VALERIA MOLINERO portrait
  • Jack and Peg Simons Endowed Professor of Theoretical Chemistry
  • Director, Henry Eyring Center for Theoretical Chemistry
  • Professor, Chemistry
  • Distinguished Professor, Chemistry
  • Distinguished Professor
801-585-9618

Professional Service

  • Henry Eyring Center for Theoretical Chemistry. Director. 12/2013 - present
  • Journal of Chemical Physics. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 01/2013 - 12/31/2016
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Guest Editor. 01/2014 - 03/2016
  • Journal of Chemical Physics . Guest Editor. 01/2014 - 07/2014
  • Faraday Discussion Water at Interfaces. Co-organizer of the conference, London UK. 09/2023 - present
  • Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Argentina. Evaluator for the High Impact Federal Networks Research . 03/2023 - present
  • National Academy of Sciences. Member of the PNAS Cozzarelli Prize Committee . 03/2023 - present
  • PNAS. Journal Editor. 02/2023 - present
  • PNAS. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 02/2023 - 02/2025
  • 4th International Conference on Ice Binding Proteins. Member of the Advisory Committee. 07/2022 - present
  • Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences. Council on Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences . 08/2021 - present
  • Scientific Advisory Board of Research Centers. NSF MRSEC UCSD. 02/2021 - present
  • Scientific Advisory Board of Research Centers. NIH, RM1 Solvation modeling for next-gen biomolecule simulations. 02/2021 - present
  • Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory, Physical and Computational Sciences. Directorate Advisory Committee . 01/2021 - present
  • 5th International Workshop on Dynamics on Confinement - Confit 2020. Member of the Advisory Committee. 09/2020 - 10/2022
  • American Chemical Society. Member of the ACS Hildebrand Awards Canvassing Committee. 03/2020 - 12/2022
  • American Physical Society. Member of the Division of Chemical Physics Jankunas Award committee. 01/2020 - present
  • American Chemical Society. Chair of the Theoretical Chemistry Subdivision. 09/2019 - 09/2020
  • American Chemical Society. Role: Chair. Theoretical Chemistry Subdivision, Division of Physical Chemistry . 09/2019 - 09/2020
  • Scientific Advisory Board of Research Centers. DOE EFRC Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems Center . 02/2019 - present
  • Scientific Advisory Board of Research Centers. DOE EFRC Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales . 02/2019 - present
  • AIP Publishing. Role: Member. Board of Managers. 01/2019 - present
  • Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of Liquids. Chair. 01/2019 - 12/2019
  • American Chemical Society. Role: Vice Chair. Theoretical Chemistry Subdivision, Division of Physical Chemistry . 09/2018 - 09/2019
  • American Institute of Physics Publishing. Member of the Board of Managers. 01/2018 - 01/2020
  • Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 01/2018 - 01/2020
  • American Physical Society. Member of the Division of Chemical Physics nominating committee. 01/2018 - 01/2019
  • Journal of Physical Chemistry. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board . 01/01/2018 - 12/30/2022
  • Journal of Chemical Physics. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 01/01/2018 - 12/30/2020
  • Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of Liquids. Vice-chair, Chair Elect. 07/2017 - 07/2019
  • XIV International Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice. Member of the Scientific Board. 02/01/2017 - 01/01/2018
  • American Chemical Society. Vice-chair of the Theoretical Chemistry Subdivision. 01/01/2017 - 01/01/2018
  • Telluride Science Research Center. Member of the General Board. 06/30/2016 - 06/30/2018
  • Gordon Research Conference on the Chemistry and Physics of Liquids. Vice-chair elect. 07/2015 - 07/2017
  • American Chemical Society. Member of the ACS National Awards Program Committee. 02/01/2014 - 12/31/2016
  • XIII International Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice . Member of the Scientific Board. 01/2014 - 12/2014
  • Journal of Chemical Physics. Member of the Editorial Advisory Board. 01/01/2014 - 02/29/2016
  • XIII International Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice. Member of the Scientific Board. 02/01/2013 - 02/28/2014
  • Telluride Science Research Center. Member of the Scientific Advisory Board. 01/01/2011 - 12/30/2016

Internal Service

  • Faculty Search Committee, Chemistry. 08/2023 - present. Department service.
  • Faculty Awards Committee. 06/2021 - present. Department service.
  • Postdoctoral Mentoring Committee . 06/2021 - 06/2022. Department service.
  • Chair, Tenured Faculty Review Committee . 01/2021 - present. Department service.
  • Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute Director Search Committee . member, 09/2019 - 06/2020. University service.
  • Chair of Retention, Promotion and Tenure Committee. 01/2019 - present. Department service.
  • Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute Director Search Committee. 01/2019 - 01/2020. University service.
  • Seminar & Colloquium Committee. 01/2017 - present. Department service.
  • College of Science Retention, Promotion and Tenure Committee. 01/2017 - present. College service.
  • Faculty Search Committee of the Biophysics and Neuroscience Cluster. 01/2016 - present. College service.
  • Faculty Search Committee, Chemistry. 01/2016 - 02/2020. Department service.
  • Biophysics Cluster Faculty Search Committee. member, 10/01/2015 - present. College service.
  • Chair of the Physical Chemistry Division. chair, 07/01/2015 - 06/30/2017. Department service.
  • College of Science Council . Member, 07/2014 - 05/2017. College service.
  • Graduate Council. Representative of the College of Science, 06/2014 - 06/2017. University service.
  • Graduate Admissions Committee, Recruiting Subcommittee . Chair, 06/2014 - 06/2017. Department service.
  • Myriad Faculty Award Committee. 05/2012 - 05/2014. College service.
  • Center of High Performance Computing, User Council. Member, 01/2011 - 03/2015. University service.
  • University Interdisciplinary Teacher Programs Committee. 01/2011 - 01/2014. University service.
  • Thatcher Addition to Henry Eyring Building. representative, 06/2010 - 02/2013. Department service.
  • Seminar & Colloquium Committee . Chair, 02/2009 - 06/2011. University service.
  • Graduate Admissions Committee (physical). Admissions Committee , 02/2009 - 02/2011. Department service.
  • Chemistry Female Student advisor. Advisor, 08/2008 - 07/2011. Department service.
  • Task Force on the Status of Women and Minority in the College of Science. Advisor, 01/2008 - 12/01/2010. College service.

Community Partnership

  • Contributed to the "Water Exhibit" in The Leonardo Museum . 06/2014 - present
  • Collaborates with the program "The Leo on Wheels", preparing animations that illustrate the the molecular structure of solutions, and the molecular choreography that leads to the formation of ice and clathrate and the growth of these crystals. 09/2009 - present

Outreach

  • Multiple presentations of interactive science activities on the chemistry of aerosols and climate at the University of Utah for the ACS Chemistry Festival, middle schools students of the Great Salt Lake area, and Girl Scouts. 06/2012 - present
  • Collaborates with the program "The Leo on Wheels", preparing animations that illustrate the the molecular structure of solutions, and the molecular choreography that leads to the formation of ice and clathrate and the growth of these crystals. 11/2009 - present
  • Materials Up Close: The Growth of Crystals in 3D Worksop presented to high school students and their parents in Science Day and to visiting high School and college students and teachers on other occasions, using the 3D Visualization Wall of the Center of High Performance Computing at the University of Utah. This workshop introduces the atomic and molecular structure of carbon and water crystals, show the processes of nucleation and growth of ice, clathrates and quasicrystals of water, and the different nature of phase coexistence in nanoscopic volumes. 06/2009 - present
  • Proposed and organized the “Henry Eyring Lecture Series” that invites talented women and minority students and postdocs to present a lecture on their research to the Department of Chemistry, University of Utah. 06/2007 - present
  • Co-authored a book aimed to provide elementary and high school educators with a deeper scientific understanding of the ubiquitous topic of water in school: “El agua, sabers esolares y perspectives cientificas” (Water, school knowledge and scientific perspectives). V. Molinero, L. Lacreu Ed.; Editorial Paidos, Buenos Aires, 2004. 01/2003 - 02/01/2003

Honors & Awards

  • APS Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics. 03/2023
  • Doctor Honoris Causa, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 12/2022
  • Utah Academy of Engineering and Sciences. 06/2022
  • National Academy of Sciences. 05/2022
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 04/2021
  • Cozzarelli Prize, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020. 02/2020
  • University of Utah Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award. 05/2019
  • Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award. Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, 05/2012
  • Myriad Award of Research Excellence. 04/2011
  • Young Investigator Award. Beckman Foundation, 08/2009
  • Helmholtz Award. International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS), 06/2005

Affiliations

  • Society for the Advance of Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), member, 01/2009 - present
  • American Chemical Society (ACS), member, 01/2007 - present

In the Media