Jacinta Conrad, Frank M. Tiller Professor in the Willam A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering, has been named a 2024 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Conrad’s election to the Section on Physics was announced by the AAAS on March 27. Election as a Fellow recognizes members that have advanced science or its applications in service to the society, and who have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues.
The AAAS is among the world’s largest general-science societies. It is based in the U.S. and has an international membership of more than 120,000 people from more than 90 countries. One of the top voices in the scientific community, AAAS is perhaps best known as the publisher of Science and its affiliated journals.
“It’s an honor to be elected as a Fellow of AAAS because of their sustained, effective advocacy for science and for scientists,” Conrad said. “This is especially important right now because the federal government is dramatically reducing support for science, which will profoundly impact new discoveries as well as training opportunities at all levels. I look forward to strengthening my ties with AAAS to communicate the beauty of science and its value to my legislators and the public.” As part of her past advocacy work, Conrad authored an opinion piece in the Houston Chronicle supporting expanded access to visas for international students.
Conrad joined the faculty of the Cullen College of Engineering in 2010. Her research goal is to understand how different types of small, micron-sized particles — including viruses and bacteria as well as nanoparticles — move in complex fluids, which are liquids that contain dissolved macromolecules, surfactants or other species. Conrad is fascinated by understanding how the chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces and fluids affect how these different types of particles stick to surfaces and move near them.
These studies, Conrad said, “Provide insight into how to design coatings to prevent biofouling or how to develop better diagnostics, as two societally important examples.”
“The Cullen College of Engineering has been a wonderfully supportive place to do work at the interface of fundamental science and practical application,” Conrad said. “I have been so fortunate to work with curious and motivated students at UH, and I am incredibly proud of the research we have done together. Likewise, my group has thrived through our many collaborations with our colleagues, which inspire us to do more impactful work.”
Conrad is especially proud of having collaborated with nine of her colleagues — Patrick Cirino, Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Michael Nikolaou, Mehmet Orman, Jeremy Palmer, Jeff Rimer, Megan Robertson, Peter Vekilov and Richard Willson – and their trainees.
She is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Society of Rheology. She serves as an executive editor for ACS Applied Nano Materials and on the editorial boards of Soft Matter and the Journal of Rheology.
Conrad is the 31st professor affiliated with the University of Houston to earn Fellow status with the AAAS, dating back to 1941. Eric Bittner, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physics, was the most recent honoree for UH in 2022. Zhu Han, Moores Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the most recent honoree from Cullen in 2019. Three of her colleagues in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering — Alamgir Karim, Lakis Mountziaris, and Richard Willson — are also AAAS Fellows.