{"677161":{"#nid":"677161","#data":{"type":"news","title":"DOE Recognizes Georgia Tech Researchers With Prestigious Early Career Awards","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo Georgia Tech assistant professors are among the recipients of this year\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.osti.gov\/early-career\u0022\u003EEarly Career\u0026nbsp;Research Program\u003C\/a\u003E (ECRP) grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/itamar-kimchi\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EItamar Kimchi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/saha\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESourabh Saha\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ethe George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, have each been awarded $875,000 over five years to pursue research on the role of entanglement in quantum materials and manufacturing cost-effective fuel capsules for fusion energy, respectively.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Department of Energy has funded these early career awards since 2010, and this year distributed $138 million to 91 scientists nationwide. These awards are critical to DOE\u2019s long-standing efforts to develop the next generation of STEM leaders and solidify America\u2019s role as the driver of science and innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cInvesting in cutting-edge research and science is a cornerstone of DOE\u0027s mission and essential to maintaining America\u2019s role as a global innovation leader,\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/us-department-energy-awards-138-million-91-early-career-scientists\u0022\u003Esaid\u0026nbsp;U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EItamar Kimchi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKimchi\u2019s research in quantum theory explores the role of entanglement in strongly correlated quantum materials, which have potential applications in quantum computers, sensors, and solid-state devices. His work addresses the challenges posed by defects and quenched disorder in these materials.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKimchi\u2019s project aims to construct theoretical models to describe novel behaviors, particularly in quantum spin liquid (QSL) phases of magnetic insulators. The research seeks to demonstrate the transformation of QSLs from weak disorder, predict defect effects in QSLs, and collaborate with experimental labs to address the dichotomy between global and local experimental probes in materials with local defects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ECRP award will support Kimchi\u2019s efforts to develop theoretical frameworks that guide new concepts and experimental probes \u2014 and to uncover how crystallographic defects can identify, generate, and control emergent quantum behavior, contributing to next-generation technologies for energy applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cQuantum sciences and technologies are becoming increasingly important for U.S. interests, as seen in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.quantum.gov\/\u0022\u003Ethe National Quantum Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/new.nsf.gov\/chips\u0022\u003Ethe CHIPS and Science Act\u003C\/a\u003E, and other efforts,\u201d said Kimchi. \u201cTogether with my research group, we are delighted to be supported by the Department of Energy and to join its extraordinary network of researchers, which enables us to pursue these challenges in understanding and using quantum materials.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESourabh Saha\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESaha\u2019s research focuses on generating novel, advanced manufacturing capabilities that will massively reduce the cost of fabricating fuel capsules for inertial fusion energy. Nuclear fusion is the mechanism that powers the sun and generates the sunlight received on Earth. Fusion can be a clean, safe, abundant, and reliable source of electricity, but controlling it on Earth is a major challenge.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInertial fusion is one way to achieve and control fusion. This requires holding the nuclear fuel within pea-sized capsules, called targets, that are manufactured to extreme precision. For fusion to be a cost-effective source of electricity, the expense of producing these fuel capsules must be reduced from tens of thousands of dollars to less than a dollar. This is where Saha\u2019s work lies: in enabling new ways of making the fuel capsules, cost-effectively and precisely.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ECRP award will allow Saha to focus on advancing the scientific knowledge base for scalable manufacturing of fusion targets. Generally, manufacturing scale-up is perceived as a late-stage engineering activity that can be postponed until a technology\u2019s scientific underpinnings have been determined. But this perception has also often led to the underfunding of manufacturing science research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESaha believes that to solve many of engineering\u2019s current grand challenges, the science of manufacturing scale-up should be considered early on \u2014 and in concert with researching other aspects of a technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe DOE award allows our group to do precisely this kind of research in the area of fusion energy. I am humbled to be able to work on one of the most challenging but worthwhile problems of our time,\u201d Saha said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarly Career Program awardees in this round of funding were required to be an untenured assistant or associate professor on the tenure track at a U.S. academic institution, or a full-time employee at a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/national-laboratories\u0022\u003EDOE national laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;or\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.osti.gov\/User-Facilities\/User-Facilities-at-a-Glance\u0022\u003EOffice of Science user facility\u003C\/a\u003E who received their Ph.D. within the past 12 years. A list of the 91 recipients, their institutions, and the titles of their research projects\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.osti.gov\/-\/media\/early-career\/pdf\/All-ECRP-FY24-public-abstracts_Final.pdf\u0022\u003Eis available on the ECRP website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPrevious Recipients of DOE Early Career Grants\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/wenjing-liao-awarded-doe-early-career-award-model-simplification-deep-learning\u0022\u003EWenjing Lao\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor, School of Mathematics\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chbe.gatech.edu\/news\/2018\/06\/professor-lively-receives-does-early-career-award#:~:text=Lively%20and%20his%20team%20will,Early%20Career%20Research%20Program%20website\u0022\u003ERyan Lively\u003C\/a\u003E, Thomas C. DeLoach Professor, School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.khabar.com\/magazine\/community-newsmakers\/devesh-ranjan-receives-early-career-award-from-u-s-department-of-energy\u0022\u003EDevesh Ranjan\u003C\/a\u003E, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair and professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EItamar Kimchi and Sourabh Saha each received $875,000 for their pioneering work in quantum materials and fusion energy.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Itamar Kimchi and Sourabh Saha each received $875,000 for their pioneering work in quantum materials and fusion energy."}],"uid":"28766","created_gmt":"2024-09-26 21:05:22","changed_gmt":"2024-09-30 20:09:35","author":"Shelley Wunder-Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-09-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-09-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675137":{"id":"675137","type":"image","title":"Itamar Kimchi and Sourabh Saha","body":null,"created":"1727382443","gmt_created":"2024-09-26 20:27:23","changed":"1727382498","gmt_changed":"2024-09-26 20:28:18","alt":"Itamar Kimchi and Sourabh Saha","file":{"fid":"258734","name":"kimchi saha.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/26\/kimchi%20saha.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/26\/kimchi%20saha.png","mime":"image\/png","size":5640203,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/09\/26\/kimchi%20saha.png?itok=Y9TwG9K2"}}},"media_ids":["675137"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"193266","name":"cos-research"},{"id":"192251","name":"cos-quantum"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003Cbr\u003EDirector of Research Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["shelley.wunder-smith@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}