MRS Bulletin has named Ognjen Ilic, University of Minnesota, as the 2019 recipient of the MRS Bulletin Postdoctoral Publication Prize. This award recognizes postdoctoral researchers for their intellectual merit, the impact of their research and scholarship, and their interest in science writing and communication. Ilic was selected from numerous well-qualified applicants and nominations for “his outstanding academic achievements, high quality of scientific publications, demonstrated passion for science communication, science outreach efforts to the general public, and clear potential to become a leader in the field of materials research.”  According to Gopal Rao, Editor of MRS Bulletin, “MRS Bulletin is proud to have Ognjen Ilic as the 2019 recipient of the postdoctoral prize.”  

The award will be presented at the 2019 MRS Fall Meeting and consists of a $2000 cash award, a profile published in MRS Bulletin, a complimentary one-year membership in the Materials Research Society (MRS), and an invitation to publish in MRS Bulletin.

Ilic worked as a postdoctoral research associate from 2016–2019 in the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology. He was recently appointed to the position of assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Ilic earned his PhD degree in physics in 2015 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the Whiteman Fellow, Herchel Smith Research Fellow, and the Harvard College Research Program Fellow. His research interests include nanophotonics, heat transfer and radiative energy harvesting, opto-mechanics, electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurfaces, thermo-optics, and light-matter interactions in nanoscale devices and materials.

MRS Bulletin acknowledges the Jiang Family Foundation for its generous contribution to support this Prize.