Four UNC researchers win Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Last month, former President Joe Biden awarded nearly 400 researchers the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Among the awardees were four UNC researchers: Dr. Kavita Arora, Diego Riveros-Iregui, Mohit Bansal and Frank Leibfarth. 

The award is given annually and was first created by former President Bill Clinton in 1996 to recognize outstanding leadership in early research careers and far-reaching developments in science and technology. It is the highest honor the U.S. government gives scientists and engineers early in their careers. 

The awardees either work for, or are funded by, one of 14 participating agencies that reside in different government departments, such as the Department of Agriculture, and are nominated by the respective agencies for the award. 

Arora is the director of the general obstetrics, gynecology and midwifery division at UNC School of Medicine. In an email to The Daily Tar Heel, she said her research involved mixed methods of analysis of the Medicaid sterilization policy. 

Arora wrote that she uses quantitative, qualitative, bioethical and community-engaged methods to conduct her research. 

Riveros-Iregui, a Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Professor of Geography and hydrologist, said that he and his lab, called Carbonshed Lab at Carolina, study climate change in mountainous regions. They also train students in ecology and hydrology techniques to help them gain hands-on experience.

“I’m deeply honored by this award and by this recognition in general," Riveros-Iregui said. "But it’s not just a recognition for me. It is recognition for all the students and colleagues with whom I’ve had the privilege to work with right now and over the years."

Penelope Brocco, undergraduate student and lab manager for Carbonshed Lab, said in an email to The DTH that working with Riveros-Iregui has been a “fantastic experience.” She commented on his deep passion for his research, infectious enthusiasm and genuine care for students and colleagues. 

Bansal, a John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in the computer science department said in an email to The DTH that he and his research team cover many important areas in artificial intelligence including developing multimodal models, reasoning, interpretability and efficiency. 

Bansal and his team have helped advance UNC domains such as disability assistance, severely endangered language revitalization, student feedback summarization and disease prediction, among other things. 

Bansal's colleagues at the Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Group — assistant professor of computer science Gedas Bertasius and Associate Department Chair of Computer Science Snigdha Chaturvedi — described Bansal in emails to The DTH as an energetic, enthusiastic person. They wrote that they are not surprised he received this award for his accomplishments. 

Leibfarth, a Royce Murray Distinguished Term Professor of Chemistry in the chemistry department, said that his research involves chemically modifying consumer plastic waste, or trash, to make them into more valuable materials. He also researches water purification, with a focus on removing forever chemicals from water. 

Leibfarth said that while he has a passion for plastics and his research, he enjoys being a professor because he gets to educate students, work with them for a short time and then watch them build careers to the point where they can make an impact. 

“That’s the wonderful thing about being in this position as a professor,” Leibfarth said. 

@dailytarheel | university@dailytarheel.com