ASU chemistry and physics professor elected to prestigious fellowship

Steve Pressé, professor in Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and Department of Physics, has been elected as a 2025 American Physical Society Fellow for his leadership and exceptional contributions in biological physics.

The APS Fellowship is one of the highest honors in physics, recognizing members who have made significant advances in the field. Fewer than one-half of 1% of the society's 50,000 members are selected each year by their peers for this distinction.

Pressé was specifically honored for pioneering contributions to “Bayesian method development in biological physics, particularly seminal work in computational statistical approaches to imaging and spectroscopy of single-molecule experiments.”

“I feel honored to receive such an award and am grateful to my lab and many devoted collaborators for generating the caliber of scientific results deserving of an APS Fellowship,” Pressé said. “Our lab’s ability to build bridges between different departments at ASU and leverage ASU’s substantial strengths in biophysics has been instrumental to our effort. For instance, key publications central to this award have been obtained in collaboration with faculty from both of my home departments at the School of Molecular Sciences and (Department of Physics).”

Pressé also credited the leadership and support of Tijana Rajh, director and professor of the School of Molecular Sciences, and Banu Ozkan, director of the Center for Biological Physics, for fostering a culture of research excellence and collaboration.

“Thanks to her vision, Professor Rajh is laying a strong research-focused groundwork as leader to make it not only possible but likely for the many young faculty joining SMS as assistant professors to obtain awards such as these in the future,” Pressé said. “Similarly, Professor Ozkan continues to build strong biophysics collaborations that position ASU a prime destination for biophysics research across the U.S. and the world.”

Pressé’s research lies at the interface of biophysics and chemical physics with an emphasis on inverse methods. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and a Research Corporation for Science Advancement Molecules Come to Life Fellowship and has received support from both the NIH and NSF for his work in data modeling and single molecule imaging.

“The APS Fellowship is a great honor, recognizing excellence in physics and exceptional service to the physics community,” said Rajh. “We’re proud to see Professor Pressé’s innovative work and interdisciplinary spirit recognized at this level.”

The APS Fellowship honors members who have made exceptional contributions to physics research, applications, education or leadership within the scientific community.