The CNST Welcomes Three New Staff Members

Robert Celotta, Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), welcomed three new research staff members in May 2009.

Rachel Cannara joined the Electron Physics Group as a new Project Leader. Rachel received a B.S. in Physics with Highest Honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where her scholarship was recognized with numerous awards. She then received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received the Hirschfelder Award for academic achievement and studied the tribological properties of single crystal diamond. Rachel joins the CNST staff following two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory. Her research in the CNST will focus on the measurement and control of the mechanisms that govern nanoscale frictional energy dissipation, and the use of these discoveries to enable the design and operation of future nanomanufacturing systems.

Gregg Gallatin joined the Nanofabrication Research Group as a new Project Leader. Greg received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from Penn State. After earning his Ph.D., he spent several years working in academia and then transitioned to industry, where he did research at Perkin-Elmer, SVG Lithography, Bell Labs, and IBM. While working in industry, Gregg specialized in analysis, modeling and design of the systems, subsystems, and processes associated with the lithographic fabrication of semiconductor devices. He holds 12 U.S. patents and has over 60 publications. Gregg's research in the CNST will focus on the modeling and analysis of the physics of self-assembly.

Fred Sharifi joined the recently created Energy Research Group as a new Project Leader. Fred received his B. S. in Physics (magna cum laude) and Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Illinois. He then performed postdoctoral research at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, and at the University of California San Diego. In 1993, he joined the faculty at the University of Florida, where he was awarded an Alfred Sloan Foundation Fellowship. Fred later joined the staff at TRW and for the past five years was a Principal Scientist at GE Global Research in the Advanced Technology Program. He has approximately 40 journal publications. Fred will help establish the CNST's research program measuring nanoscale energy processes in thermoelectric and photovoltaic materials and systems.