Nancy Sottos, Professor and Swanlund Chair, began serving as the permanent Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering on January 1, 2020.
Nancy currently leads the Autonomous Materials Systems Group at the Beckman Institute as well as the University of Illinois spoke of the BP International Center for Advanced Materials. She is a Fellow of the Society for Experimental Mechanics and the Society for Engineering Science and was awarded the Engineering Science Medal in 2018. Nancy has an impeccable record of research, teaching, and service at the department, college, and campus levels. She has been a strong advocate for gender and equity diversity, has received numerous advising and teaching awards and contributed to successes with outreach and development efforts.