Sharon C. Glotzer, the John W. Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, will give The Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Materials Science at the 2019 Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting in Boston.

Glotzer’s current research on computational assembly science and engineering aims toward predictive materials design of colloidal and soft matter. Using computation, geometrical concepts, and statistical mechanics, her research group seeks to understand complex behavior emerging from simple rules and forces, and they use that knowledge to design new materials. Glotzer’s group also develops and disseminates powerful open-source software, including the particle simulation toolkit, HOOMD-blue, which allows for fast molecular simulation of materials on graphics processors, the signac framework for data and workflow management, and several analyses and visualization tools.

Glotzer holds faculty appointments in physics, applied physics, and macromolecular science and engineering. She is also the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She received her BS degree in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her PhD degree in physics from Boston University. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She is a Fellow of MRS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Physical Society (APS), and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Glotzer is the recipient of the 2019 Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics from APS, the 2018 Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum and the 2016 Alpha Chi Sigma Awards, both from the AIChE, the 2017 MRS Communications Lecture Award and the 2014 MRS Medal. She is an advocate for simulation-based materials research, including nanotechnology and high-performance computing, serving on boards and advisory committees of the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies). She is currently a member of the National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology.