We are delighted to announce Professor Alshakim Nelson as the new chair of the Department of Chemistry, effective July 1, 2025.
The College of Arts & Sciences selected Professor Nelson based on a review process led by a faculty committee. Following broad consultation with Chemistry faculty and staff, the committee recommended him highly for the role. The Department and the College are grateful that he has agreed to serve.
Professor Nelson is a polymer chemist who spent ten years as a research staff member at IBM Almaden Research Center before he joined the faculty at the UW in 2015. The Nelson lab develops polymers for the 3-D printing of bio-inspired and bio-based materials to address challenges in human health and sustainability. They utilize stimuli-responsive polymers and proteins to create 3-D printed materials that can also respond to their environment. His lab also develops engineered living materials that incorporate genetically engineered organisms to form new materials.
Professor Nelson has more than 90 publications and 30 issued patents. His honors and awards include an NSF CAREER Award, a 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, and recognition as an IBM Master Inventor, ACS PMSE Young Investigator, and Kavli Foundation Fellow. He served as Associate Chair for Ph.D. Studies in the Department of Chemistry (2023-2025), Bernard and Claudine Nist Endowed Faculty Fellow (2021-present), and Director of Education for the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute (2020-2024). As of July 1, 2025, he will be the Chair of the Department of Chemistry.
To learn more about Professor Nelson and his research program, please visit “Through Chemistry and 3D Printing, New Materials Emerge,” published April 1, 2025, his faculty page or his research group website.
The Department would like to thank Professor Munira Khalil for her outstanding service as Chair over the last five years. Her leadership has been a defining factor for the success of the department through the pandemic and now during the launch of the Chemical Sciences Building project. The Department is in a stronger position because of her leadership. On June 12, 2025, Professor Khalil will be recognized with the David B. Thorud Leadership Award, the highest leadership award at the University of Washington.
We welcome Professor Khalil’s continued engagement as she returns to the faculty ranks and enthusiastically welcome Professor Nelson to the chair’s office!