Cecile Chazot Receives Army Research Laboratory Early Career Program Award
It takes a different way of thinking to connect disparate fields, put big ideas into action, and imagine what’s next. Northwestern Engineering’s Cécile Chazot has received an Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Early Career Program (ECP) Award.
About Cécile Chazot
Cécile Chazot, the Julia Weertman Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering, leads the Sustainable Polymer Innovation Laboratory. The lab seeks to develop methods for sustainable manufacturing and recycling of polymers and composites. Its focus areas include fiber-based materials, biopolymers, large-scale processing, structural colors, and green chemistry. The group’s interdisciplinary work spans from fundamental understanding of materials and their properties to applications and industrial deployment.
The ECP Proposal
The ECP proposal is titled "Electrochromic Composite Fibers based on Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Cellulose.” The research aims to develop liquid crystalline conductive and structurally colored fibers that can change appearance when exposed to an electrical current. According to the ARL website, ECP awards “are one of the most prestigious honors bestowed by the Army on outstanding scientists beginning their independent careers.” The objective of the ECP is to attract outstanding early career university faculty members to pursue fundamental research in areas relevant to the Army, to support their research in these areas, and to encourage their teaching and research careers.
Research Areas
The award earned by Chazot is meant to attract early career faculty to pursue research relevant to the Army, to support their research in these areas, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. The award will support research into inference and reconstruction problems on networks.
Other Notable Discoveries
A team led by Professor Horacio D. Espinosa discovered how mantis shrimp remain impervious to the intense shockwaves created by their own strikes. A team led by Professor Vinayak Dravid reimagined the lifecycle for non-renewables like metals and phosphate.
In the Media
Newsweek spoke with Professor Kristian Hammond about the new AI assistant that could have a significant impact on the field.
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