Erin L. Ratcliff

Erin L. Ratcliff is a Full Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology in both the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, with a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). She holds a B.A. in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Statistics from St. Olaf College (2003) and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Iowa State University (2007). Before joining Georgia Tech in 2024, she was a Research Professor and held academic positions at the University of Arizona (2009–2024).

Her research focuses on interface science of printable electronic materials, including metal halide perovskites, conjugated polymers, and quantum dots. Key areas include energy conversion (solar cells, batteries), electrochemical sensors, and durability mechanisms. Her group, the Laboratory for Interface Science for Printable Electronic Materials (LISPEM), employs advanced techniques like synchrotron-based spectroscopy and electrochemistry.

Ratcliff’s awards include the 2023 Da Vinci Fellow and the 2022 UArizona College of Engineering Researcher of the Year. She directs the Energy Frontier Research Center (SPECS) and leads interdisciplinary collaborations in materials for energy and biosensing.

• Key Projects: Defect quantification in perovskites, stable organic photovoltaics, wearable sensors.
• Grants: DOE Basic Energy Sciences, NSF, Office of Naval Research.
• Labs/Teams: LISPEM, EFRC-SPECS, NREL collaborations.