Professor Christine Luscombe has been named interim chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department. 

“An accomplished educator, leader and researcher, Christine has a strong record of collaboration and a demonstrated commitment to diversity and excellence that will serve the MSE department well,” says College of Engineering Dean Nancy Allbritton.

Christine holds the Campbell Career Development Professorship in MSE and is associate director of the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute. Throughout her tenure her work has been recognized with numerous awards including the NSF CAREER Award, DARPA Young Faculty Award, as well as the Sloan Research Fellowship. She has authored over 100 papers, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and was recently appointed a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Her current research focuses on the synthesis of semiconducting polymers for energy applications.

Christine assumes the role of chair from Jihui Yang, who was recently appointed Vice Dean of the College of Engineering.