Rate My Professor Luis Velarde

Luis Velarde is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences. He received his PhD from the University of Arizona in 2008. Following his doctoral studies, Velarde held a President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2008 to 2010 and served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory from 2010 to 2013. He joined the University at Buffalo in 2013, advancing to the rank of Associate Professor in October 2019. His career has been marked by excellence in both research and teaching, as evidenced by multiple prestigious awards.

Velarde's research specializes in physical, materials, and analytical chemistry, with a focus on nonlinear spectroscopy of interfaces, ultrafast processes at surfaces, molecular devices, biointerfaces, and environmental surface chemistry. His laboratory employs advanced techniques such as sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy to probe nanoparticle interfaces and molecular interactions at surfaces, contributing to advancements in energy storage, medical imaging, sensing, catalysis, and environmental applications. Notable publications include 'Quantitative sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy of molecular surfaces and interfaces: lineshape, polarization, and orientation' (2015), 'Communication: Spectroscopic phase and lineshapes in high-resolution broadband sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy: Resolving interfacial inhomogeneities of “identical …”' (2011), 'Unified treatment and measurement of the spectral resolution and temporal effects in frequency-resolved sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS)' (2013), 'Consistency in the sum frequency generation intensity and phase vibrational spectra of the air/neat water interface' (2011), and 'The lowest singlet and triplet states of the oxyallyl diradical' (2009). Velarde has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2018, providing $665,000 to develop spectroscopic tools for nanoparticle analysis and educational kits for K-12 students; the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2023; and the MAC Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success, Institutional Winner, in 2023.