“It is a great honor to recognize Prof. Marr and Prof. Yennello with SURA’s highest honor the Distinguished Scientist Award,” said Dr. Sean J. Hearne, President and CEO of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), “their work epitomizes the intent of this award to recognize individuals who advance collaborative research that has strengthened the scientific capabilities of the nation.”
Dr. Linsey Marr, an aerosol scientist, is a University Distinguished Professor and the Charles P. Lunsford Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Recognized by her peers as a world-class scientist, Dr. Marr’s contributions to the understanding of airborne contaminants, notably pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, have revolutionized her field, and helped shape the response to the covid-19 international public health crisis. One of only a handful of experts worldwide on airborne disease transmission, her expertise became crucial to the global effort to understand and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in understanding airborne disease transmission. Her research played a key role in informing the scientific community’s evolving understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 spread and how to prevent it, laying the groundwork for effective mitigations including masking and improved ventilation practices.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Linsey Marr will be awarded the SURA Distinguished Scientist Award “For collaborative leadership in multidisciplinary research efforts in aerosol transmissions significantly impacts guidance, policies, and research protocols, potentially saving thousands of lives.”

Dr. Sherry Yennello, a nuclear chemist, is a University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and director of the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University. The Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute is one of the world’s leading nuclear science research facilities. Recognized as a world leader in the “top 0.5% of researchers in nuclear chemistry,”
Dr. Yennello has made transformational contributions to our understanding of nuclear reactions induced by radioactive nuclei. In a pioneering experiment, Dr. Yennello studied how the neutrons and protons in neutron-rich nuclei were redistributed during their reactions. This opened a new frontier in nuclear physics research for studying the effect of the neutron-to-proton ratio on the dynamics and thermodynamics of neutron-rich matter. Her research in studying dynamics and equilibration in nuclear heavy ion reactions was crucial to constraining the nuclear equation of state, a critical component in deciphering the signals that were received in August 2017 (GW170817) by the U.S. (LIGO) and European (VIRGO) gravitational wave detection interferometers. The combined efforts of the gravitational wave and nuclear science communities in providing the nuclear equation of state together addressed one of the “11 Greatest Unanswered Questions for the 21st Century”.

Dr. Yennello also oversees a leading U.S. program in developing alpha-emitting radioactive isotopes, which are transforming nuclear medicine, as an effective against inoperable tumors. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the American Chemical Society, Dr. Yennello will receive the SURA Distinguished Scientist Award for “research internationally known which significantly influences knowledge of the forces shaping our universe, with transformational contributions to our understanding of nuclear reactions induced by radioactive nuclei and the properties of neutron-rich matter.”

The Distinguished Scientist Award is given to scientists who are conducting exceptional research in disciplines related to SURA’s programs. Nominations are peer-reviewed by a committee and voted upon by SURA’s Board of Directors. SURA is a consortium of fifty-six member universities that fosters collaborations which enhance members’ capabilities of undertaking significant, transformative scientific research projects that no single institution can handle independently. The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of SURA, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.