AIP State Department Science Fellows

Mark Feuer DiTusa received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago, where he studied the properties of plastic semiconductors to improve their electronic performance. Mark recently was a Christine Mirzayan fellow working for the Gulf Research Program's Board on Gulf Education and Engagement, and is Chemistry & Engineering News's producer for their podcast Stereo Chemistry. He hopes to put his experience in and passion for science communication and community engagement to work improving climate outcomes and improving climate resiliency around the world.

Christopher Jackson received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, where he researched the development of nanomaterial tools for genetic engineering in plants. At UC Berkeley, Chris served as the president of the Science Policy Group at Berkeley and co-president of the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative. He has also recently served as the Workshops Director for Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally, an editor for the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, and the Western Hub Chair of the National Science Policy Network.

Holly Mayton received her Ph.D. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering with a Designated Emphasis in Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside, where she researched the fate of waterborne pathogens in agricultural environments. While at UCR, Holly founded the Science to Policy program, contributed to several California state advisory committees, and worked for the California Council on Science and Technology. Broadly, Holly is passionate about connecting food and water science to policy and advocacy outcomes.

Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Allie completed her B.S. in civil engineering at Cal Poly SLO and her M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering/civil systems at the University of Colorado Boulder. She also completed the Engineering in Developing Communities certificate from the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering. For her doctoral research, she studied the causes of success and failure of small sanitation systems in India, which further shaped her longstanding interests in infrastructure in resource-limited contexts and in foreign policy.

Alice Alpert received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography in 2016, where she studied climate variability using environmental archives of past ocean temperatures. During her graduate studies Alice took a leadership role in developing opportunities for students to improve science communication skills in a range of media. Her policy interests include climate change and water, energy, and food security.

Christopher Cahill’s education includes a BS in Geochemistry from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia (1993) and a PhD in Chemistry from SUNY-Stony Brook (1999). He joined the faculty of GW in 2000 after a post-doctoral position in the Environmental Mineralogy group at the University of Notre Dame.

Since defending his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 2007 as a Department of Energy CSGF fellow, Matthew has worked in four different countries, including two years of Peace Corps service at a public university in central Africa and two years as an NSF international postdoctoral fellow.  He is currently working just outside of Paris, France on a large project to incorporate forest management at the European scale into climatic simulations. 

PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Colorado in 2011, came to the fellowship after studying air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Borgardt has been a professor of physics at Juniata College since 1998, he has served as SPS chapter adviser since 1999. While at Juniata, Borgardt initiated a collaboration with scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratories researching the capabilities of large-area radiation detectors which have since been deployed at US border crossings in an effort to interdict the illicit transport of nuclear material.

Condensed-matter physics graduate of the University of Chicago. Prior to her fellowship, Case served for three years as a program officer at the National Research Council, where she directed studies on the role of nuclear energy in the US future energy mix and worked with the Department of Energy on assessing proliferation risks in nuclear fuel cycles.

Matthew Sharp is a PhD physicist from the University of Chicago trained in the use of technology and quantitative analysis to unravel the secrets of the largest and smallest structures in the universe, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, focusing on the role that technology can play in verifying compliance with a disarmament treaty.

Recent Ph.D. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the University of Tennessee.

Lubna Rana received her PhD in particle physics from the University of Maryland, where she also worked as a visiting scientist, studying supersymmetry and supergravity.

Professor emeritus, Physics Department, University of Florida.

Recent Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and Associate Director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute

Head of Development, Technology and Innovation at the Space Telescope Science Institute

Professor of physics/engineering physics at Stevens Institute of Technology

Project Engineer, the Aerospace Corporation

Division Head, Engineering and Software Services at the Space Telescope Science Institute

Professor of Chemistry and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona.

President of Research Applied, Inc.