Elsa Reichmanis Named Director of I-FMD

Elsa Reichmanis, Professor and Carl Robert Anderson Chair in Chemical Engineering in Lehigh University’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named director of Lehigh’s Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD), effective July 1, 2024. 

She succeeds I-FMD’s founding director, Himanshu Jain, Professor and T.L. Diamond Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Applied Science, who has led the institute since 2018. Jain will be taking on a new role with the National Science Foundation (NSF) while continuing his full-time duties at Lehigh.

Reichmanis is an internationally recognized expert in the field of microlithography and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She has made wide-ranging contributions in the design and development of polymer/organic materials and processes for advanced electronics and photonics. Her Organic Materials and Devices Lab is affiliated with I-FMD, collaborating on projects around materials for advanced energy storage and polymer/hybrid semiconductors.

I-FMD is a hub for interdisciplinary research focused on developing innovative materials and devices that address critical societal challenges, including healthcare, renewable energy, and food and water security. It integrates Lehigh’s expertise in material synthesis, fabrication, processing, and characterization to enhance the functionality of sensors, actuators, and other critical devices across various domains.   

“Lehigh’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes are communities of scholars that catalyze crucial research in areas where our institution can play a leading role on the national and international stage,” says Reichmanis. “I look forward to working with I-FMD’s forward-thinking faculty to accelerate research in renewables, nanoelectronics, material processing, biomaterials, and more.”

Reichmanis came to Lehigh in 2020, having served on the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology for more than a decade after a noteworthy industry career at Bell Laboratories. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Inventors, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Materials Research Society, the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Her accomplishments as a leader in interdisciplinary research and dedicated teacher and mentor have been recognized through numerous prestigious honors and career achievement awards.