David Weld, an assistant professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara, has been awarded a prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor the nation can bestow on a scientist or engineer at the beginning of his or her career.

Fiber optics has made communication faster than ever, but the next step involves a quantum leap – literally. In order to improve the security of the transfer of information, scientists are working on how to translate electrical quantum states to optical quantum states in a way that would enable ultrafast, quantum-encrypted communications.

Baxter International Inc. is a global diversified healthcare company that applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology to advance patient care worldwide. To further promote innovative research, Baxter sponsors an annual award program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Baxter’s Young Investigator Awards are intended to stimulate and reward research applicable to the development of therapies and medical products that save and sustain patients’ lives.