Linda Spentzouris
Department of Biological, Chemical and Physical Sciences
Accelerator physics is one of the hottest areas of research today, and with IIT partners Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab located in the Chicago area, the Windy City has now been dubbed "physics city." A former research associate at Fermilab, Professor Linda Spentzouris has spearheaded the use of "left-handed metamaterials," which have unique optical properties, in accelerators and detectors. In 2003, she received the highly competitive National Science Foundation Career Award, given to the upper echelon of America's most promising young faculty.
A role model for young women considering the sciences, Spentzouris has been very active in the Division of Particles and Beams of the American Physical Society, and is sought after as a lecturer at the United States Particle Accelerator School.