Susan Fullerton , Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, has been named a 2026 Experimental Physics Investigator by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation . The five-year award will support an effort to directly measure a hidden layer of ions that could help researchers design a new class of ultra-low-power electronic devices.
As one of 21 researchers selected nationwide for the 2026 cohort, Fullerton will receive $1.35 million over five years with additional funding available for specialized equipment. Designed to back bold new directions and test ambitious ideas that can be difficult to support through traditional funding pathways, the initiative centers on pushing the boundaries of experimental physics. Open to researchers across scientific disciplines, the program requires only that the core science is experimental physics – a standard that Fullerton meets through her research that spans chemistry, materials, and device physics.
Fullerton leads the Nanoionics and Electronics Lab at Pitt, where her group uses ions as active components in electronic devices. Her Moore project, “Structure and Dynamics of Electric Double Layers on Two-Dimensional Crystals,” focuses on what happens when ions are used to control charge in transistors built from molecularly thin materials. The ions form an ultrathin, densely packed electric double layer at the surface – a structure that has not been directly measured.
“Our brains process vast amounts of real-time data at a fraction of the energy required by standard silicon chips,” Fullerton said. “Next-generation AI and autonomous devices will need that same ultra-low-power efficiency to make real-time decisions at the ‘edge,’ and that’s going to require computing with ions, not just electrons.”
According to Fullerton, it is difficult to deliberately engineer these devices without knowing precisely where the ions are located or how they move. She has been working on these devices for more than a decade, relying on theory and indirect clues while leaving much of the device-development process to trial-and-error.
“Throughout my 12 years of research, colleagues have been asking me the same question: ‘Where are the ions?’” Fullerton said. “It’s difficult to answer - it’s like trying to measure the thickness of a single sheet of paper hidden in the middle of a giant textbook, but without opening the book.”
To look inside that “textbook,” Fullerton’s team will combine neutron measurements, which offer a way to distinguish between different types of atomically light atoms, with surface probes and precise electrical measurements. Each technique will provide a different view of the buried interface, allowing the researchers to connect the ions’ physical structure and movement with the electronic behavior of the device. The goal is to replace empirical guesswork with rational design.
“The Moore Award allows us to build the team needed to tackle this problem at a scale standard funding simply can’t match,” Fullerton said. “I’m really excited; I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to answer this question for more than a decade.”
The Moore Foundation designed the initiative to support novel, potentially high-payoff projects that might struggle to attract this level and duration of funding from conventional sources. Launched in 2022, the program plans to support roughly 120 mid-career scientists across six annual cohorts, according to the foundation.
Michele V. Manuel , U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering, said Fullerton’s selection reflects both the ambition and the interdisciplinary reach of her work. “Susan asks bold questions at the boundary of chemistry, materials, and physics, and she has the creativity and the persistence to answer them,” Manuel said. “We are proud to see her recognized among the nation’s most inventive experimental scientists.”