Drs. Debarati Das and Weiwang Zeng are two of the sixteen UW researchers who have been awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as part of an initiative to maintain the talent stream of scientists-in-training while U.S. research universities navigate funding uncertainties.
In the group of Assistant Professor Lauren J. Rajakovich, Dr. Debarati Das studies iron–sulfur enzymes in the human gut microbiome enabling them to thrive in oxygen depleted conditions. Her research explores how nature engineers metalloenzymes to mediate oxidative chemistry under reducing conditions, offering insights into new therapeutic and catalytic strategies.
Says Das, “As a biochemist, I am keen on pursuing a career in industry or the government sector addressing questions at the interface of chemistry and biology. I find microorganisms particularly fascinating because they are able to live in diverse habitats, from the deep sea to the human body. With the support of the Moore Foundation, I will be able to develop new skills to study how microbes use unique chemistry to adapt to different environmental conditions. This work will help us to understand the critical roles of microorganisms in every ecosystem on our planet.”
In the group of Assistant Professor Jiaojian (Tristan) Shi, Dr. Weiwang Zeng employs ultrafast spectroscopy to probe dynamical processes in two-dimensional and quantum materials, aiming to uncover the fundamental physics that governs their behavior and to manipulate these processes with ultrashort laser pulses.
Says Zeng, “I am excited to receive this fellowship because it gives me the freedom to take big scientific risks at a crucial stage in my career. I use ultrafast bursts of light in a special range of the electromagnetic spectrum to reveal and control new behaviors in atomically thin quantum materials. With this support, I can build toward an independent research program.”
Information about the Moore Foundation’s effort to strengthen the U.S. scientific talent pipeline is on their website. The University of Washington was awarded $2.5 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to fund 16 postdoctoral fellows in a number of fields across the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of the Environment.
Featured by UW News, February 5, 2026.