Dr. Lisa Rueschhoff, a senior materials research engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), specializes in materials for extreme aerospace environments. She is a pioneer in additive manufacturing of ceramics, ultra-high temperature ceramic composites, and materials and structures for morphing aerospace components. Her work focuses on enabling leap-ahead capabilities for future Department of the Air Force systems by addressing material processing challenges and pushing performance boundaries in demanding conditions.

In her seven years at AFRL, Dr. Rueschhoff has effectively managed complex projects, securing and executing $12M in research funding as PI and $29M as co-PI. Her leadership has been instrumental in advancing critical materials technologies and fostering collaborations across the DoD, academia, industry, and international government partners. Lisa has actively contributed to The American Ceramic Society (ACerS), serving as committee chair, journal associate editor, student mentor, and technical conference co-chair. Her contributions have been recognized with the ACerS Du-Co Ceramics Young Professional Award and the International Jubilee Global Diversity Award.

She was recently awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on standout scientists and engineers. She is also a two-time recipient of the Charles J. Cleary Scientific Award, the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing directorate's most prestigious honor to acknowledge exemplary published research. This year, she received the AFRL Early Career Award for exceptional accomplishments early in her AFRL career. Her work has been published in 25 high-impact journals, achieving an h-Index of 15 with over 1,200 citations. Rueschhoff is an active research mentor, having guided 23 students and 12 postdocs during her time at AFRL, successfully transitioning four students to Purdue PhD programs.