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UI selects experimental physicist to lead Beckman Institute | University-illinois

URBANA — An experimental physicist who joined the University of Illinois in 2005 has been chosen to lead the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Nadya Mason, the UI’s Rosalyn Sussman Yalow Professor of Physics, will become the institute’s director on Sept. 1 upon approval from the board of trustees.

“Dr. Mason is one of our university’s most accomplished faculty members, and I know her creativity and curiosity will propel Beckman in exciting new directions,” said Susan Martinis, UI vice chancellor for research and innovation. “The institute is such a storied part of our research enterprise, and I am delighted that Beckman’s bright future will be in Nadya’s capable and visionary hands.”

Mason completed her bachelor’s degree at Harvard in 1995 and obtained her Ph.D. from Stanford in 2001. Her research at the UI focuses on the electronic behavior of extremely small materials, such as graphene, a sheet of carbon just one atom thick.

She’s authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and mentored 32 graduate students in her career. Mason is the founding director of the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, funded by the National Science Foundation.

“Beckman is intrinsically interdisciplinary, and I hope to further strengthen the relationships, collaborations and environment that lead to key, out-of-the-box discoveries and innovations,” Mason said in a statement. “I am excited about the opportunity to further Beckman’s mission of making a better world, both locally and globally.”

Mason succeeds five-year director Jeff Moore, professor of chemistry.

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