Jingyi Chen, associate professor of physical chemistry, has been named an Arkansas Research Alliance Fellow. The ARA Fellows program supports distinguished researchers currently working at one of the five research universities in the state with a $75,000 grant paid over three years. The program recognizes research leaders with an established history of impact.

Chen's research focuses on how the physical properties of macroscopic objects arise out of the component atoms as the aggregate into larger and larger particles. She is developing novel multi-metal-based nanostructures and new methods for functionalizing their surface with soft materials. The ultimate goal of her research is to establish the structure-property relationship and further explore their applications in energy conversion, tribology, and nanomedicine. 

Chen joined the U of A in 2010. She received her doctorate from the University of Washington-Seattle, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, and served as a research assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Past University of Arkansas ARA Fellows include Laurent Belliache, Distinguished Professor of physics; Min Zou, professor of mechanical engineering; and Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering.