and materials; and for significant outreach and educational activities involving K-12 science and art students and teachers from disadvantaged minority communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECola believes that with jobs and energy arguably at the center of public discourse right now that his research on nanoengineered energy technologies is highly relevant, thus the possibilities are very exciting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe challenges and opportunities of nanoscience and nanoengineering have attracted many great minds to these fields, which makes interactions with students and colleagues within the community very rewarding personally,\u201d said Cola.\u0026nbsp; \u201cMost of all, I have found that the mix of energy and nanoengineering has opened wide the door to a multifaceted life as a teacher-researcher-entrepreneur, which is exactly where I want to be right now.\u0026nbsp;\u201c\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe White House also noted that Duffy was selected for her research on rapid evolution of host-parasite interactions and in creating educational opportunities for college students in underrepresented minority groups and inner-city K-12 students in Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy lab has begun to do work on parasites that can infect multiple host species, which are known as multihost parasites,\u201d said Duffy. \u201cThe system I work on allows us to study these parasites in natural settings, as well as do manipulative experiments on them in the lab, which is a rare and powerful combination. We\u0027re hoping to figure out things like how parasites jump from one host to another, and the challenges they need to overcome in order to infect multiple host species.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe White House named Baratunde Cola and Meghan Duffy two of 96 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professors Baratunde Cola of Mechanical Engineering and Meghan Duffy of Biology are two of 96 to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers."}],"uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2012-07-23 13:56:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:33","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99951":{"id":"99951","type":"image","title":"Meghan Duffy","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"},"142451":{"id":"142451","type":"image","title":"Dr. Baratunde Cola","body":null,"created":"1449178723","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:43","changed":"1475894774","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:14","alt":"Dr. Baratunde Cola","file":{"fid":"194969","name":"cola.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cola_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cola_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3564443,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cola_0.jpg?itok=jklJIcg4"}},"54726":{"id":"54726","type":"image","title":"Baratunde Cola","body":null,"created":"1449175474","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:44:34","changed":"1475894481","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:21","alt":"Baratunde Cola","file":{"fid":"190180","name":"090814BR004.gif","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/090814BR004.gif","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/090814BR004.gif","mime":"image\/gif","size":206706,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/090814BR004.gif?itok=vk4za-sK"}}},"media_ids":["99951","142451","54726"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/index.php?id=meghan-duffy","title":"Meghan Duffy"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/cola","title":"Baratunde Cola"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2012\/07\/23\/president-obama-honors-outstanding-early-career-scientists","title":"White House News Release"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8875","name":"Baratunde Cola"},{"id":"13456","name":"Meghan Duffy"},{"id":"1633","name":"PECASE"},{"id":"8795","name":"Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["MattNagel@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}