Four Lab postdocs selected to attend the 72nd annual Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting

Four Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) postdoctoral appointees have been selected to attend the 72nd annual Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in Germany this summer thanks to the University of California President’s 2023 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Fellows Program. The four selected to attend are Wonjin Choi, Sean Leonard, Sijia Huang and Sarah Sandholtz.

The Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting is an international scientific forum that provides an opportunity for about 600 students and postdocs from around the world to meet with 30 to 40 Nobel laureates. The meeting will foster an exchange among scientists of different generations, cultures and disciplines.

The four postdocs’ interests span a wide range of areas from computational chemistry and biology to spectroscopy to additive manufacturing to synthetic biology.

Choi has worked at LLNL as a Lawrence fellow in the Material Science Division since 2022. He is interested in chiral materials and their interactions with light. He is working on terahertz spectroscopy to measure phonons in molecules. He’s looking forward to expanding his network at the meeting.

“I am humbled to have been selected for this meeting, which can have a direct connection with many scientists around the world,” he said. “I would like to use this opportunity to expand my network and horizon in biomedicals. I am looking forward to the valuable discussions and networking opportunities that this meeting will provide.”

Huang has worked at LLNL as a Lawrence fellow in the Material Engineering Division for 1 ½ years. She is developing advanced photo-curable materials for additive manufacturing. She said the experience will have a long-lasting effect on her career.

“I am honored to be selected as the 2023 University of California President’s Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings fellow,” she said. “The Lindau meeting is an invaluable opportunity for me to learn from young scientists and Nobel laureates with multidisciplinary backgrounds. I am sure that the knowledge and insights gained from this experience will have a long-lasting impact on my future career.”

Leonard has worked at LLNL since 2021 as a postdoctoral scientist in the Systems and Synthetic Biology Group in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. He works at the intersection of synthetic biology and evolution, where he designs and tests new biological systems for human benefit. His current focus is “biocontainment” — how we can ensure these engineered biological systems perform safely and predictably.

“I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to attend the Lindau conference,” Leonard said. “One of the best parts of science is getting to travel and meet new, diverse scientists with new, diverse ideas.”

Sandholtz has worked at LLNL as a postdoctoral researcher in the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division for 2 ½ years doing computational chemistry and biology. She’s looking forward to connecting with scientists worldwide.

“I am excited for the opportunity to connect with and learn from people from around the world and to hear about the impressive science that the Nobel Laureates and other young scientists are performing,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful to LLNL and the UCOP for making my participation possible and to my mentors at every step of my education and career journey who have invested in me and helped me reach this point.”