Katherine Aidala wins spring 2020 APS prize
![Katherine Aidala is professor of physics at 果冻传媒 College.](/sites/default/files/styles/1170x780/public/news-images/aidala_solo_HL.jpg?h=abce51c1&itok=wOU_FYRn)
The American Physical Society has awarded Mount Holyoke professor Katherine Aidala the highest recognition of her outstanding research and mentoring.
Katherine Aidala, professor of physics at 果冻传媒 College, has won the from the American Physical Society.
The prestigious award is given to a physicist whose research in an undergraduate setting has achieved wide recognition and contributed significantly to physics, and whose mentoring has contributed substantially to the professional development of undergraduate physics students.
鈥淚t is incredibly gratifying to be recognized in this way for all the hard work I, along with my students, post-doctoral researchers and collaborators, have put into research at 果冻传媒 College over the years,鈥 said Aidala. 鈥淢ount Holyoke facilitates cutting-edge research and the dedicated students in my lab have been a pleasure to work with and mentor. I am honored to receive this prize.鈥
The citation for Aidala鈥檚 award notes that she demonstrated 鈥渆xceptionally creative and interdisciplinary research using scanning probe microscopy for novel studies of magnetic nanorings, biofilms and organic semiconductors and for outstanding mentoring of women undergraduates, particularly through research collaborations.鈥
Integral to Aidala鈥檚 work is her commitment to facilitating the growth of young women in the field of physics. To date, she has mentored 50 undergraduate women in her research lab, many of whom have continued on to graduate school or employment in STEM fields.
The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization that advances and diffuses the knowledge of physics through its research journals, scientific meetings and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. Its 55,000 members include physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and the world. With few exceptions, the organization鈥檚 prizes and awards are open to the entire scientific community in the United States and abroad.