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AWARDS

2019 PECASE - Varun Verma

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.

Established in 1996, the PECASE acknowledges the contributions scientists and engineers have made to the advancement of science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) education and to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, and community outreach.

Winner's Name

Varun Verma

Awarded

July 2, 2019

Awarding Organization

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

For pushing the frontiers of quantum physics through pioneering new devices that detect and count single particles of light, and for serving the community through professional leadership, mentoring students, and assisting disabled skiers through the Ignite Adaptive Sports program.

Dr. Varun Verma is recognized for opening new avenues of scientific inquiry in quantum optics, quantum information, and physical chemistry by pioneering entirely new classes of devices that can detect and count single photons of light in a wide range of wavelengths with high-efficiency. In 2015, his detectors were pivotal in a break-through Loophole-free Bell Test experiment, permanently resolving the argument, unresolved since the 1930s, between Einstein and Bohr about the nature of the quantum world. For the last 50 years, groups around the world had tried but failed to achieve this result, which was recognized as one of the top 10 science stories of 2015 by Science News and other media outlets. According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Karl Berggren, “With his first experiment, Varun changed things forever in the field.” Dr. Verma already has over 90 publications, his work has been cited over 1,000 times, and he is a co-inventor of three patents.

Physics