Dr. Carmen Lilley (she/her/hers) is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. She has a BS in general engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which she received in 1998, and a PhD in theoretical and applied mechanics from Northwestern University, which she received in 2003. Upon completion of her PhD, she joined the faculty at UIC in 2003. Her research is focused on synthesis, characterization and modeling of materials at the quantum to nanoscale. Dr. Lilley is also the associate dean of graduate studies for the college of engineering and the director of the NSF-funded GREATS Student Professional Development Program at UIC. Dr. Lilley is committed to promoting STEM graduate education and recruiting a diverse population of graduate students to study at UIC.