Townsend Is Outstanding Young Scientist Award Winner
Troy Townsend, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and materials science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was recently honored as an Outstanding Young Scientist by the Maryland Academy of Sciences and the Maryland Science Center. Dr. Townsend is a board member of The Patuxent Partnership.
He is the founder of SMCM’s Material Science Program. Dr. Townsend pursues the development of low-cost renewable solar energy technology through ink-jet printing of robust inorganic photovoltaics. Through discovery of a novel bathless metal-composite electroplating technique, he is producing glowing hand tools for the US Navy with the goal of improving mission readiness, according to a Maryland Science Center news release.
Learn more about Dr. Townsend by watching the center’s YouTube channel.
The other winner of the 2022 Outstanding Young Scientist award was Elizabeth Strychalski, Ph.D., a physicist and synthetic biologist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The Outstanding Young Scientist awards are bestowed on scientists and engineers who are 35 or younger working in academia and 40 or younger working in other sectors.
The OYS award was established in 1959. Award recipients are chosen by members of the Maryland Academy of Sciences’ Scientific Advisory Council.
“We believe informal science education forms a foundation for lifelong learning and curiosity,” said Mark J. Potter, president and CEO of the Maryland Science Center. “These honorees show that foundation leads to discovery and achievements that benefit us all. By recognizing their work, we want to show the public, especially Maryland’s schoolchildren, that these role models are in their communities, working to make the world a better, safer place.”
“Maryland and its institutions continue to attract and cultivate some of the world’s leading scientists and engineers,” said Dr. Terry Teays, chair of the Scientific Council. “We can’t take that for granted. These awards should remind our winners — and all STEM professionals and students in the state — that their work is valued. There is a thriving community of science supporters and advocates cheering them on.”
The awards were presented at a ceremony May 11 at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
About The Patuxent Partnership
The Patuxent Partnership is a nonprofit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives.
To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.
