The Molecular Foundry’s Jim DeYoreo has been elected vice president and president-elect of the Materials Research Society (MRS), an organization of 15,000 scientists and engineers in 50 countries around the world, studying interdisciplinary research in materials science.
“I am thrilled and honored to have been given the opportunity to serve the Materials Science community in this capacity,” said DeYoreo, Deputy Director for Research at the Foundry, a Department of Energy Nanoscale Science Research Center at Berkeley Labs. “This is an exciting and challenging time for the MRS. Solutions to the challenges we face in energy, climate and water will depend to a great extent on development of new materials, and the global nature of these challenges demands a global approach.”
MRS stands apart from single-discipline professional societies in its long-standing efforts to encourage communication and technical information exchange across various fields of science affecting materials research. DeYoreo will begin his term as Vice President on January 1, 2010, and will assume the reins of president on January 1, 2011, serving as the representative of MRS and Chair of the Board of Directors. He will be responsible for establishing policy, monitoring progress of the Society toward its long-term goals, and setting the strategic directions for the major activities of the Society, including its meetings, publications, interactions with government agencies, and cooperative efforts with other professional societies throughout the world.
“During the next few years, MRS initiatives will seek to advance the cohesion and effectiveness of the world's materials science communities by creating a gateway for communications, coordinating government advocacy, and promoting international collaborations through technical conferences,” DeYoreo added.
DeYoreo received his Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 1985. Following post-doctoral work at Princeton University, he became a member of the technical staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 1989, where he held numerous positions including Deputy Director of the Laboratory Science and Technology Office. He joined the Molecular Foundry in 2007.
DeYoreo’s research has spanned a wide range of materials-related disciplines including low temperature solid-state physics, geophysics and geochemistry, crystal growth, biomineralization and self- and directed-assembly of biomolecules. His work on growth and defect generation in optical crystals was instrumental in developing meter-scale crystals for the world’s largest laser systems. Most recently, his research has focused on in situ investigation and manipulation of assembly in biomolecular and biomineral systems. He is the recipient of an R&D 100 Award and the LLNL Science and Technology Award and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
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