UNM Vice President for Research Ellen Fisher honored with prestigious award

At The University of New Mexico, Ellen Fisher fulfills the responsibility of vice president for research, a role that underscores her leadership and commitment to advancing scientific inquiry. Her contributions, however, extend far beyond administrative responsibilities; for over three decades, she has served as a dedicated professor of chemistry and last month she was honored with the John A. Thorton Memorial Award for her contributions within the field of materials chemistry.

Given every other year, the John A. Thorton Memorial Award recognizes outstanding research or technological innovation in the areas related to the AVS, with emphasis on the fields of thin films, plasma processing, and related topics. Fisher was recognized for her contributions to the advancement and understanding of plasma chemistries and plasma-surface interactions in thin film deposition and surface modification.

"Used in a range of applications from contact lenses to microelectronic chips, plasmas (think the sun or a plasma torch) are the fourth state of matter, containing a multitude of reactive species. I often liken them to vegetable soup where you don't always know which vegetable is contributing what to the overall flavor of the soup," she said. "Thus, the fundamental focus of my work has been to understand how materials get made or modified on a molecular level within plasmas - deconstructing the soup. Regardless of the type of material, being able to understand how the atoms and molecules interact to provide desired qualities in the resulting material allows us to tune the properties in a much more efficient manner than a trial-and-error approach."

Fisher has published more than 170 original peer-reviewed articles that span diverse topics in plasma science, thin films, membrane technology, laser spectroscopy, materials chemistry, chemistry education, the science of team science, and the responsible conduct of research. One of her biggest joys, however, comes from mentoring junior faculty and students. She has graduated 22 doctorates, nine master's students, and has mentored nearly 50 undergraduate research students, many of whom have gone on to a range of graduate and professional programs. As a true testament to her mentorship over the year, former graduate student of Fisher's, Morgan Hawker, was one of three individuals to nominate her for the John A. Thorton Memorial Award.

"I couldn't think of anyone more fitting for the John A. Thorton Memorial Award than Dr. Fisher due to her continued success in mentoring students in plasma processing and thin films," Hawker said. "Dr. Fisher taught me so much as a Ph.D. student, including how to effectively communicate scientific ideas and how to conduct transdisciplinary research efficiently with others."

Hawker went on to say that, as a student, Fisher once allowed her to take the lead in writing a review paper for Plasma Processes and Polymers.

"Sitting alongside Dr. Fisher in the many writing sessions we had, I learned so much about what it means to write a review article, and about technical scientific writing in general," Hawker said. "Her unwavering support gave me confidence to build my own professional expertise in plasma chemistry. The collaborative group environment she cultivated allowed me to do my best work as a student and it is something I try to emulate in my own research group."

Under Fisher's leadership, UNM's Office of the Vice President for Research has created the WeR1 faculty success program, a multi-pronged approach to faculty development. The program includes elements focused on research leadership, instrument acquisition, scholarship time, enterprise software for research, faculty in social sciences and humanities, and most recently proposal resubmission and reframing of research activities.

"I am so honored and humbled to receive this award from the AVS which has been my professional home for over 30 years," Fisher said. "I am incredibly grateful to the awards committee for selecting me this year and to my nominators for their efforts as well. It is especially meaningful that I was able to celebrate the award with several of my former students and their students (my academic grandkids!), as well as my husband, and numerous colleagues and friends I've made throughout my career."

Fisher has been at UNM since 2021.