Chemistry professor named Fellow of the American Physical Society

By Sathya Achia Abraham

Alenka Luzar, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry

Luzar, professor of chemistry, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Luzar was selected by her peers in the field of chemical physics for her “elegant and pioneering contributions to the fundamental theory of aqueous interfaces, dynamics of hydrogen bonds in condenses phase systems, phase behavior of confined water and kinetics of aqueous self-assembly.”

Luzar, who has been with VCU since 2004, specializes in physical, theoretical and computational chemistry and chemical physics. Through a combination of computations, theoretical and experimental approaches, Luzar and her team are focused on understanding the dynamics and structure of molecular liquids, such as water, hydrogen-bonded mixtures, and intermolecular and intersurface forces in biological, complex fluid and materials systems. Luzar’s research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.

According to Luzar, understanding the basic mechanisms involved in hydration processes in biology and nanotechnology takes researchers a step closer to creating new biomimetic materials, harvesting energy from nature and storing energy.

Each year no more than one half of 1 percent of the society membership is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow in the American Physical Society.

Luzar’s early theoretical contributions to hydrophobic interaction and dynamic behavior of hydrogen bonds in condensed phase systems are widely cited in textbooks and journals, and used extensively by scientists working in these fields. She collaborated with colleagues in the Physics Department at the University of Puerto Rico and the College of Chemistry at University of California at Berkeley on this work.

Luzar will receive a fellowship certificate in March during the APS Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh.