ROCKVILLE, Md. - Marylandian -- John Beacom, Ph.D., has been named the recipient of the 2020 NPA Garnett-Powers & Associates, Inc. Mentor Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has engaged in exceptional mentoring of postdoctoral scholars.

Beacom completed his doctoral degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin in 1997. His first postdoc appointment was as a Sherman Fairchild Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, and his second was as the David N. Schramm fellow at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Since then, he has been a faculty member at The Ohio State University in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy. He is presently the Henry L. Cox professor and an Arts and Sciences distinguished professor. His research spans topics in nuclear physics, particle physics, and astrophysics.

Since 2011, Beacom has also been director of Ohio State's Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP), which has become an internationally renowned research hub well-known for its culture of interdisciplinarity, interactivity, and inclusion. CCAPP's postdoctoral fellow program is highly visible, attracting about 300 applicants per year and typically hosting about a dozen fellows at a time. CCAPP fellows have been very successful at securingexternal funding and transitioning to faculty and laboratory jobs worldwide. In 2019, Beacom was named Ohio State's Postdoc Mentor of the Year.

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Beacom was nominated by Tim Linden, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow; Paul Martini, Ph.D., professor and chair, CCAPP Science Board; Annika Peter, Ph.D., associate professor, member, CCAPP Science Board; Todd A. Thompson, Ph.D., professor & vice chair; and David Weinberg, Ph.D., professor & chair, member, CCAPP Science Board. Testimonials of several past and current graduate students were also included in the nomination packet.

The NPA applauds Beacom for his contribution to the postdoctoral community and the considerable time and effort he has dedicated to the mentoring and development of postdocs.

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The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 educational association headquartered in Rockville, MD. Founded in 2003, the NPA seeks to provide a national voice for postdoctoral scholars; to facilitate positive change for postdocs; and thereby to advance the research enterprise in the United States. The NPA serves the postdoctoral community, including more than 14,000 individual members and some 200 organizational members. The NPA provides support to the postdoctoral community through resources, toolkits, professional development and networking opportunities.