Lenore Dai named SEMTE school director
Lenore Dai (right), professor of chemical engineering, has been named the next director of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy. Her research expertise is in colloids and interfacial science and she has earned teaching and research awards. Photographer: Jessica Hochreiter/ASU.
Lenore Dai, professor of chemical engineering, has been named the next director of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE), one of the six schools in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. She has served as interim director of the school for the past six months.
Dai has served as the program chair of the chemical engineering program since 2009. Prior to joining ASU in 2008, she was on the faculty of Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University. Previously she was a research chemist/senior research chemist in the Coatings and Resins R&D Center at PPG Industries, Inc., from 1996-2002.
Dai’s expertise is in the areas of colloids and interfacial science, polymers, environmentally responsive materials and ionic liquids. Her research programs are experimental in nature with some modeling and simulation (molecular dynamics) components, spanning the self-assembly of microparticles and nanoparticles in solid-stabilized emulsions, dynamics of microparticles at oil-water interfaces, rheology and microrheology, synthesis and applications of environmentally responsive materials and ionic liquid based electrolytes, and soft/hard material integration for novel applications.
“Professor Dai makes an excellent addition to the leadership of the Fulton Schools of Engineering,” said Kyle Squires, vice dean and interim dean of the Fulton Schools. “Her passion for research and student success have earned her the respect of her colleagues and will be integral to advancement of SEMTE programs, and faculty, staff and student success.”
Dai has received various teaching and research recognitions such as the Fulton Exemplar Faculty Awards, multiple Fulton Schools of Engineering Top 5% Teaching Award, ASU Parents Association Special Recognition Award, Lockheed Martin Engineering Teaching Award, Whitacre Award for Excellence in Engineering Research, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Texas Tech Alumni Association New Faculty Award, 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, University of Illinois Materials Science and Engineering Young Alumnus Award, and Racheff Award.
Dai holds a bachelor’s degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and a doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
