Lisa A. Fredin
Dr. Fredin (Fred+Dean) earned her B.S. in chemistry, biochemistry, and applied mathematics with a minor in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. After taking advantage of undergraduate research opportunities in fields from microbiology to synthetic inorganic chemistry, she went to graduate school at Northwestern University, where she completed a joint computational-experimental Ph.D. in the groups of Mark A. Ratner and Tobin J. Marks, synthesizing molecules, measuring material properties, and modeling devices of hybrid organic-inorganic dielectrics. Choosing to focus on theoretical chemistry, she accepted a postdoctoral associateship at Lund University in Sweden with Petter Persson, where she modeled the photochemistry of transition-metal complexes for light-harvesting. She chose to come back to the states after two years as a National Research Council Research Associate to develop new computational tools that reduce the cost of screening materials for energy storage and generation applications at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.
Dr. Fredin’s research portfolio, initiated in 2015 at NIST, draws on her background combining experiment and theory to develop computational and theoretical models of fundamental electronic properties to design materials with targeted properties. At Lehigh, the Fredin group develops models for a broad range of surface science applications, bridging physical chemistry, material science, nanoscience, and computation; as well as, probing the boundaries of the particle and wave approximations of electrons in materials.
Current Funding
Sloan Research Fellowship 2024
National Science Foundation, Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms A (CSDM-A, CHE-2310205): Untangling Photoreactivity of Oxide Nanoparticles PI: Lisa A. Fredin
National Science Foundation ACCESS Allocations: Electronic Structure of Atomistic to Nanoscale Materials. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. Allocation: TG-CHE190011
Previous Funding
National Science Foundation, Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC-NIE, OAC-2019035): CC* Compute: Acquisition of a Lehigh University HPC cluster to enhance collaboration, research productivity and educational impact. PI: Edmund B. Webb III., Co-PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Alex Pacheco, Ganesh Balasubramanian, Sirnivas Rangarajan 7/1/2020-6/30/2022.
National Science Foundation XSEDE Project: Electronic Structure of Atomistic to Nanoscale Materials. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. TG-CHE190011 04/01/2022-03/31/2023.
Lehigh Accelerator: Towards Higher Efficiency Solar Energy Harvesting: Singlet Exciton Fission and Multi-Exciton Generation in Organic Molecular Systems. PI: Ivan Biaggio; Co-PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Mark S. Chen, Elizabeth R. Young 01/2021-07/2023.
Lehigh Faculty Innovations Grant (FIG): Developing Robust Nanostructure Models; PI: Lisa A. Fredin 06/2021-06/2022.
National Science Foundation XSEDE Project: Electronic Structure of Atomistic to Nanoscale Materials. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. TG-CHE190011 04/01/2021-03/31/2022.
Charles E. Kaufman Foundation – Integrated Research-Education Grant: New Chemical Intuition for Excited-State Reactivity. PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Co-PI: Elizabeth R. Young 11/01/2020-10/31/2022.
Lehigh Collaborative Research Opportunity (CORE): Augmenting the Materials Genome with a New Understanding of Amorphous Solids; PI: Nicholas Strandwitz; Co-PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Edmund B. Webb III. 4/28/2020-12/2023.
Lehigh Collaborative Research Opportunity (CORE): A Path to New Crystalline, Covalent, Ferrocenic Frameworks: Synthesize, Evaluate, Design; PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Co-PIs: Kai Landskron, Elizabeth R. Young. 4/28/2020-08/2023.
National Science Foundation XSEDE Project: Electronic Structure of Atomistic to Nanoscale Materials. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. TG-CHE190011 04/01/2020-03/31/2021.
Lehigh Research Futures (RF): Grad Experience Collaborative Graduate Research Experience in Multiscale Modeling and Simulation of Materials and Interfaces. Wonpil Im, Chinedu Ekuma, Co-PI: Lisa A. Fredin, Yaling Liu, Dimitrios Vavylonis, Edmund B. Webb III. 6/3/2020-6/3/2021.
National Science Foundation XSEDE Project: Electronic Structure of Atomistic to Nanoscale Materials. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. TG-CHE190011 04/01/2019-03/31/2020.
National Science Foundation XSEDE Project: Atomistic and Nanoscale Heterogeneous Catalysis. PI: Lisa A. Fredin. TG-CHE180067 8/28/2018-8/28/2019.
Awards
Sloan Research Fellow 2024
Selected for Asst. Professor Poster Talk, Gordon Research Conference: Photochemistry 2023
Rising Talent Talk at American Conference on Theoretical Chemistry 2022
Lehigh Reemergence Grant 2021
Lehigh Class of 68 Fellowship 2019, 2020
American Chemical Society, Physical Chemistry Division (ACS-PHYS) Postdoctoral Award 2016
National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associateship, NIST 2015–2016
Postdoctoral Stipend, Lund University Chemistry 2012/2013
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Fellowship, NU 2010/2011
Participants’ Best Poster Award, Int. Winter School: Beyond Morse Law (4/50) 2010
ACS, Central Texas Section, Outstanding Senior Award 2007
Phi Beta Kappa, UT Austin 2005
UT Distinguished Scholar 2005–2006
Honors List Fall 2003–2005
UT Coop Merit Award Spring 2004
Scholarships & Travel Awards
Phi Lambda Upsilon Domestic Travel Grant Award, Northwestern 2011
Northwestern Graduate School Travel Grant Award, Northwestern 2011
NSF funded 2010 International Winter School: Beyond Morse Law in Jeju, Korea 2010
The University of Texas, Undergraduate Research Fellowship 2006–2007
Emory T. Peterson & Ella E. Peterson Endowed Presidential Scholarship 2006–2007
Swedish Excellence Endowment Scholarship 2006
Study Abroad Scholarship 2006
Dorothy B. Banks Charitable Trust Scholarship, San Antonio Area Foundation 2006–2007
National Phi Eta Sigma Scholarship 2006
Dow Chemical Scholarship 2005–2006
Teaching & Mentoring
Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University
Advised 5 graduate students, 15 undergraduate students, and 1 postdoc.
CHM 343: Physical Chemistry Laboratory (writing intensive), Fall 2024
CHM 341: Physical Chemistry: Molecular Structure, Bonding, & Dynamics , Spring 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
CHM 488: Chemistry in Computers: extracting insights from molecules and materials, Fall 2019 & 2022
CHM 040: Honors General Chemistry, Fall 2018 & 2021
CHM 030: General Chemistry, Fall 2020
Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University
Mentored 6-8 PhD Students on scientific writing: manuscripts, travel grant and job applications, 2013 – 2014
Mentored MS thesis student, 2013 – 2014
Guided direction of the overall project and crystallization of results into a journal publication
Mentored 2 BS project students, 2012 – 2014
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
Mentored 3 REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) Students, 3 summers
Graduate Inorganic Chemistry, Teaching Assistant. (~50 students, 1 quarters)
Taught ~10 lectures and preformed initial assignment of course grades
Designed and graded homework and exams (three exams, and periodic homework)
General Chemistry, Teaching Assistant. (~500 students, 2 quarters)
Implemented weekly lab TA meeting to review course issues and topics
Designed structure for assigning course grades
Developed and graded quizzes and exams (a quiz a week, two exams)
Gen. Chem. Lab, Teaching Assistant. (~20 students, 3 quarters)
Tutor, General and Physical Chemistry. (10 students total, > 200 hrs), 2010 – 2012
UT Learning Center, The University of Texas at Austin
College Reading and Learning Association Level III Master Tutor, 2004 – 2007
Developed new testing for potential chemistry tutors
Facilitated content and situational training sessions and participated in reviews of new tutors
Reviewer for
National Science Foundation: CSDM-A CAREER, CTMC, GRFP, PREM
Department of Energy: Condensed Phase and Interfacial Molecular Science (CPIMS)
American Chemical Society – Petroleum Research Fund
American Chemical Society/ACS: Journal of Physical Chemistry (A, C, and Letters), Chemistry of Materials, ACS Nano, Central Science
American Institute of Physics/AIP: Journal of Applied Physics and Applied Physics Letters
Nature: Nature, Nat. Chemistry, Photosynthesis Research
RSC: Advances, Journal of Materials Chemistry C, PhysChemChemPhys
Wiley-VCH: Angewandte Chemie
Elsevier: Chemical Physics, Chemical Physics Letters
Previous Research
National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
2015–2018
Utilize and develop quantum chemical methods to study photochemical, electronic, and magnetic properties of energy storage and generation materials. Developed efficient methods for theoretically screening molecular light harvesters.
Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University
2012–2014 with Petter Persson
Calculated relaxed excited state surfaces of light-harvesting transition metal complexes including Fe and Ru.
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
2007–2012 with Mark A. Ratner & Tobin J. Marks
Developed models, synthesized, and measured heterogeneous dielectrics.
Thesis: Nano and Molecular Scale Dielectrics: Encapsulated Inorganic Nanoparticle-Polymer Nanocomposites and Self-Assembled Nanodielectrics, Theory and Experiments.
Education
Northwestern University
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Chemistry, December 2012
Management for Scientist and Engineers Certificate, Kellogg School of Management, 2011
The University of Texas at Austin
Bachelors of Science, cum laude, in Chemistry, Biochemistry & Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science, May 2007
Elements of Computing Certificate, Department of Computer Science, Jan. 2007 (minor equivalent)
Contact Prof. Fredin: lafredin@lehigh.edu