FSU physicist appointed to U.S. Department of Energy’s new Office of Science Advisory Committee

A Florida State University physicist has been named to a newly formed committee that will oversee and advise all future scientific ventures for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Mayly Sanchez, the Wyatt-Green Chair of Physics in FSU’s Department of Physics, is one of 20 expert scientists selected for the Office of Science Advisory Committee, or SCAC, that will provide advice to DOE on complex scientific and technical issues as well as guide future directions of all of DOE’s research programs.

“I’m so excited for the opportunity to shape how we do science and help determine the best directions for DOE’s research,” said Sanchez, a world leader in the study of neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles that have little mass, no charge, and played a large role in how our universe came to be. “We’re living in a very exciting moment in which we have many new technologies that are developing incredibly fast, and there’s a real opportunity for the scientific community to adopt these tools and make significant progress in all areas of science.”

SCAC was established in 2026. The committee includes scientists from a range of fields and combines expertise from academia and university research, national laboratories and industry science. Other SCAC members hail from such institutions as the Cleveland Clinic; the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California; Google DeepMind and more.

“Dr. Sanchez is an extraordinary scientist who will provide invaluable insight to DOE as it faces the next generation of complex scientific and technological questions,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “This recognition is a testament to her outstanding leadership and dedication to advancing scientific research. We’re proud to have her represent FSU at the national level.”

Sanchez currently leads research in multiple neutrino experiments, including the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE, a large international collaboration among over 1,400 scientists that uses giant underground neutrino detectors at DOE’s Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago, Illinois, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. She also helps lead the  NOvA (NuMI Off-axis νe Appearance) experiment in its investigation of neutrinos through precise measurements of their oscillation properties at Fermilab.

“Being named to SCAC is a significant honor that reflects a career defined by excellence and impact,” said Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson. “Professor Sanchez has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible in the lab; now, she will bring that same rigorous, forward-thinking approach to the DOE. Her work on this committee will undoubtedly influence the future of scientific discovery and energy security for years to come.”

Previously, Sanchez served on the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, which recommended plans and directions for research in particle physics to DOE, and on the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, which advised DOE’s Office of Science on high-energy particle physics research until 2025.

“This committee is unique not only because it crosses interdisciplinary boundaries but also because scientists in academia, industry, and government work in very different ways,” said Sanchez, who works with FSU’s High-Energy Physics group. “Having the space to discuss how we can better enable collaboration among these domains can make a huge difference in the world and in how we conduct science, especially if we make certain technologies more accessible. I’m an incredible optimist in terms of what technology and science can do for society, and I’m looking forward to sharing that energy with the committee.”

SCAC’s responsibilities include establishing research and facilities priorities, determining program balance among disciplines, and identifying opportunities for inter-laboratory collaboration, program integration and industrial participation.

“I’m very pleased with Mayly’s selection to serve on SCAC,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sam Huckaba. “The appointment is not only prestigious and reflective of her stature, but it’s also important — it means that FSU will be well-represented during discussions of current scientific priorities and future directions at DOE.”

Sanchez has earned numerous accolades for her research, including an American Physical Society Fellowship in 2020. In 2013, she was named among Latin America’s top 10 women scientists by the BBC, and she’s also received two prestigious National Science Foundation awards for her work with neutrinos — the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2012 and the Early Career Development Award in 2011. Sanchez received her doctorate in 2003 from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Following her graduation, Sanchez conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University and simultaneously joined the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search team at Fermilab. She then worked as a staff scientist at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, before taking a faculty position at Iowa State University in 2009. Sanchez joined FSU’s faculty in 2022.

To learn more about Sanchez’s work and research conducted in the Department of Physics, visit physics.fsu.edu.