UCSB Engineering

President Obama today named two UC Santa Barbara faculty members - Sumita Pennathur and Benjamin Mazin - as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor the nation can bestow on a scientist or engineer at the beginning of his or her career. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on October 14.

Sumita Pennathur, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, will be recognized for outstanding research achievements in the fields of nanotechnology and mechanical engineering. Pennathur's research has provided new insights in the areas of nanofluidics and interfacial science, and have resulted in the development of novel theoretical and experimental platforms that enable breakthrough discoveries relating to protein transport, adsorption, and kinetics.

Professor Pennathur is among 94 individuals across the country to receive the early career awards, which recognize recipients' exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge, and their commitment to community service, as demonstrated through scientific leadership, education, or community outreach.

Pennathur said: "I am honored to be awarded a PECASE award to further my research in the development of a nanofluidic tool for protein transport and kinetic measurements. I would like to sincerely thank the combined support of the U.S. Army Research Office, and UCSB's Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and California NanoSystems Institute to make this dream possible."

Pennathur's research is focused on using fundamental fluidics knowledge at both microscale and nanoscale to create novel devices for practical applications. Major efforts include creating and developing enabling tools to identify and characterize biological substances, improving current bioanalytical devices, and designing entire systems for point-of-care usage. Pennathur received both her B.S. and M.S. in aerospace and aeronautical engineering from M.I.T., where she studied microscale cavitation in microelectromechanical systems. She received her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University in 2006, where she investigated electrokinetic transport of fluids at the nanoscale.

Link: Read the full press announcement .

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Related Links

UCSB Press Release

Official White House Announcement

Sumita Pennathur Faculty Profile

Pennathur Lab Site

Media Contact

Andrea Estrada
andrea.estrada@ia.ucsb.edu
(805) 893-4620