Elaheh Ahmadi and Mitchell Spearrin Receive Presidential Early Career Award
UCLA Samueli
Elaheh Ahmadi (left) and Mitchell Spearrin (right)
Two faculty members from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering — Elaheh Ahmadi and Mitchell Spearrin — are among nearly 400 outstanding researchers from across the country who received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Announced by President Biden Jan. 14, the award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers early in their careers. Awardees demonstrated exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers, focusing on innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology.
Elaheh Ahmadi, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, leads research that explores the fabrication and characterization of semiconductor materials and microelectromechanical devices. Her research group aims to improve energy efficiency across a range of technologies, from wireless communications to autonomous vehicles.
Nominated for the honor by the Office of Naval Research, Ahmadi develops high-power, high-frequency gallium nitride-based transistors that can be used in the next generation of radio frequency technologies. Her work could improve the resiliency and effectiveness of communications technology.
Among the many other honors Ahmadi has received are a pair of young investigator awards from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, as well as a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award and a Young Scientist Award from the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors.
Before joining UCLA, Ahmadi was an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering and applied physics at the University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara, where she also worked as a postdoctoral scholar.
Mitchell Spearrin, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, leads research on spectroscopy and molecular gas dynamics. His research group develops novel laser-based sensors to study chemically reacting fluid systems, including propulsion and hypersonic flows, as well as sustainable materials synthesis and wildfires.
NASA nominated Spearrin for the presidential award to recognize his work on multiple breakthroughs in innovative instrumentation systems for extreme environments and a commitment to designing and promoting STEM education. Spearrin’s research in high-temperature gas dynamics has applications in advanced rocket propulsion and planetary entry systems for spacecraft.
Spearrin has also earned the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, in addition to young investigator awards from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and NASA. Prior to joining UCLA in 2016, Spearrin was a research scientist focused on molecular spectroscopy and mechanical engineering at Stanford University. He also received his Ph.D. from Stanford while working in its High Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory. Prior to his academic career, Spearrin was a combustion devices development engineer with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Established in 1996 under President Clinton, PECASE has, with the latest cohort, recognized 12 current and retired UCLA Samueli faculty, including Dino Di Carlo of bioengineering; Yunfeng Lu (emeritus) and Yi Tang of chemical and biomolecular engineering; Jennifer Jay of civil and environmental engineering; Mona Jarrahi, Aydogan Ozcan and Benjamin Williams of electrical and computer engineering; Yu Huang of materials science and engineering; and Jonathan Hopkins and Anya Jones of mechanical and aerospace engineering.