Congratulations to Dr. Angel Martinez (Fall '14) for earning the prestigious Glenn H. Brown Prize from the International Liquid Crystal Society (ILCS). The prize was announced during the ILCS conference in early August 2016. The Glenn H. Brown Prize awards doctoral students whose PhD theses, "demonstrate an outstanding contribution to the science of liquid crystals."
According to their site, Martinez earned his award, "for his outstanding research contribution to enriching the toolbox for structural manipulation of soft matter based on the optical effect and its application to liquid crystal colloids and polymeric systems. His research pioneered a new trend in the artificial control of microscopic topological structures in liquid crystals that opens a novel avenue for self-assembly in soft matter with a wide range of future applications."
"Being his PhD advisor and watching him grow as a scientist were some of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences in my own career at the University of Colorado Boulder," CU Physics Professor Ivan Smalyukh said. "Angel highly deserves the recognition by the Glenn H. Brown Prize because of his unprecedented creativity and productivity, which make him perhaps the brightest superstar among the young researchers in the field of liquid crystals."
Dr. Martinez is now a Postdoctoral researcher with the University of Pennsylvania, where he continues to work on softmatter physics, liquid crystals and colloids.
"I am proud of helping Angel with initiating and helping to grow his interest and expertise in the experimental liquid crystal research," Professor Smalyukh said. "Dr. Martinez is now not just a talented young experimentalist but truly an experimental magician/wizard."