Los Alamos researcher named as American Chemical Society Fellow

LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO, August 30, 2012—Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientist Kristin Omberg was named as an American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow for her contributions to national security as a “technical leader in detecting and mitigating biological threats” and to the ACS community.

Omberg is the acting division leader of the Decision Applications Division and the Laboratory’s project leader for the Department of Homeland Security’s BioWatch Program. BioWatch is a detection system that monitors for potential airborne bioterror attacks. Her BioWatch team in the Decision Applications Division provides support for test evaluation, field sampling, event reconstruction, and sample management system software. She also has been the principal investigator for research tracking biological agents in the environment.

Omberg holds a doctorate in chemistry and a doctoral certificate in public policy analysis from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her career at LANL in 1995 as a graduate student in the Chemical Science and Technology Division, and then became a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science and Technology Division in 1999. She moved to the Decision Applications Division in 2001.

Omberg received an R&D100 Award for the Biological Aerosol Sentry and Information System (BASIS) and a LANL Women’s Career Development Outstanding Mentor Award. In 1998, she was the American Chemical Society’s Congressional Fellow, where she worked on the staff of the U. S. Senate Committee on the Budget. She is currently a member of the ACS Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs and the ACS Committee on Budget and Finance.

About the American Chemical Society

With more than 164,000 members, the ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative scientific information. The Society’s international membership exceeds 24,000 and represents more than 100 countries. The ACS Board of Directors created the Fellows Program in 2008 “to recognize members of ACS for outstanding achievements in and contributions to Science, the Profession, and the Society.” The selection of ACS Fellows is based on documented excellence and leadership in science, the profession, education, and/or management, and on volunteer service in the ACS Community. The new ACS Fellows will be recognized and honored at the Fall ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, Penn.