Forest Biomaterials Professor Nathalie Lavoine Wins NSF CAREER Award
Nathalie Lavoine, an assistant professor in the Department of Forest Biomaterials at NC State, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her nanomaterials research.
The CAREER Award is one of the NSF’s most prestigious awards, supporting early career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models and lead advances in their fields. Lavoine is the second faculty member from the Department of Forest Biomaterials to receive the award since it was established in 1994.
“Receiving this award is both a tremendous honor and a deeply meaningful milestone in my academic journey,” Lavoine said. “It affirms the potential of my research vision and reinforces my commitment to integrating cutting-edge scholarship with impactful education.”
Lavoine plans to use the five-year, nearly $750,000 grant from the NSF to advance her research on cellulose nanocrystals for the creation of sustainable colors and materials for various products.
Cellulose nanocrystals are tiny, rod-shaped particles derived from cellulose — the main substance of a plant’s cell walls. These particles can reflect light to produce iridescent colors, which could have potential uses in textiles, coatings and electronic devices, among other applications..
Lavoine’s research will specifically focus on how different surfaces and drying conditions affect the assembly of cellulose nanocrystals. The exact factors that control how these particles assemble and create colors are not completely understood yet.
“The ability to control and fine-tune surface interactions and drying conditions is hypothesized to be critical for tailoring the properties and performance of cellulose nanocrystal-based materials,” Lavoine said.
She added, “Understanding and optimizing these parameters is essential not only for fundamental insight, but also for enabling the scalable and reproducible development of these materials for advanced optical and functional applications.”
Cellulose nanocrystals have been successfully applied to wood, glass and plastic films and meshes. Lavoine hopes to ultimately expand the application of these particles by screening new surfaces and substrates, leading to innovations like smart windows, anti-corrosion coatings and even semiconductors.
In addition to her research, Lavoine plans to use the CAREER Award to establish an educational program that fosters hands-on learning and research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, peer-teaching and mentoring for school teachers, and partnerships with communities.
“This award not only provides crucial resources to pursue innovative research but also empowers me to mentor the next generation of scientists and scholars,” Lavoine said. “It serves as a powerful motivator to continue striving for excellence, collaboration, and broader societal impact through my work.”
Lavoine earned a Ph.D. in materials science from the Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science and Graphic Arts (LGP2) in France in 2013. It was at this time that she began to work with nanomaterials derived from wood. She joined the College of Natural Resources in 2018.
Throughout her career, Lavoine has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has been recognized by numerous industry organizations for her contributions to research and development in renewable nanomaterials, including TAPPI’s NanoDivision Mid-Career Award.
Lavoine’s “well-deserved” receipt of the CAREER Award underscores her continued “dedication and leading role of research in our field,” said Jingxin Wang, head of the Department of Forest Biomaterials at NC State. “I am hoping Nathalie’s innovative work continues to elevate our department.”
This post was originally published in College of Natural Resources News.
