Malika Jeffries-EL

Jeffries-EL is from Brooklyn, New York and was the first in her immediate family to attend college.[5] She was inspired to become a scientist by Mae Jemison, an American engineer, physicist, and astronaut who was the first black woman to travel to space.[6] Jeffries-EL earned BA degrees in Chemistry and Africana Studies from Wellesley College in 1996.[5][7] In 1999 she earned her Master's degree in Chemistry from The George Washington University (GWU). In 2002, Jeffries-EL completed her PhD in Synthetic Chemistry at GWU. Richard Tarkka supervised her.[2][7][8]

After completing her PhD, Jeffries-EL worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University under the supervision of Richard D. McCullough from 2002 to 2005.[4] While there, she worked on the synthesis and field-effect mobility of polythiophene.[9][10] In 2005, she joined the faculty at Iowa State University and was promoted to tenure in 2012.[11][12] Jeffries-EL works on organic semiconductors.[13][14]

Jeffries-EL served as a Martin Luther King visiting professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 2014 and 2015.[15][16][17] Here, her group focused on the synthesis of polymer building blocks, including heterocyclic electron-rich (donor) and electron-poor (acceptor) units.[18][19] For electron-deficient units, Jeffries-EL develops benzobisazoles.[20][21] She is interested in cross-conjugated organic semiconductors, including benzodifurans, as well as functional Polythiophenes.[22][23] She uses the materials for organic solar cells, transistors and light-emitting diodes.[24]

In 2015 Jeffries-EL was selected as the 8th Annual Goldstein Distinguished Lecturer by Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering.[25] She was the keynote speaker at the 2016 Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society meeting.[26]

In 2016 she joined Boston University as a tenured associate professor.[27]

Jeffries-EL has nearly 100 publications.[1] Some of her notable/highly cited publications include the following:

• Jeffries-EL, Malika; Sauvé, Geneviève; McCullough, Richard D. (December 2005). "Facile Synthesis of End-Functionalized Regioregular Poly(3-alkylthiophene)s via Modified Grignard Metathesis Reaction". Macromolecules. 38 (25): 10346–10352. doi:10.1021/ma051096q.
• Jeffries-EL, M.; Sauvé, G.; McCullough, R. D. (17 June 2004). "In-Situ End-Group Functionalization of Regioregular Poly(3-alkylthiophene) Using the Grignard Metathesis Polymerization Method". Advanced Materials. 16 (12): 1017–1019. doi:10.1002/adma.200400137.
• Jeffries-EL, Malika; Kobilka, Brandon M.; Hale, Benjamin J. (11 November 2014). "Optimizing the Performance of Conjugated Polymers in Organic Photovoltaic Cells by Traversing Group 16". Macromolecules. 47 (21): 7253–7271. doi:10.1021/ma501236v.

Jeffries-EL is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[6]