Electrochemical Materials Specialist Joins Chemistry, Biochemistry

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Robert Coridan

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Robert Coridan is one of two new faculty members in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Coridan will join the department this fall as an assistant professor. He comes to the University of Arkansas from the California Institute of Technology, where he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Chemistry.

Coridan's current research interests involve the chemical conversion of sunlight into fuels and electricity.  He has developed approaches designed to make structured semiconductors for improving light absorption and catalysis. This work has resulted in two patents and many publications in top physics journals. 

"Generally, people think of turning sunlight into electricity with giant, rooftop solar panels," Coridan said. "But you can also develop materials that convert sunlight into chemicals like hydrogen or hydrocarbons. We are working to develop materials that will perform these reactions more efficiently and more robustly than plants' leaves."

Coridan was involved in public outreach while serving as a postdoctoral scholar. He served as a physics lecturer for the Juice from Juice Program at the California Institute of Technology, where graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and professors taught high school students and teachers about solar energy.  He also mentored undergraduate students in the Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program.

"We are happy to welcome to Dr. Coridan to our faculty," said Wesley Stites, department chair. "His patent work and extensive publications are very impressive."

Coridan holds a Bachelor of Science in physics and in computer science from the Ohio State University and a doctorate in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

About the Department: The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry strives for excellence in the central science by recruiting a diverse group of the best faculty, staff, and students to address the challenges of modern chemistry and biochemistry through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and education.