Sharon Glotzer receives David Turnbull lectureship

Sharon Glotzer, the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, has been awarded the David Turnbull Lectureship by the Materials Research Society (MRS). The David Turnbull Lectureship recognizes the career contributions of a scientist to the fundamental understanding of materials through experimental and/or theoretical research.

This honor recognizes Glotzer’s significant discoveries in nanoparticle self-assembly as well as her engaging lectures, impactful publications, and sustained leadership in soft matter and computational materials science. She will accept the honor on December 4 at the 2024 MRS Fall Meeting, where she will present her lecture, “A Theory of Entropic Bonding in Colloidal Crystals.”

“I’m thrilled to be presenting the Turnbull Lecture this year. The annual Fall MRS meeting is always a great opportunity to share and learn about the latest exciting developments in materials research.”
Sharon Glotzer

Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering

“I’m thrilled to be presenting the Turnbull Lecture this year,” said Glotzer. “The annual Fall MRS meeting is always a great opportunity to share and learn about the latest exciting developments in materials research.” In her lecture, Glotzer will show how nanoparticle self-assembly can be driven by entropy, and how entropy maximization can manifest in local, directional forces that act like bonds.

Named in honor of David Turnbull, a pioneer in materials science, the lectureship recognizes scientists who have made exceptional contributions to the field and is intended to support and enrich the materials research community, while honoring the accomplishments of an outstanding researcher and communicator.

Glotzer’s work has profoundly impacted both computational and experimental nanoscience, pioneering concepts like “patchy particles” and “entropic bonding” that have revolutionized the field’s approach to nanoscale self-assembly. Her simulations, which predict a variety of nanoparticle structures and colloidal crystals, have been instrumental in advancing materials science. Her research group has also created widely adopted open-source software tools that support materials research worldwide.

Glotzer is the John Werner Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering, the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering, a professor of materials science and engineering, macromolecular science and engineering, physics, and applied physics, and she is a member of the leadership team for the NSF-funded Center for Complex Particle Systems (COMPASS) at the University of Michigan. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.