Leora Dresselhaus-Cooper receives Lawrence Fellowship
Lawrence Fellowships are awarded to candidates with exceptional talent, scientific track records, and potential for significant achievements.
Leora Dresselhaus-Cooper (PhD ’18), a former graduate student in Professor Keith Nelson‘s lab, has been selected to receive a 2018 Lawrence Fellowship, a highly-competitive postdoctoral position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Located in Livermore, California, LLNL was founded in 1952 by E.O. Lawrence and Edward Teller to develop cutting edge science and technology with the goal of enhancing national security.
Dresselhaus-Cooper, who will receive her PhD at this week’s Hooding and Commencement Exercises, was honored to be named a 2018 Lawrence Fellow and is eager to apply her graduate experience at MIT toward her career as an independent researcher.
“With the Lawrence Fellowship, I will begin my independent research career by studying how extended defects in crystal lattices distort materials in real time,” she said. “Linking the molecular characteristics to nano-, micro-, and millimeter structures will allow me to connect the fundamentals of chemistry to the disordered solid materials we see in our everyday lives. The flexibility, resources and distinction that come with this fellowship will help me to become a scientific leader in academia or national laboratories in the years that follow.”
Recipients of the three-year Lawrence Fellowship demonstrate exceptional talent, scientific track records, and potential for significant achievements, and are selected by a committee representing the various technical organizations in the laboratory. Two to four Lawrence Fellows are selected each year from a pool of over 200 applicants. The chosen Fellows are awarded a three year term to pursue their own research agenda under the guidance of a senior staff scientist who serves as a mentor. The fellows most often conduct their research in a collaborative, multidisciplinary manner, supported by LLNL’s team environment. At the conclusion of the fellowship, successful Fellows are poised to stay at LLNL as staff, obtain tenure-track positions at top-tier universities, or begin their careers as entrepreneurs.
