Physics' Coppersmith selected for DOD fellowship program

July 21st 2014 Simon Kuran
Awards, Natural & Physical Sciences
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Coppersmith Coppersmith

Sue Coppersmith, Robert E. Fassnacht and Vilas Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been selected as one of 10 participants in the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellows (NSSEFF) program.

The program is the longest and largest single principal investigator basic research grant funded within the Department of Defense (DOD).

"NSSEFF grants are highly competitive, attracting the next generation of outstanding scientists and engineers to some of our most challenging scientific issues and opportunities," said Robin Staffin, director for basic research. "The program provides grants to top-tier researchers from U.S. universities to conduct long-term, unclassified, basic research of strategic importance to the Department of Defense."

Up to $3 million of research support will be granted to each fellow for up to five years, enabling transformative research. The fellows conduct basic research in core science and engineering disciplines that underpin future DOD technology development.

This year's topics included quantum information science, synthetic biology, neuroscience, nanoscience, and advanced engineered materials. Coppersmith, who will focus on quantum information science, joined the UW-Madison Department of Physics in 2001.

In addition to conducting this unclassified research, the NSSEFF program includes opportunities for fellows to participate in the DOD research enterprise and share their knowledge and insight with DOD military and civilian leaders, researchers in DOD laboratories, and the national security science and engineering community.