UCR’s Samuel Britton is one of only 70 graduate students nationwide selected to conduct thesis research at a U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, Laboratory.

Britton, a mathematics doctoral student, will head to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state to work in the area of computational biology and bioinformatics.

The DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program provides funds for doctoral students in the physical sciences to conduct thesis research for up to a year at a host DOE laboratory and in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist.

“These graduate student awards prepare young scientists for STEM careers critically important to the DOE mission,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.

“We are proud of the accomplishments these outstanding awardees have already made and look forward to following their achievements in years to come. They represent the future leadership and innovation that will allow American science and engineering to excel in the 21st century,” he said.

Graduate students currently pursuing doctoral degrees in areas of physics, chemistry, material sciences, biology (non-medical), mathematics, engineering, computer or computational sciences, or specific areas of environmental sciences that are aligned with the mission of the Office of Science are eligible to apply for the research awards provided by the program.

The research projects are expected to advance the graduate awardees’ overall doctoral work while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories.

Awardees were selected from a diverse pool of university-based graduate applicants. Selection was based on merit peer review by outside scientific experts.

A list of the 70 awardees and more information on the program can be found here.