At a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Monday, June 13, two scientists connected to the University, William Ashmanskas and Frank Brown, won the highly prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which governmental agencies such as the National Science Foundation confer upon young scientists and engineers embarking on independent research careers. This year, 58 researchers across the country received the award, which comprises a citation, a plaque, and funding for the winner’s research for five years. The award dates back to 1996, when President Clinton charged the National Science and Technology Council with creating a program that would honor and economically support researchers at the beginning of their careers.

Ashmanskas, a former fellow of the University’s Enrico Fermi Institute, works at the Department of Energy’s Fermilab, focusing on accelerator research through his study of the Fermilab’s Antriproton Source. Brown, a Yen Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute for Biophysical Dynamics in 2001, currently serves as an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara in its chemistry and biochemistry department. He is the first scientist at UC Santa Barbara to win a PECASE