HONOR FOR LOCAL SCIENTIST
Association cited her ‘pathbreaking work’ and her leadership
Sandia Laboratories physicist Susan Seestrom named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Physicist Susan Seestrom of Sandia National Laboratories has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, only the fourth currently active scientist at the labs to be elected by her peers.
The associate laboratories director for advanced science and technology and chief research officer was cited “for her pathbreaking work in nuclear physics, especially using ultracold neutrons, and her leadership, both in her (physics) community and at national laboratories,” according to a news release.
Her research into ultracold neutrons, considered important to basic science, was cited as a key accomplishment.
“We were able to create the world’s most intense source of ultracold neutrons using frozen deuterium,” Seestrom said in a statement. “A number of important experiments followed, concluding for me with a high-precision measurement of the neutron lifetime.”
Her lifetime research was begun under Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program and later supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Science Foundation. It was published in the journal “Science” in 2018.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science said, in a letter, she was given the honor because of “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”
The association will hold a virtual induction ceremony on Feb. 13. The honorees will receive a certificate, and a gold and blue rosette pin (representing science and engineering, respectively) to commemorate their election, according to the release.