Cumings, Zachariah Honored for Research

Clark School Dean Darryll Pines has announced the 2011 winners of the Clark School's Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award and Senior Faculty Outstanding Research Award.

Michael Zachariah, professor of mechanical engineering and chemistry, is the recipient of the 2011 Senior Faculty Outstanding Research Award. He pioneered the development of new characterization tools for studying nanoparticles and use of these tools to further our understanding of the properties of nanoparticles in these fields. A significant contribution of Zachariah’s was the development of a one-of-a-kind mass spectrometer to study ultra-fast condensed state reactions. His research group has been working on the development of ion-mobility methods for characterization of nanoparticles, with applications for nanomedicine, global climate changes and new materials for energy. He has also pursued making new nanoparticle-based materials for drug delivery and energetic materials applications. Finally, Zachariah is also noted for having a tremendous impact on his doctoral and post-doctoral students as their mentor. Zachariah received his B.S. in biochemistry, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Assistant Professor John Cumings (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) is the recipient of the 2011 Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award. He has pioneered a novel in-situ thermal imaging technique, designed multiferroic device structures with unique functionalities and lead the synthesis of one-of-a-kind lithiated silicon nanostructures for future advanced batteries. Cumings received a NSF CAREER Award earlier this year. He has taught several courses since joining the Clark School in 2005, including three semesters of ENES 100 as a Keystone Professor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics with distinction from Boston University, and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Published September 28, 2011