Prineha Narang

You know the saying, “It’s not quantum physics?”

For Prineha Narang, it is.

She’s a computational materials scientist, which means she studies materials at the quantum level, using mathematics, physics and computing power to create models and experiments that allow scientists to engineer technologies of the future, atom by atom.

Her field has the potential to discover new materials and applications that could change everything, Narang says, from our daily gadgets, to our space and energy technologies, to even what we ingest. “

“Using quantum measurements, we have the chance to isolate one molecule instead of many,” she says. “When it comes to water to drink or swim in, for example, we could maybe figure out with greater accuracy whether it’s safe or not.” Researchers are also studying materials that could vastly speed up smartphone processing or recharging speeds, she says.

In the meantime, Narang is charging ahead in her own life and career. The five-time Ironman triathlete and runner has been a tireless researcher, first while a student at Drexel, and now as an assistant professor and leader of a research lab investigating quantum materials at Harvard University, where she was one of the university’s youngest appointments.

Just 29 years old, she has been named a Forbes “30 under 30” honoree for science, an MIT Rising Star in Physics and a DARPA Rising Star, in addition to academic honors too numerous to detail. “There are times where you ask yourself, ‘Did they really mean me?’” she says. “You consider yourself lucky.”

Back at Drexel, her success has come as no surprise. “Among the thousands of students that I have had the fortune of observing in my 25-year career as a professor and administrator, Pri is unquestionably at the top of our graduates in terms of her accomplishments and the potential for a globally successful career in academia,” wrote A.W. Grosvenor Professor Antonios Zavaliangos, who nominated Narang.

Yury Gogotsi, Distinguished University and Charles T. and Ruth M. Bach Professor and director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, mentored Narang when she worked as a student researcher at the institute and helped her join IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center during her final years as a student. “She just had such a firm grasp of concepts and an absolute need to take things further,” recalls Gogotsi. “There are those who want to take it easy during those years — she wanted to push herself.”

She’s pushing others, too, to open doors to females in STEM fields, and encouraging women to enter science programs. She’s a mentor for the Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering program and has also contributed to the Women in Computer Science and Girls Who Code programs.

“As much as anything, we have to encourage that these areas are fun,” she says. “We can change the world through knowledge.” — Eric Butterman