By Kira Taniguchi

Pay it forward. On Jan. 13, 2010, President Obama did just that at a White House ceremony when he made an investment in the early careers of 100 scholars who touch the lives of young students, who will hopefully pay it forward to the next generation.

While most settled into their daily routines after the holidays, four professors from The University of Texas found themselves in the East Room of the White House eagerly anticipating President Obama’s arrival. In front of family and friends in an auditorium in the Department of Commerce, the 100 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers accepted their awards. The winners were then whisked away to the East Room, where the President posed for pictures and spoke to the awardees. Among the winners were UT assistant and associate professors Seth Bank, Gregory Fiete, Chris Bielawski and Xiaoqin Li.

Xiaoqin Li and Gregory Fiete

An official statement on the White House blog describes the award: “Researchers whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for strengthening America’s leadership in science and technology and contributing to the awarding agencies’ missions.”

Coordinated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government upon scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers, according to the same blog. The award recipients are selected on the basis of their pursuit of innovative research and a commitment to community service. 

In July, the four recipients from UT were notified about the award. They each received a letter personally signed by President Obama accompanied by an award document. They received their awards from the Department of Defense and received up to a five-year grant to continue their research.

Gregory Fiete

Picture this: There are two dancers on a dance floor, and suddenly the music changes, causing the dance to switch. The dancers represent electrons and the music represents the different types of external conditions present. Fiete’s research centers on understanding which types of dances are possible and how they relate to different types of music. Fiete is focused on the dance.

He won the monetary award for his research on condensed matter physics, and he is most concerned with the properties of electrons in solid materials.

In July, Fiete, an assistant professor in the department of physics, was notified in an email that he was an award recipient. It was Fiete’s high school teacher who first sparked his interest in physics during his junior year of high school. He contends he did not know much about physics until he took the class. There, Fiete discovered he had a knack for physics and excelled in his high school class.

“It gave me an understanding of how things work and why and how I see certain things around me,” Fiete said. “It really clicked with me and I wanted to learn more and more.”

This spring marks Fiete’s fourth semester with UT. And while he is excited to receive the award, he cites the more intangible chance to meet the President of the United States as one of the highlights of the entire experience. While he delves into his research, Fiete will continue to educate and inspire students at the undergraduate and high school levels.

“There is a large percentage of the American population that doesn’t appreciate science — it’s a threat to national security and economic stability,” Fiete said. “I try to increase awareness of how science impacts what we do in everyday life.”

Looking forward, Fiete said he is excited about his future research endeavors. “I feel humbled,” he said. “I was very fortunate to receive that award because there are a number of very good scientists around.”

Seth Bank

Award recipient Seth Bank, assistant professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, grew up in Urbana, Ill. As fate would have it, he lived across the street from Nick Holonyak, “father of the light-emitting diode,” commonly known today as the LED. Holonyak took Bank under his wing, and to his research lab. Bank remembered walking into the lab where measurements were taken — it was completely dark except for a green glow and he was hooked. 

Fifteen years later, Bank is doing the exact same work as his mentor. He arrived at UT in 2007, and has since worked on broadening a program to help promote undergraduate research opportunities. He is also working with other nearby schools to provide students with undergraduate research opportunities.

Bank recalled a portion of Obama’s speech to the award recipients: “Our future competitiveness is going to come from future advances in science and technology. Those by necessity will come from the young scientists now.”

This semester, Bank is teaching a graduate level class on semiconductor optoelectronic devices, which includes solar cells for the renewable energy generation, lasers and photo detectors.

Bank said he was honored for his study of metallic nanoparticles embedded in a semiconductor that could be used to monitor environments for chemicals and gases.

“For example, the Army could equip soldiers with very sensitive sensors to detect the deployment of chemical weapons or explosive materials from an improvised explosive device,” Bank said.

From Holonyak’s lab in Urbana to his lab at UT, Bank is excited at the prospect of the future.

“I’m humbled to win it [the award], but it really provides me with the opportunity to do the groundbreaking science and engineering that I want to do — that I came to UT to do.”

Chris Bielawski

Associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry Chris Bielawski also won the prestigious award. Although he typically teaches polymer and organic chemistry, Bielawski will be traveling,  giving talks and catching up on his papers this semester.

Bielawski said the ceremony and Obama’s sincere speech has stuck with him since he received the award. “It just seemed like he [Obama] is genuinely interested and genuinely wants the U.S. to be a leader in science and technology, and he believes that comes from education,” Bielawski said. “It seemed like he just came out and he felt like he should give a speech and it was fantastic, and it felt like it was from his heart.”

Before Bielawski arrived at UT in 2004, courses on polymer chemistry were nonexistent. Because applications of polymer chemistry are used in the real world, Bielawski saw the void and began a class on the topic. Since its inception, the class has grown from 20 students to 120. He will use his grant money to purchase equipment and supplies to continue his research.

Bielawski’s research focuses on the development of high performance plastics and other polymeric materials. He created a catalyst that will facilitate the synthesis of polymers that feature the same level of sophistication and potential utility as DNA, proteins and other natural polymers found in biological systems.

“Really it’s an effort to take those catalysts and take it even further, refine it, make it work better and apply it broadly,” Bielawski said. “If we work hard, it could be commercialized.”

Prior to Bielawski’s findings, which contributed to the award, the ability to make such advanced materials in the lab was challenging, if not impossible.

“The opportunity to meet President Obama was one of the highlights of my life,” Bielawski said. “He is so inspirational and that inspiration rubbed off onto me, and reinvigorated me even more to go out and do my part.”

Xiaoqin Li

Xiaoqin Li, assistant professor in the department of physics, also received the award. She said Obama spoke to the group for five to ten minutes, during which time he talked about the importance of technology and education for the future of the nation. Following his speech, Li said she and the other recipients posed with Obama for a photo.

Ever since she was in graduate school at the University of Michigan, Li’s research has focused on the interaction of light and matter on the nano scale. Using ultrashort laser pulses, Li and her research group study electron dynamics. Li’s research has the potential to impact communication and electronic technology.

This semester, Li is teaching a course called “Science for the 21st Century,” which is a modified course designed to prepare elementary teachers of science and includes a graduate seminar in ultrafast science.

Li will receive her grant over a period of five years. She said she will continue to follow the research path of light and matter interaction on the nano scale by using optics and short pulses to study nano materials. Since most research funding is only two years in duration, the five-year grant allows her to focus on both research and teaching.

“Certainly it’s an exciting honor and the chance to meet the president is exciting,” Li said. “In terms of awards, it provides long-term support.”

And while some might argue that these four scholars have already reached the pinnacle of their careers, Bank, Fiete, Bielawski and Li — freshly renewed with Obama’s inspiration — are ready to pay it forward by cultivating the young minds of the next generation of students.