Emilie Ringe

Prof. Emilie Ringe is a Professor of Synthetic and Natural Nanomaterials at the University of Cambridge, holding joint appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy and the Department of Earth Sciences. Her research focuses on the optical properties of nanostructured materials, particularly plasmonic magnesium nanoparticles and their applications in catalysis, biomedical engineering, and sensing. She leads the Optical Nanomaterials Group, combining experimental and theoretical approaches to study nanomaterial behavior.

Education: B.A./M.S. summa cum laude in Chemistry (Northwestern University), Ph.D. in Chemistry and Materials Science (Northwestern, 2012), followed by postdoctoral research at Cambridge as a Newton International Fellow. Before returning to Cambridge in 2018, she was an Assistant Professor at Rice University, where she established the Electron Microscopy Center.

Research Interests: Development of scalable nanoparticle synthesis, plasmonic properties of Earth-abundant materials, plasmon-enhanced catalytic reactions, and optical sensing technologies. Her work bridges materials science, physics, and chemistry, with applications in renewable energy and biomedicine.

Awards include the ERC Starting Grant, EPSRC funding, and recognition as one of C&EN’s 2021 'Talented 12'. Recent publications explore magnesium nanoparticles’ plasmonic behavior and core-shell lanthanide-doped nanoparticles. She mentors students like Andrey (PhD viva 2025), Christina, and Isa, while managing two labs: a synthesis facility in Materials Science and a spectroscopy lab in Earth Sciences. Outreach initiatives include developing tactile science kits for visually impaired learners.