Chekesha Liddell

Liddell grew up in Tallahassee, Florida.[1] At an early age, her parents recognized her good comprehension for spatial relations. Since she was 8 years old, Liddell participated in math and science enrichment workshops.[1] In high school, Liddell participated in a summer camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for emerging minority scientists, as well as worked alongside and co-authored a paper with one of the Kennedy Space Center’s top female scientists.[1]

In 1999, Liddell graduated both from Spelman College, receiving a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and graduating with Highest Distinction, as well as Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Materials Engineering.[2] She was awarded a NASA Women in Science and Engineering Scholarship, which allowed her to study the metabolism of arsenic in poultry.[2][3][4] During her scholarship she worked at Kennedy Space Center.[2][3] After defending her thesis titled Non-spherical zinc sulfide colloids as building blocks for three-dimensional photonic crystals,[5] She earned her PhD in Material Science at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003.[6] Liddell was awarded a $20,000 Career Initiation Grant from Georgia Institute of Technology.[6]

Liddell creates photonic crystals for solar cells using colloidal building blocks.[7] She has worked on the Self-assembly of microparticles with hemispherical[8] and dimer shapes.[9] Liddell joined the faculty of Cornell University in 2003.[10][11] She is a member of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers.[12] In 2006 she was awarded a National Science Foundation Career Award for Nonspherical, Active, and "Inverted" Bases for Optimized Photonic Crystal Design. [13] This award resulted in 16 publications.[13] In 2009 Liddell was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[14][10][15] She was recognised as one of Cornell's Emerging Scholars in 2011.[16]

• (2011) Emerging Scholars Class of 2011 (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine)[1]
• (2010) Provost's Award for Distinguished Research (Office of the Provost, Cornell University)
• (2009) Dow Distinguished Lecturer (University of California at Santa Barbara UCSB)
• (2007) Certificate of Appreciation for Mentoring (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation)
• (2007) Frontiers of Science Symposium Invitee (National Academy of Science (NAS) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
• (2006) NSF CAREER Award: Nonspherical, Active, and "Inverted" Bases for Optimized Photonic Crystal Design[2][13]
• (2003) Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Sciences Career Initiation Grant[2]
• (1999-2003) Office of Naval Research Graduate Fellowship[2]
• (1999-2003) Georgia Tech President's Fellowship[2]
• (1999-2003) Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Sciences Fellowship[2]
• (2000) National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Fellow[2]
• (1999) Hertz Foundation Fellowship Grant[2]
• (1999) TMS materials society, J. Keith Brimacombe Presidential Scholarship[2]
• (1998) ASM Foundation Scholarship, ASM International materials[2]
• (1999) ASTM, American Society for Testing and Materials, Mary R. Norton Memorial Fellowship[2]

• "Chekesha M. Watson". Cornell University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
• "Liddell Watson Research Group". Retrieved 2020-06-24.
• "NSF Award Search: Advanced Search Results - Chekesha Watson". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-24.