Auburn University Faculty Awards

Auburn University Faculty Awards

2015-16 Excellence in Faculty Outreach

Honors the engagement of exemplary faculty members and demonstrates the tremendous impact Outreach has on our community, state, and nation.

Virginia Davis, Alumni Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering


PhD, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; 2006 – Rice University
MS, Chemical Engineering; 1993 – Tulane University
BS, Chemical Engineering; 1990 – Tulane University


Portrait image of Virginia Davis

“One of the wonderful things about being a faculty member is that there are so many moments of victory: When a middle school or high school student gets that look of wonder and inspiration during an outreach activity, when a student finally grasps a concept that was eluding them, and when an exciting experimental result comes out of the lab. I get the most pride from the successes of my current and former students and mentees.”

Virginia A. Davis, professor in Auburn University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, joined the faculty in 2005. She conducts research on making structures out of tiny building blocks called nanocylinders with potential applications for optical films, high-strength and light-weight materials, 3D-printed structures, and electronics. Her research has produced almost 40 refereed scholarly papers and book chapters that have garnered close to 2,000 citations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1990 and master’s degree in engineering in 1993, both from Tulane University. She earned her doctoral degree in chemical engineering in 2006 from Rice University. Davis worked for Shell Chemical Company from 1990 until 2001 before pursuing her doctoral degree. Her national awards include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2010, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum's Young Investigator Award in 2012, and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2009.