Dr. Surya Pratap Deopa
JILA is proud to announce that Dr. Surya Pratap Deopa, Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of JILA Fellow and MCDB Professor Tom Perkins, has been honored with the 2025 BioFrontiers Outstanding Contribution Award. This prestigious recognition celebrates Dr. Deopa’s impactful research contributions within the BioFrontiers community.
Dr. Deopa was recognized for his innovative technical advances that revitalized a previously stalled research project, significantly enhancing both the data quality and throughput of cutting-edge atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments. His work has not only pushed the boundaries of experimental precision but also established molecular dynamics simulations as a powerful computational companion to AFM measurement interpretation.
Beyond his technical achievements, Dr. Deopa has distinguished himself as a generous and collaborative colleague, contributing meaningfully through both formal partnerships and informal scientific exchanges. His dedication to fostering a supportive and productive research environment exemplifies the values of the BioFrontiers Institute.
As part of the award, Dr. Deopa receives a certificate of appreciation and a $1,000 prize in recognition of his outstanding contributions.
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.