CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Carlos Pantano, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois, is among 58 young researchers named as recipients of the 2006 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.
Pantano will receive his award today (Thursday) in a White House ceremony presided over by John H. Marburger III, science adviser to the president and the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Pantano received his award for innovative development of computational turbulence models and advanced simulations of turbulent flows, contributions to the theory of laminar flames, and the statistical modeling of flame-hole dynamics.
Pantano received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sevilla in Spain and a master's in applied mathematics from the Ecole Centrale Paris in France, both in 1995, another master's in mechanical engineering in 1998, and his doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering in 2000, both from the University of California at San Diego. He joined the Illinois faculty in 2006.
The young scientists and engineers receive up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical government missions. The federal agencies involved include the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.