Chris Leighton is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, a Distinguished University Teaching Professor, and a graduate faculty member in Physics at the University of Minnesota (UMN). Following a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics at the University of Durham in the UK (1994), and a Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics at the same institution (1998), he pursued post-doctoral research at UC San Diego under Prof. Ivan Schuller (1998-2001). He joined the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science faculty at UMN in 2001 as an Assistant Professor, rising to Associate Professor in 2007, and Professor in 2011. His research deals with electronic and magnetic properties of novel materials including complex oxides, oxide heterostructures, metallic spintronics, complex alloys, organic conductors, and earth-abundant photovoltaics. He has authored around 220 publications, which have accumulated over 11,500 citations. He has received honors that include Fellowship in the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Neutron Scattering Society of America, the Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and UMN’s Morse-Alumni Association Teaching Award, Taylor Career Development Award, McKnight Presidential Fellowship, Taylor Distinguished Research Award, Distinguished McKnight University Professorship, Tate Award for Undergraduate Advising, and membership in the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He currently serves as Lead Editor of Physical Review Materials.