Originally
from Yorktown, VA, Dr. Michael Leopold, the Floyd D. and Elizabeth S. Gottwald
Professor of Chemistry since 2012, has taught and performed research developing
nanomaterial-based sensors at the University of Richmond (UR) since 2002. He
earned his B.S. from James Madison University, his PhD from North Carolina
State University, and had post-doctoral training at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. At UR, Dr. Leopold has studied the incorporation of
nanomaterials into sensors developed for specific biomedical, forensic, and
environmental applications - research that has resulted in nearly $1.3 million
dollars of external grants from agencies such as the NSF, ACS-PRF, and
Commonwealth Health Research Board. Dr. Leopold has mentored 60+ undergraduate
researchers, including multiple Beckman and Goldwater Scholars, and has published
54 papers featuring 120+ undergraduate co-authors that have also presented
regional/national conferences. Dr. Leopold was the recipient of the Outstanding
Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (’22), a
national Outstanding Mentorship Chemistry Award from the Council of
Undergraduate Research (‘22). He was named as a Henry-Dreyfus Teacher Scholar
in 2010. UR has recognized him with the Distinguished Scholar Award (’22),
Faculty Member of the Year Award from Richmond College (‘15), Outstanding
Research Mentor Award (‘09), Distinguished Educator Award (’08), and ODK
Professor of the Year Award (’08).
