The Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) is pleased to announce that Susanna Thon, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), has been named the associate director of ROSEI.

Susanna Thon

Thon has been involved with ROSEI since its inception in April 2021 but will take on more responsibilities with this new role. In addition to providing general leadership and guidance for all matters involving ROSEI, Thon will oversee the institute’s education efforts, which include the High School Sustainable Energy Education (SEE) program, JHU’s Energy Minor, the recently awarded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site for students who are external to Hopkins, and the institute’s National Research Trainee initiative, which is designed to cultivate a diverse workforce armed with expertise in AI and microelectronics.

“Susanna is one of the energy experts who initially came together to develop ROSEI’s mission and vision. Her enthusiasm for energy research and education at Hopkins has led all of us to count on her in larger and more encompassing roles since ROSEI formed,” said Ben Schafer, ROSEI’s director. “In addition to continuing to play a crucial role in ROSEI research efforts as one of the leaders of the Light-Integrated Technology for Energy Storage (LITES) Initiative, Susanna is passionate about educating the next generation of engineers and scientists that will lead the fight against climate change. Her willingness to lead ROSEI’s educational mission as associate director is exciting for the institute and for students at Hopkins.”

Thon’s research is centered around nanomaterials engineering for optoelectronic devices, with a focus on solar energy conversion and sensing. Her work applies techniques from nanophotonics and scalable fabrication to produce devices and materials with novel optical and electrical functionality.

She has received funding from the American Chemical Society, National Science Foundation, Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, Cohen Translational Engineering Fund, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Thon is the recipient of Johns Hopkins’ Catalyst and Discovery awards and the 2024 Whiting School of Engineering Excellence in Mentoring award. More than 70 of her research papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals.