Elena Galoppini

Elena Galoppini is an Italian chemist who is a professor at Rutgers University–Newark. Her research considers the development of redox- and photo-active molecules to modify surfaces.

Early life and education Galoppini was born in Italy, where she studied chemistry at the University of Pisa. She moved to the University of Chicago for her graduate studies, where she studied alkynylcubanes and rigid-rod molecules. Galoppini then moved to the University of Texas at Austin to work with Marye Anne Fox.

Research and career Galoppini started her independent career at the Rutgers University–Newark in 1996 where she directed the graduate program from 2015. Her research looks to enhance semiconductor and metal surfaces through photo-active and redox-active molecules. and molecules that serve as connectors between the photoactive segments and the surface. They typically involve dyes that are bound to the surface through anchoring groups, creating donor-acceptor systems. Not only do they attach the photoactive part, but they also possess intrinsic properties that influence electronic reactions at the interface. Galoppini showed it was possible to hold the dyes at fixed distances from the semiconductor surface through careful linker design.

In 2019, Galoppini was awarded the Rutgers Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research. She was appointed Deputy Editor of American Chemical Society Applied Optical Materials in 2022.

Selected publications