Inqui r y I s sue
2
| 2014
5
Vela receives award for advancing diversity
Javier Vela
, Ames Laboratory scientist and an assistant
professor in chemistry at Iowa State University, has been
selected as a 2014 recipient of the Stanley C. Israel
Regional Award for Advancing
Diversity in Chemical Sciences.
The award is given by the American
Chemical Society (ACS) and is
sponsored by the ACS Committee
on Minority Affairs. The award
honors nominees who have created
and fostered ongoing programs or
activities that result in increased
numbers of persons from diverse and
underrepresented minority groups,
persons with disabilities, or women who participate in
the chemical enterprise. Vela received the award at the
ACS Midwest Regional Meeting in Columbia, Missouri,
November 12-15, 2014.
Award winners receive a medal and $1,000 grant to
support and further the activities for which the award
was made.
Former interns win scholarships
Two participants in the U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory
Internship (SULI) research program at the Ames
Laboratory have been awarded prestigious scholarships,
one from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and
Excellence in Education Program and the other from
the National Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellowship program.
William Robin Lindemann
a participant in the Ames
Laboratory’s 2014 spring semester SULI program has
been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s
premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics,
natural sciences and engineering. Out of over 1,100
students who applied for
the scholarship, which is
based on academic merit,
283 were selected and
awarded a scholarship that
will cover the cost of tuition
fees, books, and room and
board up to a maximum of
$7,500 per year. Lindemann applied the award to his
senior year at Iowa State, where he was an undergraduate
in materials science and engineering. He plans to pursue
a Ph.D. in materials science and conduct research in and
teach advanced ceramics.
Lindemann worked with mentor David Vaknin, Ames
Laboratory physicist and Iowa State University adjunct
physics professor. Lindemann has participated in hands-
on x-ray reflectivity and fluorescence research. Lindemann
is a two-time participant in the SULI program, having also
participated in the summer 2013 SULI program, also with
Vaknin as his mentor.
Javier Grajeda
has been awarded a highly competitive
fellowship through the National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Grajeda
received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the
University of Texas at El Paso and will use his three-year
fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, where he recently enrolled as a
graduate student.
The GRFP recognizes and supports
outstanding graduate students in
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics disciplines who are
pursuing research-based master’s
and doctoral degrees. Fellows benefit
from a three-year annual stipend of
$32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of
education allowance for tuition and fees, and opportunities
for international research and professional development.
Grajeda participated in the SULI program at the Ames
Laboratory in summer 2011 under the mentorship of Javier
Vela, Ames Laboratory faculty scientist and Iowa State
University assistant professor of chemistry.
William Robin Lindemann
Javier Grajeda
Javier Vela
Outstanding APS Referee
Ames Laboratory scientist and Iowa State
University Distinguished Professor of Physics,
David Johnston
was named a 2014 American
Physical Society Outstanding Referee. The
award recognizes scientists for their exceptional
quality, number and timeliness of their work
assessing manuscripts for publication in APS
scientific journals.
David Johnston
