Two SEAS grad students will get face time with Nobel Laureates

Ian Burgess, a current Ph.D. candidate who conducts collaborative research with Marko Lončar and Joanna Aizenberg, and Masaru Tsuchiya, a former student in the laboratory of Shriram Ramanathan and now a member of the Harvard-based start-up SiEnergy, were selected to attend an international conference held in Lindau, Germany, from June 27 to July 2.

Called the Annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, the event provides a forum for the transfer of knowledge between generations of scientists. The aim is to inspire and motivate Nobel Laureates and some of the best and brightest student researchers.

Since 1951, Nobel Laureates have met annually with students and young researchersin this German city for a series of panel discussions, seminars and social events. Thestudents are sponsored by various agencies and organizations, including the United States Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and National Institutes ofHealth.

Burgess and Tsuchiya, nominated by their respective countries of origin (Canada and Japan), will be among 694 students from across the globe attending the meeting. Burgess is one of 7 participants from Canada; Tsuchiya is one of 24 participants from Japan. Cammi Valdez, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard, will also attend on behalf of the United States.

Burgess was also awarded a related fellowship from the Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation to attend the 2010 EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), held July 2-7 in Torino, Italy. The Euroscience Open Forum seeks to showcase European and international achievements right across the scientific spectrum and serves as an open forum for debates on science-related issues.

Ian Burgess

Ian Burgess, a rising 2^nd year graduate student, works in the laboratories of Marko Lončar, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science, Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and a Core Member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Burgess’ current research is focused on bringing soft materials and bottom-up techniques into the field of nanoscale optics. His aim is to develop a new class of nanoscale optical devices, composed of soft, low-index materials (such as polymers and glasses) with dynamically tunable properties.

Burgess received his undergraduate degree in Co-operative Mathematical Physics (with a minor in Chemistry) at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada).

Masaru Tsuchiya

Masaru Tsuchiya, who recently completed his Ph.D. in Applied Physics at SEAS, is interested in exploring the structural properties of materials used in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). With their strength as a clean energy conversion system, fuel cells are expected to play a major role in environmental issues, especially in air quality improvement.

Currently, he is working as a Principal Scientist at SiEnergy Systems, LLC, a start-up company based on technology created by his former advisor Shriram Ramanathan, Assistant Professor of Materials Science.

In 2009, Tsuchiya was selected as the 1st Place Winner for the 2009 Bernard S. Baker Student Award for Fuel Cell Research, presented by the Bernard S. Baker Fuel Cell Scholarship Fund and the Fuel Cell Seminar.

He received his undergraduate degree in Applied Physics from Keio University (Japan).