Simona Hunyadi Murph facts for kids
Simona Hunyadi Murph is a Romanian-American scientist, engineer, inventor at Savannah River National Laboratory (Aiken, South Carolina), and she is an adjunct professor in the physics and astronomy department at the University of Georgia (in Athens, Georgia, United States).
Biography
Early life
As a young child, Simona was inspired to study chemistry both by her mother's elaborate Romanian cooking and by scientist Marie Curie's life.
Education
She received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry & Physics in 1995 from Babeș-Bolyai University, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Directly after, she went on for her Master of Science in Chemistry/Electrochemistry at the same university, graduating in 1996.
In 2007, Murph obtained her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemistry/Nanotechnology at the University of South Carolina (in Columbia, SC). In 2012, she went further to earn her Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership & Administration at Augusta University (in Augusta, GA).
Career
Simona Murph has worked in a number of capacities at universities. She has also inspired others at Savannah River National Laboratories where she has worked as a senior scientist, fellow scientist, environmental manager, outreach program coordinator, and program manager. One project she founded and manages is the Group for Innovation & Advancements in Nano-Technology Sciences (GIANTS). "This program includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers from the University of South Carolina, University of Georgia, Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Augusta University."
Awards and honors
Murph has won numerous awards including:
- United States Department of Energy - “Inspirational Woman in STEM”
- Savannah River National Laboratory : NNSA Programs - Women at the Forefront of their Field of Expertise Recognition, 2011
- Savannah River National Laboratory - Key Contributor Award: for Nanotechnology Advances in the Field, 2015
- Savannah River National Laboratory - Exceptional Leadership Award, 2016
- SRNL Director's Award for Exceptional Scientific and Engineering Achievement, 2017
- SRNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program - Most Valuable Project Award, 2019
Societies
- Minerals, Metals & Materials Society - Board of Directors
- Frontiers in Nanoenergy, Technologies, and Materials - Editorial Board
Patents
Murph has been awarded multiple patents including a few in the year 2020:
- Methods and materials for determination of distribution coefficients for separation materials, US10598599B2
- Radiation Detectors Employing Contemporaneous Detection and Decontamination, US20200082954A1
- Controlled Release of Hydrogen from Composite Nanoparticles, US20180319658A1
