Professor Joaquín Rodríguez-López has received three awards for his impact on students through his classroom teaching and through his mentorship of undergraduate researchers—two campus level awards from the Office of the Provost and a third award from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
The Office of the Provost has selected Rodríguez-López to receive an award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research.
"Rodríguez‑López cares about results but cares even more about the growth of the student who produces those results. His philosophy is simple: research should first and foremost feed your curiosity and enjoyment of science. He pushes students to think critically while supporting them with patience and empathy. His enthusiasm instills a thrill for discovery that outweighs the fear of failure."
The Office of the Provost also recognized Rodríguez-López for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by tenure system faculty.
"Rodríguez‑López teaches and tests distinct techniques in weeklong modules, replacing midterm exams with weekly evaluations. He uses inverted-classroom activities to engage students and to expose them to practical applications of the content. He breaks down complex concepts into accessible, engaging lessons. His method of using real-world applications, visual aids and clear step-by-step explanations makes material not only understandable but also appealing to students."
The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences also selected Rodríguez-López to receive the Dean's Award for Undergraduate Teaching. According to the Feb. 18 LAS announcement of the college's teaching and advising awards, Rodríguez-López is known for breaking down complex, historically challenging courses into engaging and student-centered learning experiences, and for extending chemistry education beyond the classroom through mentorship and community outreach. According to the LAS announcement, a former student shared how they liked his teaching style and the weekly group activities they did in his class.
"Professor Lopez is probably the most understanding and compassionate professor I have had in my time at U of I,” the student said.
"Never Saying No to Science" — Rodríguez-López was recently featured in the Quadrangle Magazine.
Rodríguez-López teaches undergraduate and graduate lecture courses. He has appeared on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students eight times for three different courses: Chem 524-Electrochemical methods, Chem 420-Instrumental Characterization, and Chem 588-Physical Methods for Materials Chemistry. In 2024, he was named a University Scholar in recognition of excellence in teaching, scholarship and service, and in 2023, he received the School of Chemical Sciences Teaching Award.
He has also been outstanding as a research advisor, mentoring graduate students, postdocs, visiting graduate students, master’s students, and undergraduate students in his research group. He also created “The Electrochemistry Bootcamp,” which combines laboratory and classroom instruction on the basics of electrochemistry for a three-day immersive experience for young scientists from all over the world.
In his more than 13 years of service at Illinois, Rodríguez-López has won more than 20 distinctions, fellowships and awards, including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Arthur F. Findeis Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Analytical Chemistry, the Zhaowu Tian Prize for Energy Electrochemistry from the International Society of Electrochemistry, and the East-Central Illinois Local Section of the ACS Distinguished Service Award. He has published more than 160 works and delivered over 160 invited talks at major conferences and universities around the world.
His research with scanning electrochemical microscopy, spectro-electrochemistry, redox polymers, and automated electroanalysis will help build better systems for catalysis and battery science. His efforts in energy storage made him an early-career leader within the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, a $200 million initiative of the Department of Energy, and more recently a participant in the Energy Storage Research Alliance, a $62.5 million initiative also from the Department of Energy.