Northwestern Prof. Monica Olvera de la Cruz has been accepted by the United States Department of Defense as one of 11 fellows in its National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship program.

Olvera de la Cruz joined NU’s faculty in 1986 and is currently a Lawyer Taylor Professor in Materials Science and Engineering and director of the Materials Research Center. The 11 fellows were selected from 670 applicants.

“I was thrilled when I was a semifinalist,” Olvera de la Cruz said. “I know that the people who applied were extremely qualified, and I was very flattered that they liked my proposal.”

William Kung, research associate of the materials science and engineering department, said her research could be useful in drug delivery applications and new materials used by the Department of Defense to protect U.S. soldiers against biological weapons.

The program began in 2008 and accepted only six applicants in its first year, including NU Prof. Chad Mirkin. As part of this year’s fellowship program, the Department of Defense will provide Olvera de la Cruz with a $850,000 annual budget for the next five years.

“It brings national notoriety to Northwestern,” said Peter Voorhees, a materials science and engineering professor. “It is a confirmation that we are doing tremendous work here, and we have a very good faculty. Anything that puts our faculty in good light like this is very welcoming.”

As of 2009, U.S. News and World Report ranked NU as the second-best graduate school for materials science and engineering.

“It just demonstrates the excellence of the material science department,” Kung said. “It’s an honor to be part of it.”

– Vasiliki Mitrakos