Professor Franklin Dollar receives AISES Professional of the Year award

Professor Franklin Dollar of the UC Irvine Department of Physics & Astronomy recently received the Technical Excellence Award from AISES – a national nonprofit that works to increase the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines. Dollar, an enrolled member of the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians, is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences. At UCI, Dollar’s lab studies high-intensity laser-matter interactions. He works with undergraduate research programs that bolster representation in STEM, including UC LEADs, LSAMP and Cal-Bridge, and has developed mentorship programs across the physical sciences. “I am incredibly humbled and thankful to AISES for this award,” Dollar said. “At UCI, I am able to not only maintain my values and beliefs but incorporate them throughout my work. I hope that the recognition that one’s identity need not be lost to be a scientist helps increase representation in STEM.”