Professor Sarah Tolbert, PhD
Technology Developer

Sarah is a professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, she received a B.S. from Yale University, a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, and was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at U.C. Santa Barbara.

Her research focuses on controlling nanometer-scale architecture in solution-processed nanomaterials to generate unique optical, electronic, magnetic, structural, and electrochemical properties. Her group specifically focuses on electrochemical energy storage (including both pseudocapacitors and batteries), solar energy harvesting, electrocatalysis, nanomagnetics, and new ultra-hard materials.

She also leads a program aimed at bringing nano-concepts to schools throughout the greater LA area. Professor Tolbert is the recipient of a number of awards and honors including the American Chemical Society R.A. Glen Award, Closs and Barrer Lectureships at the University of Chicago and Penn. State, respectively, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, an NSF CAREER Award, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, and a Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and serves on the editorial advisory boards of Chemistry of Materials, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, and Nanoscale Horizons.