Christine Luscombe
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Christine Luscombe is a Japanese-British chemist who is a professor at the
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology is a private, interdisciplinary graduate school located in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Overviews The school offers a 5-year PhD program in science. Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and all educat ...
. Her research investigates
polymer chemistry Polymer chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that focuses on the structures, chemical synthesis, and chemical and physical properties of polymers and macromolecules. The principles and methods used within polymer chemistry are also applic ...
,
organic electronics Organic electronics is a field of materials science concerning the design, Chemical synthesis, synthesis, characterization, and application of Organic compound, organic molecules or polymers that show desirable Electronics, electronic properties ...
,
organic photovoltaics An organic solar cell (OSC) or plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics, a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules, for light absorption and charge transport t ...
and the synthesis of novel materials for processable electronics. She serves on the editorial boards of ''
Macromolecules A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...
'', ''
Advanced Functional Materials ''Advanced Functional Materials'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published by Wiley-VCH. Established in February 2001, the journal began to publish monthly in 2002 and moved to 18/year in 2006, biweekly in 2008, and weekly in 2013. It has ...
'', the ''
Annual Review of Materials Research The ''Annual Review of Materials Research'' is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes review articles about materials science. It has been published by the nonprofit Annual Reviews since 1971, when it was first released under the title the ''Annu ...
'' and ''
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces ''ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 2009 by the American Chemical Society. Originally published monthly, the journal became biweekly in 2013 and weekly in 2015. The current editor-in- ...
''.


Early life and education

Luscombe was born and raised in
Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
, Japan. She became interested in chemistry at high school, and grew up surrounded by electronic devices developed by
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
and
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
. She was an undergraduate student at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where she specialised in chemistry. She eventually joined the group of
Andrew Bruce Holmes Andrew Bruce Holmes (born 5 September 1943) is an Australian and British senior research chemist and professor at the Bio21 Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and the past President of the Australian Academy of Science. His research interests l ...
, where she worked on polymer synthesis and earned her
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 2004.


Research and career

After her PhD, Luscombe was awarded a junior
research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...
ship at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
. She simultaneously joined the group of
Jean Fréchet Jean M.J. Fréchet (born August 1944) is a French-American chemist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his work on polymers including polymer-supported chemistry, chemically amplified photore ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. After two years in California, Luscombe was made an assistant professor at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. In her early career she was awarded an
National Science Foundation CAREER Award The National Science Foundation CAREER award is the most prestigious award presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States Federal Government to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through rese ...
, a
DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...
Young Faculty Award and a
Sloan Research Fellowship The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. ...
. She was made an associate professor in 2011 and the Robert J. Cambell Development Professor in 2017. Her research considers the synthesis of conjugated small molecules and polymers for photovoltaics. She is particularly interested in the identification of structure-property relationships and achieving a better understanding of how microstructure impacts optoelectronic properties. She has particularly focused on the rational design of high mobility polymers. She has contributed to
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
(IUPAC) initiatives on polymer terminology and polymer education. In 2020, Luscombe joined the
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology is a private, interdisciplinary graduate school located in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Overviews The school offers a 5-year PhD program in science. Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and all educat ...
. In an interview with ''
Chemical & Engineering News ''Chemical & Engineering News'' (''C&EN'') is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), providing professional and technical news and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
when
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
instigated
Executive Order 13769 Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by Donald Trump and his supporters and critics alike, and commonly known as such, or commonly referred to as the ...
, the so-called Muslim travel ban. She said that she chose to leave the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
due to the growing racism and mismanagement of the public health response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Awards and honors

Her awards and honors include: * 2015 Kavli Fellow * 2016 Elected a
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...
(FRSC) * 2017
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
College of Engineering Faculty Award * 2020 Elected to the
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
Academy of Sciences


Selected publications

Her publications include: * ''All-inkjet-printed flexible electronics fabrication on a polymer substrate by low-temperature high-resolution selective laser sintering of metal nanoparticles'' * ''The future of organic photovoltaics'' * ''Direct nanoimprinting of metal nanoparticles for nanoscale electronics fabrication'' * ''Semiconducting polymers : controlled synthesis and microstructure''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luscombe, Christine 21st-century Japanese chemists DARPA Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Alumni of the University of Cambridge Women chemists Year of birth missing (living people) Japanese women chemists 21st-century British chemists Living people Scientists from Kobe