Biography

Vicki Grassian earned a B.S 1981 at the State University of New York followed by the M.S. at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Ph.D at the University of California at Berkley in 1987. This was followed by research at the Colorado State University as Postdoctoral Fellow and in 1988 as research associate at UC Berkley. At the University of Iowa she accepted an Assistant professor position at the Department of chemistry in 1990 and in 1996 she became Associate Professor. Since 2002 she holds an appointment as Full Professor in the Colleges of Engineering and Public Health and is co-director of the UI’s Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute.  She currently holds a chaired position, F. Wendell Miller Professor, at the University of Iowa.

Professor Grassian’s research, seeks to understand the chemistry and impact of mineral dust aerosol caused by windblown soils on both the global atmosphere and human health. Recently, she has turned her attention to the environmental and health impacts of very small nanoparticles. 

She has published over 220 scientific papers and has been recognized frequently for her research achievements. She was recently awarded with the ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology in 2012. Her further honors include: Fellow, American Chemical Society in 2011, and Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry in 2010. She is member of several Editorial Review Boards, Executive Committees of National/International Societies, Advisory Boards and Steering committees.

Vicki Grassian currently lives in Iowa City a university town in Iowa, US with her husband, Mark Young, and two daughters, Alexandra and Samantha.  She enjoys spending her free time with her family and taking walks with her dog Sniggles.