Dr. Alevtina Smirnova joined the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Connecticut as a Research Assistant Professor in 2004. Previously, she taught for 10-years at the St. Petersburg State University, known as the oldest and top ranked university in Russia. As a faculty member, she managed a number of multidisciplinary programs that were partnered with universities and industry in Germany, Spain, and Finland. The focus was on the development and application of different types of chemical sensors. Alevtina(Alla) Smirnova obtained both her master�s and doctoral degrees from the St. Petersburg State University, where in 1997 she received the Soros Academic Award. Received in 1999 from the Academic Committee/Senate of St. Petersburg University, it is the highest award given to a faculty member. They recognized her achievements in the area of Novel Generation Chemical Sensors based on neutral carriers and ion exchanges.

Dr. Smirnova's research interests are focused, but are not limited to:

Ceramic and composite materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs), gas sensors, and gas separation membranes, including materials with oxygen ion and protonconductivity.

Polymer materials for proton conducting (PC), direct methanol (DM), and biofuel cells.

Catalysts and supporting materials for SOFC, DMFC, and PEMFC.

Interconnect materials for high temperature fuel cells.

Modeling of SOFC, DMFC, and PEMFC performance.

Dr. Smirnova holds 4 patents and is the author of over 80 publications. She is a member of the Materials Research Society (MRS), the Electrochemical Society and an editor of the ASME and Elsevier journals.