Paulette Clancy, professor and former department head of the Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and director of research (discovery and inquiry) for Johns Hopkins AI-X Foundry, has been named the Edward J. Schaefer Professor in Engineering. A formal installation was held Monday, Dec. 4, in Hodson Hall on the Homewood Campus.
“My father told me our family motto was ‘educate and you may be free,’” Clancy said, recounting her journey from a childhood in England to studying at Oxford University, followed by a professorship at Cornell University before joining Johns Hopkins in 2018.
A specialist in computational materials processing who also serves as the associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Integrated Structure-Mechanical Modeling and Simulation (CISMMS), Clancy’s research group studies advanced organic materials, algorithm development, machine learning, and renewable energy materials.
The Edward J. Schaefer Professorship in Engineering was endowed by Edward J. Schaefer (1923) and his wife, Hildegarde Schaefer. He was instrumental in opening a discrete school of engineering at Johns Hopkins.
“I’d like to say to the Schaefer family: I hope you realize how important this is,” Clancy said. “Truth be told I’ve been using this title for a few months, because I’m really proud to have this award.”