The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Lisa Szczepura has been named Distinguished Professor at Illinois State University.
Szczepura joined Illinois State University in 1997 as assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and achieved full professor in 2009. She has been a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and has received numerous research awards on campus including Outstanding University Researcher in 2012, and she was named University Professor in 2020.
Since arriving at Illinois State, Szczepura has received considerable national recognition for her scholarly achievements. Her research focuses on developing synthetic methodologies for the design of unique metal clusters with novel physical properties that are well-suited for a range of applications such as imaging, battery materials, and catalysis. She has over 50 publications (most of which include student co-authors) in nationally and internationally ranked journals, and she and her students have presented over 150 papers at conferences. In addition, she has secured $2.3 million in external funding for her work from prestigious organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund.
Szczepura is an accomplished teacher and has received several teaching awards including the Outstanding University Teacher Award in 2009. She has served as research advisor for over 50 undergraduates, and as thesis advisor for over 20 graduate (M.S.) students in her laboratory. Many students working in her lab have received national awards, including two Goldwater Scholars in 2023.
Throughout her career, Szczepura has leveraged funds to improve the success rate of all students in STEM. In addition, she has been proactive in developing educational initiatives aimed at improving the persistence of underrepresented students in STEM. The first of these programs was the 2008-09 Enrichment Workshop Program (EWP). Through funded programs like the EWP, Szczepura has been able to mentor and provide stipends to an additional 65 undergraduate students, and she was instrumental in the founding of the Charles Morris STEM Social.
Szczepura has also been actively engaged in serving the department, college and university. In addition, she has been invited by the National Science Foundation to serve on multiple grant review panels, is currently serving on the NSF Committee of Visitors, and has served on a variety of committees at the ACS, underscoring her commitment to service in the discipline.
