Professional Appointments
April 2024 - present - Jean H. Steffenson Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering and the Nanovaccine Institute, ISU
January 2021 - Associate Editor, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
January 2020 - April 2024 - Associate Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
2012 - 2019 - Assistant Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Contact Information
Office: 5005 ATRB
Phone: 515-294-5138
Email: rbardhan@iastate.edu
Mailing Address
5140 Advanced Teaching Research Bldg.
2213 Pammel Drive
Ames, IA 50011
Biography
Prof. Bardhan is the Jean H. Steffenson Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. She also serves as the Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Prof. Bardhan started her independent career at Vanderbilt University, where she was an Assistant Professor. Her research is focused on the use of gold and lipid-based nanoparticles for molecular imaging and image-guided immunotherapies, light-based therapies, and drug delivery. Prof. Bardhan is also an expert in Raman spectroscopy and its applications in metabolism in various diseases.
Prof. Bardhan received her B.A. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Westminster College, Fulton, MO, and her Ph.D. at Rice University under the supervision of Prof. Naomi Halas. She completed her postdoctoral work in the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prof. Bardhan has pioneered many discoveries in nanomedicine and biosensing, and her research has been funded through the NIH, CDMRP, DOE, and NSF. She has also received multiple awards for her work including the CDMRP Career Development Award, NSF BRIGE award, ORAU’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and was named by Forbes Magazine as “Top 30 Under 30: Rising Stars of Science and Innovation”. She was also recognized as one of “40 Women Honorees in 40 Years” by her alma mater, Westminster College. Rizia has published >73 peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals including ACS Nano, Chemical Science, Nature Materials, and Science, which has received >10,800 citations (google scholar).
Awards and Leadership Roles
2023: ISU Emerging Leaders Academy Cohort
2022: ISU AIChE Student Chapter Award for Teaching
2021- 2023: Secretary/Treasurer, Nanoscale Science & Engineering Forum Executive Board, AIChE
2020: “40 Women Honorees in 40 Years” Westminster College, Fulton, MO
2020: Highlighted by “Diversity Magazine” for Innovative Research
2019: Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) High Impact Paper
2018: CDMRP Career Development Award
2018: Vanderbilt Engineering Immunity Pilot Award
2017: Vanderbilt University Provost Research Studios Award
2017: VINSE High Impact Paper Award
2016: American Cancer Society – Institutional Research Award
2014: ORAU’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
2014: Highlighted by Materials Research Society as “rising star” in Women in Materials Engineering
2013: National Science Foundation BRIGE Award
2012: Forbes, “Top 30 under 30” Rising Stars of Science and Innovation Award
2010: Norman Hackerman Award for Research Excellence
2009: Harry B. Weiser Award for Research Excellence
2005: Robert A. Welch Pre-doctoral Fellowship