Christy L. Haynes

Christy L. Haynes serves as Department Head and Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. She is also a Fellow at the Institute on the Environment and Associate Director of the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. Her research group focuses on interdisciplinary work at the intersection of analytical chemistry, nanoscience, and environmental science.

Dr. Haynes' research interests span sustainable nanotechnology, nanoparticle toxicity, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), single cell electrochemistry, and applications of nanomaterials in agriculture and environmental remediation. Her group studies fundamental and applied problems in nanoscience, environmental science, and microbiology using diverse analytical and materials techniques. They fabricate nanoparticles to study size-dependent phenomena with applications ranging from agriculture to environmental sensors, and investigate biological impacts of nanoparticles in consumer products.

Her recent publications demonstrate strong trends in environmental nanotechnology, particularly in PFAS remediation, nanoagriculture applications, and advanced sensing techniques. The work frequently combines machine learning with spectroscopic methods and focuses on sustainability applications, with significant contributions to food security and environmental protection.

• 2010 Sloan Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• 2009 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
• 2008 NIH New Innovator Award
• National Science Foundation CAREER award
• McKnight Land-Grant Professorship
• Kinship Foundation Searle Scholar Award
• Analytical Scientist's Power List recognition

Dr. Haynes actively mentors a large research group comprising graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduate researchers. Her lab has received significant funding from NSF and other sources, supporting numerous research projects and student fellowships. The Haynes Research Group maintains strong collaborations with other research centers and regularly presents findings at major conferences including ACS meetings and Gordon Research Conferences. The lab also engages in extensive outreach activities, including hosting research symposia for underrepresented students in STEM and developing educational materials about nanotechnology.