Two Physics Professors at UC San Diego Named 2016 Cottrell Scholars

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Eva-Maria Schoetz Collins

A biophysicist and an astrophysicist at UC San Diego have been named 2016 Cottrell Scholars, an award given this year to only two dozen scientists nationwide.

Eva-Maria Schoetz Collins, an assistant professor of physics and biology, and Dusan Keres, an assistant professor of physics, will each receive $100,000 awards for research and teaching, which are given annually to the nation's top early career academic scientists by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

Dusan Keres

“The Cottrell Scholar program champions the very best early career teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics and astronomy by providing these significant discretionary awards,” said Robert N. Shelton, president and CEO of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, which selected the recipients of its awards based on their innovative research proposals and education programs.

Collins, a biophysicist, was awarded funding for her proposal on “unraveling the role of mechanics for tissue self-organization in vivo,” while Keres, an astrophysicist at UC San Diego’s Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, was awarded funding for his proposal on “using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations to constrain evolution of galaxies and their gaseous halos.”

The Cottrell Scholars program is designed to foster synergy among faculty at major American research universities. Cottrell Scholars engage in an annual networking event, providing them with an opportunity to share insights and expertise through the Cottrell Scholar Collaborative. This year’s event will be held in mid-July in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to draw about 80 top educators from around the U.S.

More information on this year’s winners can be obtained here.