The MRS Bulletin 2013 volume organizers, who will guide the development of theme topics for the 2013 volume year, are Mark T. Lusk (Colorado School of Mines), Eva Olsson (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Birgit Schwenzer (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), and James W. Stasiak (Hewlett-Packard). Requests for instructions on submitting proposals for MRS Bulletin theme topics can be emailed to [email protected].
Mark T. Lusk is a Professor of Physics at the Colorado School of Mines and is the director of the Golden Energy Computing Organization. His research focuses on many-body computational inquiries of quantum transport in novel organic and inorganic nanostructured assemblies. He studied solid-state physics at the U.S. Naval Academy and was subsequently a naval nuclear engineer. After receiving an MS degree in electrical engineering at Colorado State University, he obtained a PhD degree in applied mechanics at the California Institute of Technology. He has been a professor at the Colorado School of Mines for 16 years.
Eva Olsson is Professor of Experimental Physics at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, the head of the Division of Microscopy and Microanalysis, the director of the center for Material Analysis at Chalmers and also the SOFT Microscopy Centre. She obtained her PhD degree in materials science from Chalmers University of Technology in 1988 and was thereafter a postdoctoral fellow at Physical Sciences at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. In 1997, she was appointed Professor of Experimental Physics at Uppsala University and established the division of Analytical Materials Physics at the Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden. In 2001, she joined Chalmers. Olsson was elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy in 2010 and the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences (in physics) in 2011. Her research is focused on the functional nanostructure of materials and in particular the role of interfaces. Current research projects concern catalysts, graphene, oxide interfaces for electronics, soft matter, solar cells, and tunnel barriers for quantum devices. The main experimental techniques include high-resolution analytical and in situ microscopy with emphasis on direct correlation between materials structure and properties. The research is largely curiosity-driven and aims at understanding basic phenomena as well as tailoring materials and devices.
Birgit Schwenzer is a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash. Currently her research is focused on the synthesis and characterization of novel materials for energy conversion and storage-related applications. Her research interest is the investigation of structure–property relationships in inorganic nano- and microstructures. Prior to joining PNNL, Schwenzer worked at the University of California–Santa Barbara (UCSB) between 2002 and 2009. After having completed her graduate studies in organo-metallic chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MSc degree) and the Universität Konstanz, Germany (Dr. rer. nat. awarded in 2002), the focus of her research shifted toward materials science, in particular optoelectronic materials, during her time at UCSB. She also worked as a visiting scientist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India, in 2004/2005. Schwenzer has co-organized several symposia in the area of bio-inspired materials at national and international Materials Research Society meetings and her work has been published in dozens of peer-reviewed journals.
James W. Stasiak is currently a Principal Scientist and Technologist at Hewlett-Packard Company in Corvallis, Oregon. As a senior member of HP’s Sensing Systems Laboratory, he is responsible for defining and leading strategic programs focused on developing transformational sensing technologies intended to blur the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds. In a career spanning nearly 30 years, he has held engineering management, senior level technologist, and staff scientist positions at HP, Xerox, Tektronix, and IBM Research. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in physics and philosophy from Lewis University (1977) and a Master’s degree in physics from Southern Illinois University (1979). Active in several professional societies, including the MRS, he has organized and chaired numerous national and international conferences and workshops. In 2005, he organized and chaired the first international conference focused on Digital Fabrication. In 2009, he was recognized by the Society of Imaging Science and Technology with the IS&T Service Award for his vision and leadership in establishing this conference, which is now in its sixth year. He is the author and editor of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings and is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences and workshops. He holds more than 25 issued U.S. patents.
