Ratcliff Selected as 2023 Da Vinci Circle Fellow

CHEE associate professor Erin Ratcliff is the latest fellow of the esteemed University of Arizona da Vinci Circle, which supports exceptional research in microtechnology, nanotechnology and biotechnology. As director of Laboratory for Interface Science of Printable Electronic Materials, Ratcliff focuses her research on the electrochemistry of low-cost, printable semiconducting materials and interfaces.

Only one selection to the da Vinci Circle is made every year, and the award comes with a one-time grant of $10,000.

“The da Vinci Fellowship is a huge honor,” Ratcliff said. “I’m so thrilled to have been selected. I’m among some very prestigious peers at the university. I plan to use the award to fund all my students and postdocs to go to a prestigious conference in North Carolina this summer.”

Ratcliff’s collaborators also commend her for incorporating diversity and inclusion efforts into her work. For her, it’s a no-brainer. Just as different types of electrochemistry projects can inform one another, and experts from different institutions can speed up scientific progress by working together, she says, diverse perspectives mean more efficient problem solving.

“It’s fantastic science. It’s cutting edge. It’s high risk. But it’s also integrated nicely with a sensitivity to broadening participation,” said Regents Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Optical Sciences Neal Armstrong.