About Sharon C. Glotzer
Sharon C. Glotzer is 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, and also holds faculty appointments in physics, applied physics and macromolecular science and engineering. Since July 2017, Glotzer is the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her 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 uses 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 analysis and visualization tools.
Glotzer received her Bachelor of Science 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 the Materials Research Society (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 numerous awards and honors, including 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 AIChE, and the 2017 MRS Communications Lecture Award and 2014 MRS Medal. She is a leading advocate for simulation-based materials research, including nanotechnology and high-performance computing, serving on boards and advisory committees of the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Academies. Glotzer is currently a member of the National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology.