Spurgeon and lab associates Grace Guinan and Michelle Smeaton work on autonomous electron microscopy at NREL. Photo by Brooke Buchan, NREL
Drexel Materials alum Steven Spurgeon (PhD ’15), materials data science researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is the 2025 recipient of the Microscopy Society of America’s (MSA’s) Burton Medal award for physical sciences.
The Burton Medal is awarded to early career scientists who have made significant contributions in the field of microscopy and microanalysis. MSA’s award announcement notes that Spurgeon is being “recognized as a leader in leveraging artificial intelligence to transform materials discovery and design. His innovative research in autonomous microscopy is reshaping materials characterization and accelerating critical technologies across diverse fields spanning microelectronics, quantum information science, and advanced energy systems.”
Spurgeon and other MSA awardees will be honored at Microscopy & Microanalysis 2025 meeting held July 27 – July 31 in Salt Lake City, UT.