Luisa Whittaker-Brooks
Luisa Whittaker-Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Born | Panama |
| Occupation(s) | Chemist, Professor |
| Years active | 2000s–present |
| Known for | Research on photovoltaic and thermoelectric materials, L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award recipient |
| Awards | L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science (2013), AAAS Milligan Mason Award (2015), C&EN Talented 12 (2017), Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award (2017), APS Ovshinsky Sustainable Energy Fellow (2017), Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award (2021) |
Luisa Whittaker-Brooks is a distinguished American chemist and serves as a full professor at the University of Utah. In 2013, she received the prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science recognition and was later featured among Chemical & Engineering News' Talented 12 in 2017.
Early life and education
Raised in Panama, Whittaker-Brooks developed a passion for energy at a young age, influenced by the country's hydroelectric power infrastructure. She completed her undergraduate studies in analytical chemistry at the University of Panama. Upon relocating to the United States as a Fulbright Program scholar, she earned both her master's and doctoral degrees at the University at Buffalo within a span of three and a half years. Her PhD research centered on vanadium oxide, a material exhibiting a reversible change from opaque when heated to transparent when cooled, making it promising for energy-saving window coatings. She focused on reducing the phase transition temperature of this material and subsequently contributed to its commercialization. During her postdoctoral tenure under the mentorship of Yueh-Lin Loo, she utilized low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis techniques to investigate zinc oxide nanostructures.
Research and career
Whittaker-Brooks' research primarily explores innovative photovoltaic and thermoelectric materials aimed at enhancing energy conversion and storage technologies, with emphasis on chalcogenide compounds and perovskite materials. She examines how variations in composition and structural characteristics influence their electronic behavior, including studying the effects of bias stress and material heterogeneity on the efficiency and durability of organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs). Her investigations also delve into the role of excitons in device stability as well as the impact of environmental factors such as moisture and oxygen. In 2019, she was appointed to the advisory board of ChemNanoMat.
Awards and honours
- 2007 Fulbright Program Scholar
- 2013 Recipient of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards
- 2015 Awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science Milligan Mason Award for Women in Chemical Sciences
- 2017 Named among Chemical & Engineering News' Talented 12
- 2017 Honored with the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award for Research Excellence
- 2017 Designated as an American Physical Society Ovshinsky Sustainable Energy Fellow
- 2018 Recognized as an Emerging Leader by Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- 2021 Awarded the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award
Selected publications
- Lee, Vincent et al. (2009-08-25). "Large-Area Chemically Modified Graphene Films: Electrophoretic Deposition and Characterization by Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy." Chemistry of Materials, 21(16), 3905–3916.
- Whittaker, Luisa et al. (2009-07-01). "Depressed Phase Transition in Solution-Grown VO2 Nanostructures." Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(25), 8884–8894.
- Whittaker, Luisa et al. (2011-04-07). "Microscopic and Nanoscale Perspective of the Metal−Insulator Phase Transitions of VO2: Some New Twists to an Old Tale." The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2(7), 745–758.