Chad Risko is an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky (UK) and an affiliated faculty member of the UK Center for Applied Energy Research. He received his PhD at the Georgia Institute of Technology under the direction of Professor Jean-Luc Bredas, undertook postdoctoral research with Professors Mark Ratner and Tobin Marks at Northwestern University, and has been at the University of Kentucky since 2014. His research blends principles from organic and physical chemistry, condensed-matter physics, and materials science to develop theoretical materials chemistry approaches to better understand and design materials for advanced electronics and power generation and storage applications. Chad was named a 2016 Emerging Investigator by the Journal of Materials Chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry), received a 2018 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, was selected as a 2018 Cottrell Scholar (Research Corporation for Science Advancement, RCSA), and was an RCSA Scialog Fellow for Advanced Energy Storage. Chad was also honored with the 2019 UK College of Arts & Sciences Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentoring and the 2021 UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award.