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Assistant Professor Chris Anderson has been awarded the 2026 James P. Gordon Memorial Speakership by the Optica Foundation, one of the most prestigious honors in quantum optics and photonics, recognizing his exceptional contributions to quantum photonics research. The honor places Anderson alongside a distinguished group of honorees, including fellow Illinois Grainger Engineering faculty member Paul Kwiat, who received the same recognition in 2017.

Professor Qian Chen and graduate student Puquan Pen worked with the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California to develop a graph theory-based mathematical framework that can quantify and predict the structural properties of nanoparticle assemblies across the full spectrum from ordered crystals to disordered clusters — a longstanding challenge in materials science. This breakthrough, published in Science, has broad implications for engineering advanced materials.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering welcomed Assistant Professors Wenjie Zhou and Yuanwei Li to the faculty in spring 2026. Zhou's Intelligent Matter Lab investigates how the topology and connectivity of materials, rather than chemistry alone, can be engineered to create adaptive, reconfigurable systems, while Li's lab develops nanophotonic materials and optical sensors for applications ranging from faster data processing to real-time, at-home health monitoring.

Department Head Nancy Sottos, alongside colleagues from across The Grainger College of Engineering, is contributing to a DARPA-sponsored initiative aiming to  demonstrate the first true in-space composite materials manufacturing system, with a demonstration scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in late June 2026. Sottos's work focuses on the chemical stability and shelf life of the self-polymerizing resins central to the technology, which could revolutionize space construction by allowing raw materials to be launched compactly and manufactured into structures on orbit.

Li's unanimous selection for the 2026 Victor K. LaMer Award from the American Chemical Society recognizes her work engineering nanoparticles that self-organize into precise three-dimensional arrangements, called superlattices, which can be designed to interact with light in controllable ways — with potential applications in biosensing, light-based computing and next-generation photonic devices.

Allison Lau is the sole representative of the Illinois materials department among the 2026 Knights of St. Patrick honorees in The Grainger College of Engineering. Lau displays the exceptional leadership and character this award embodies, having served as a director of the ESTAR program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.