Three Lab postdocs selected to attend the 71st annual Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting

Three Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) postdoctoral appointees have been selected to attend the 71st annual Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in Germany this summer thanks to the University of California President’s 2022 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Fellows Program. The three selected to attend are Magi Mettry, Johanna Schwartz and Dane Sterbentz.

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.

“Participation in the Lindau Nobel Laureate meetings is a great honor and a tremendous opportunity for these three Lab postdocs,” said Susan Carroll, LLNL postdoc director who oversaw the Lab’s Lindau nomination process. “The participants will be able to meet Nobel laureates and network with scientists from throughout the world.”

The three LLNL postdocs’ interests span a wide range of areas. Mettry’s research includes organic and polymer synthesis, photoresists and lithography and material development and characterization. Schwartz develops and adapts photopolymerization chemistries for light-based additive-manufacturing methods. Sterbentz’s research area focuses on how phase transitions happen when a liquid, such as water, is dynamically compressed, with pressure ramped up steadily or applied via multiple shocks.

Mettry, a supramolecular chemist by training and a polymer/material chemist at LLNL, said it will be great to meet young scientists from all over the world during the meeting.

“This is such an honor for any scientist, and I feel fortunate to be selected to attend this year’s Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting,” Mettry said. “This year is particularly special to me since Professor David MacMillan, who will receive this year’s Nobel Prize in organic chemistry, has always been a role model. I remember meeting him in national conferences and using a few of his well-known catalysis methods in my research throughout my career.”

Schwartz, who works in the LLNL Materials for Energy and Climate Security group, said she is incredibly thankful for the opportunity to attend the meeting.

“This honor means a lot to me, and I am incredibly excited to attend this meeting,” Schwartz said. “What I am most excited for is the chance to become part of an international community of young scientists and expand my knowledge base. Great minds do not always think alike, and I think interacting in this global community will broaden my perspective on how to approach science and tackle current societal challenges. I hope to create longstanding collaborations that enhance my research and my personal experiences for years to come.”

Sterbentz, a postdoctoral researcher in the LLNL Design Physics group, said he is very grateful to LLNL and the University of California for nominating him to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting.

“This really is an exceptional opportunity to meet with some of the greatest minds in the field — the Nobel laureates of chemistry — while building new connections and collaborations with researchers from around the world,” Sterbentz said. “The Lindau meeting could significantly expand the horizons of my research by fostering the exchange of innovative ideas and collaborations, potentially helping lead to groundbreaking new discoveries in the spirit envisioned by the meeting’s founders.”