| Andy Hillier joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University
of Virginia as an assistant professor in 1996. He received his B.S.
in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1990 and a Ph.D.
in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1995.
While in Minnesota, Andy worked under the direction of Michael D. Ward.
His Ph.D. research focused on the electrocrystallization of conducting
organic films in an effort to understand solid-state directed crystal growth
modes and the role of epitaxy in the formation of organic thin films on
crystalline surfaces. Hillier then joined the research group of Allen
J. Bard at the University of Texas as a Postdoctoral Associate. His
work at Texas involved using atomic force microscopy to study double layer
forces at metal and metal-oxide electrodes, image electrochemically-induced
crystal dissolution, and to develop a thermally-driven non-contact AFM
imaging technique.
Since joining the faculty at Virginia, Hillier’s research has focused
on the development of electrochemically-switchable membrane materials;
the characterization of surface forces, friction and adhesion at metal
and polymer interfaces; and the development of chemical imaging methods
combined with gradient sample techniques for the discovery and characterization
of electro-oxidation catalysts. As a faculty member, Hillier has
received awards that include the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty
Award (1996), Molecular Imaging’s Scanning Probe Microscopist Award (1997),
a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999) and an Office of Naval
Research Young Investigator Award (2000). |
