Bio
Dr. Lighty comes to Boise State from the University of Utah and the National Science Foundation, where she has been a division director since October 2013. A professor at the University of Utah for 29 years, Dr. Lighty was chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, director of the Institute for Combustion and Energy Studies, and associate dean for academics in the College of Engineering. She received the SWE Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, the Utah Engineering Educator of the Year from the Utah Engineering Council, and the University’s Linda Amos Award for Distinguished Service to Women. She earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the same university in 1988. Dr. Lighty’s research focuses on combustion-generated fine particulate matter formation, soot oxidation, and carbon capture technologies. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and has served on several national boards and committees focusing on the environmental aspects of combustion. As the director of the NSF’s Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems, she led 16 programs and was a key architect of the cross-NSF initiative, Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems, serving as co-lead since its launch in 2015.
