Rebecca Smaha

Rebecca Smaha is a Researcher III-Materials Science at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) since 2021. She previously served as a Single Crystal Diffractometer Trainer at Stanford Nano Shared Facilities and held graduate research roles at Stanford University from 2015–2020.

• Education: PhD and Master of Chemistry from Stanford University; Bachelor of Chemistry from Princeton University

Her research explores ternary nitrides and thin-film materials for applications in magnetism, optoelectronics, and spintronics, with a focus on combinatorial discovery and crystallographic characterization. Recent work includes ferroelectric nitride alloys and chiral magnetic chalcogenides.

She has received notable honors including the ACS Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Award (2018) and Etter Student Lecturer Award (2019). Her activities include organizing roles at Gordon Research Seminars and memberships in American Crystallographic Association and Materials Research Society.