Eric Stach has been named Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), effective July 1, 2026.

Stach is the Robert D. Bent Professor of Engineering in MSE and holds a secondary appointment in Electrical and Systems Engineering. He is an internationally recognized leader in materials characterization and electron microscopy, with interests focused on developing and applying electron microscopy techniques to solve a wide range of materials problems, with the most recent emphasis on catalysis, energy storage materials, solar photovoltaics and nanostructure growth.

Stach has served as the Scientific Director of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology since 2024 and as Director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) since 2020. Before joining Penn in 2017, he held several different positions, including Electron Microscopy Group Leader at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Associate and then Full Professor at Purdue University; and Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Stach is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society (for which he also completed a term as President of the Board of Directors in 2025), and the Microscopy Society of America. He is the author of over 500 peer-reviewed publications and has given over 250 invited lectures at conferences and university, government and corporate laboratories.

Learn more about Eric Stach and his research by visiting his lab’s website.