Professor elected a 2021 Fellow of prestigious society
Prof. Amy Shen, who leads the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), has been made a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for her significant contributions to the field of fluid dynamics.
APS is a not-for-profit organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines that was founded in 1899. It aims to bring together specialists from across the globe to advance and diffuse knowledge. The Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. The society has nearly 50,000 members and, each year, no more than 0.5% of those members are recognized for election to the status of Fellow.
Prof. Shen, who describes the new position as an honor, works on microfluidics and rheology. Her research is interdisciplinary, covering everything from engineering and physics, to chemistry and biology. Having trained in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in the United States, she moved to OIST as a Professor in 2014 and established the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit. The research of her unit has recently been published in PNAS, Physical Review Letters, ACS Nano, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Soft Matter, Physics of Fluids, and various other highly respected journals. Alongside the Fellowship with APS, Prof. Shen is also a 2021 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and received the Excellence in Mentoring Award from OIST in 2020.
Prof. Shen stated that she was surprised and humbled when she received the notification, and she especially wanted to highlight the support of OIST and the work of her unit. “Everything that’s been achieved and led to this is because of all the work over the years from students and researchers within my Unit. I would especially like to thank our Group Leader, Simon Haward, and Research Unit Technician, Kazumi Toda-Peters, who have been here since the unit was established. Everything accomplished since I joined OIST has been a joint effort. We built the unit together.”
She encouraged other researchers to pursue projects that are of intrinsic interest to them. “Don’t do something just because it’s trendy or because someone else wants you to do it. It’s bound to be difficult, so you need to be passionate. Otherwise, it’s not worth it. And be positive. Work on your research every day and recognize that it ebbs and flows. You won’t get great results on a daily basis, but if you’re consistent, over the long term, you will accomplish what you set out to do.”
