POTSDAM – Silvana Andreescu has been granted tenure and promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of chemistry and biomolecular science in the School of Arts & Sciences at Clarkson University.

Andreescu has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science at Clarkson since 2005. Her technical expertise is focused on analytical and bioanalytical chemistry for clinical and environmental monitoring including investigations of basic biochemical mechanisms at biointerfaces, biomimetic materials and biosensors.

She has a master of science degree in biosensors from the University of Bucharest, Romania; and a joint Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Perpignan, France, and University of Bucharest, Romania. She was also an NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellow in analytical chemistry at SUNY Binghamton.

Many of the sensors developed in Andreescu's lab are used to understand fundamental molecular mechanisms in biological systems, determine clinically important analytes associated with medical conditions and address environmental challenges.

She has incorporated research activities into her teaching, developed upper-level courses and inquiry-based laboratory modules to enhance accessibility to modern scientific technologies, recruited talented students and provided research opportunities for more than 30 Clarkson undergraduates.

Andreescu has received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop bionanotechnology laboratory experiments to revamp the chemistry curriculum by implementing new and emerging technologies in the undergraduate teaching labs. She has provided international research opportunities to several Clarkson students through NSF sponsored research and has co-directed the NSF-Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Environmental Science and Engineering at Clarkson.

She has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and 11 book chapters, has co-edited one book, has three patents, and has delivered some 100 presentations at professional and academic conferences throughout the world.

Andreescu has managed external research funding totaling about $1.3 million from the NSF, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and several other funding agencies. In 2010, Andreescu received the NSF CAREER Award, the NSF's most prestigious award for junior faculty.