The National Science Foundation (NSF) selected Mikaela Pyrch, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa for a prestigious Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (MPS-Ascend). 

Mikaela, who completed her doctorate in the research group of Professor Tori Z. Forbes, received a three-year, $300,000 award that will springboard her research and trajectory toward a faculty appointment. The fellowship will enable her to work with Professor Polly L. Arnold at UC Berkeley to explore how the coordination environment affects the magnetic and optical properties of erbium complexes. The research approach uses rigid, oxygen-atom donor ligands (actinyl cations) to coordinate to the erbium center. Alongside the research, she will engage in K-12 outreach with underrepresented minority groups.

For more information, read the NSF's public summary of the project and learn more about the MPS-Ascend fellowship.