About AJA
Dr. A. Jean-Luc Ayitou (AJA) joined UIC in 2021 after being a faculty member in the Chemistry Department at Illinois Tech (2016-2021)!
B.Sc. (in 2008) and Ph.D. (in 2013) degrees, as a joint NSF and Merck Lab graduate Fellow, from North Dakota State University (NDSU) under the guidance of Professor Sivaguru Jayaraman.
UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral Fellow and University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow from June 2013 to July 2016 under the mentorship of Professor Miguel Garcia-Garibay at UCLA.
Awards: NSF (2023), NSF Early CAREER Award (2018), NOBCChE Young Scientist Award (2021), and "Researcher to Know” (2020) by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition.
Other Awards & Honors
Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, Kenyatta & Machakos University, Kenya (Host: Dr. Mbuvi and Okello) (June– July 2023)
UIC John Nuveen Int’l Collaboration Award (with Kenyatta & Machakos Universities, Kenya), 2021–2022
Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award for Research Excellence from NOBCChE (2021)
Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, Machakos University, Kenya (Host: Dr. Veronica Okello) (May–June 2021)
Researcher to Know Award from the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition, IL (October 2020)
Brown & Williamson Distinguished Guest Lectureship at the University of Louisville, KY (October 2019)
Distinguished Guest Lectureship at the 2019 Frontier Areas in Chemical Technologies Conference at Alagappa University, India (July 2019)
ACS Project SEED Award ($5,000) to support Undergraduate Researchers (Summer 2019)
Several Argonne National Laboratory-Center for Nanoscale Materials User Proposal Awards (since 2017) to use the ultra-fast spectroscopy facility
Chemistry Club (IIT Chapter) Recognition as Faculty Advisor by the ACS (2017–2018)
UNCF-Merck Lab–Science Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship Recipient (2013–2016)
UCLA Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013–2016)
Scholarship and Travel Award recipient to attend Green Chemistry Gordon Research Seminars and Conference in Italy (2012)
NASA Space Grant Award to support Internship at Goddard Space Flight Center (January to April 2012)
Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship to attend Gordon Research Conference in Photochemistry (2011)
ACS Green Chemistry School Participant Award (2011)
The Lendon N. Pridgen, GlaxoSmithKline - NOBCChE Fellowship Award (2011)
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient (2010–2013)
UNCF-Merck Lab–Science Initiative Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient (2010–2012)
GCOE Fellowship, Osaka University, Japan (Prof. Yoshihisa Inoue) (2009 & 2010)
NDSU-Chemistry Department: Academic & Research Excellence Award (2008)
NDSU-Chemistry Department: Richard-Wedel Scholarship (2007)
NDSU McNair Scholarship (2007–2008)