{"70326":{"#nid":"70326","#data":{"type":"news","title":"White House Names Georgia Tech Professor as PECASE Honoree","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPresident Obama named Maria G. Westdickenberg,\nassociate professor in the School of Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of\nTechnology, as one of 94 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for\nScientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor bestowed by\nthe United States government on science and engineering professionals in the\nearly stages of their independent research careers.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am very honored to receive this\naward, particularly because of its\u0026nbsp;combined focus on research, education and\noutreach. As consuming and\u0026nbsp;vital as research is, I think the call to\ntrain and inspire our young\u0026nbsp;people and to reach out to underrepresented\ngroups is equally vital. I am honored to be mentioned in the context of\nthat\u0026nbsp;effort,\u201d said Westdickenberg.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the White House,\nthe PECASE awards embody the high priority the Obama Administration places on\nproducing outstanding scientists and engineers to advance the nation\u2019s goals,\ntackle grand challenges, and contribute to the American economy.\u0026nbsp; Sixteen\nfederal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the most\nmeritorious scientists and engineers whose early accomplishments show the\ngreatest promise for assuring America\u2019s preeminence in science and engineering\nand contributing to the awarding agencies\u0027 missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is inspiring to see the\ninnovative work being done by these scientists and engineers as they ramp up\ntheir careers\u2014careers that I know will be not only personally rewarding but\nalso invaluable to the nation,\u201d President Obama said.\u0026nbsp;\u201cThat so many of\nthem are also devoting time to mentoring and other forms of community service\nspeaks volumes about their potential for leadership, not only as scientists but\nas model citizens.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWestdickenberg has been at Georgia\nTech since 2006 where she works in applied mathematics.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI get excited when there is a\ncurious or\u0026nbsp;surprising phenomenon that has been observed in physical or\nnumerical\u0026nbsp;experiments and that we can come to better understand\nthrough\u0026nbsp;mathematical analysis,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne example she gives of her work\nis determining how to calculate the effect of noise, or small thermal\nfluctuations, on small physical systems. Traditionally noise is rare and isn\u2019t\nmuch of a problem, but the smaller the system, the more likely those rare\nevents can be, said Westdickenberg.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTherefore as nanoscale and\nsub-nanoscale\u0026nbsp;devices become more prevalent, these issues need to be\nunderstood more\u0026nbsp;precisely than before,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe awards, established by\nPresident Clinton in 1996, are coordinated by the Office of Science and\nTechnology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are\nselected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and\ntechnology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through\nscientific leadership, public education or community outreach. Winning\nscientists and engineers have received research grants for up to five years to\nfurther their studies in support of critical government missions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Westdickenberg, teaching and\noutreach are just as vital to her career as research.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere can be a tension in\nacademia because research and teaching each make\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nlarge demands on our time and energy.\nSometimes teaching can suffer as a\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nresult. But what could be more important than\nteaching our young people,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen the students are\nengaged,\u0026nbsp;teaching is thrilling. Personally, I find nothing as exciting as\nhelping\u0026nbsp;someone to reach the point where they can understand something\nnew.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech graduate Gayle Hagler, who earned a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering in 2002 and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 2007, was also named a PECASE Honoree by President Obama. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPresident Obama named Maria G. Westdickenberg, associate professor in\nthe School of Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, as one of 94 recipients\nof the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Maria G. Westdickenberg of the School of Mathematics was named as a PECASE winner."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-09-28 09:33:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"14443","name":"Maria G. Westdickenberg"},{"id":"1633","name":"PECASE"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}