McCormick Prof. James Rondinelli received the Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Materials Research Society for his work in materials science and engineering, according to a University news release.

The award is given to young scientists or engineers in materials research who produce outstanding, interdisciplinary scientific work and show exceptional promise as a developing leader in the materials area. Award recipients receive a $5,000 cash prize, a presentation trophy and a certificate, according to Materials Research Society’s website. Rondinelli officially accepted the award April 17 at the 2017 MRS Spring Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and gave a speech titled “Discovering New Tricks in Older Complex Oxides,” according to the news release.

Rondinelli has made significant contributions in computational condensed matter physics and novel materials design approaches, the release said. The mission of Materials Theory and Design Group, a lab he leads, is “to identify and exploit structure-property relationships for the rational design of multifunctional inorganic materials,” according to the lab’s website.

In the lab, Rondinelli manipulates materials at their fundamental electronic level, pushing electrons to do new things in materials and to realize new functionalities by designing materials atom by atom, according to the news release.

Rondinelli’s other notable awards since his arrival at Northwestern in 2014 include the 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, according to the release.

Rondinelli is the fourth NU professor to have received the Outstanding Young Investigator Award. McCormick Profs. Mark C. Hersam, Teri Odom and Chad Mirkin won the award in 2010, 2009 and 1999, respectively.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ck_525