Sharon Glotzer

Sharon Glotzer is the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, with additional appointments as Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, and Professor of Physics. She leads pioneering research in computational nanoscience and materials engineering.

Her research focuses on:

• Computational modeling of nano- and meso-scale matter manipulation
• Spatially heterogeneous dynamics in glass-forming systems
• Particle shape anisotropy and interaction patchiness
• Self-assembly principles for nanoscale building blocks
• Quasicrystal formation mechanisms
• Computational frameworks for directed assembly

Glotzer's breakthrough work in the late 1990s transformed understanding of dynamic heterogeneity in supercooled liquids. She established foundational classification systems linking particle geometry to emergent structures, revolutionizing the field of programmable self-assembly. Her recent demonstration of hard tetrahedra forming twelve-fold symmetric quasicrystals revealed unprecedented structural complexity through stacks of twelve-member rings capped by pentagonal dipyramids. Current research examines emergent properties in active matter systems and machine learning applications for materials design.

She directs the Glotzer Group laboratory at the University of Michigan, securing major research funding from NSF, DOE, and Simons Foundation. Her team develops open-source simulation tools widely adopted in computational materials science.