Norma A. Alcantar, Ph.D., is the Associate Dean for Research and Professor in the Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering in the College of Engineering. Dr. Alcantar is a global pioneer in developing innovative natural technologies for environmental, medical, and industrial applications. Her research focuses on interfacial phenomena and chemical characterization of biomimetic membranes, drug delivery systems, micellar surfactants, green chemistry materials, water purification systems, nanoparticles and organic/inorganic thin films. She is internationally recognized for her inventions to filter contaminants from fresh water and provide clean drinking water in areas around the world lacking access to clean water; creating new technologies for clearing up oil spills; implementing a hybrid technology to remove bacteria and ammonia from aquaculture systems; and creating novel therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and treatments for cancer tumor cells. She currently holds 24 U.S. patents. Dr. Alcantar is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; and was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame 2021, and to the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida in 2023. She is also a Core Fulbright Scholar. She is the chair of the BME Organizations Leading Diversity (BOLD), and a member in the Council on Racial Justice at USF. She was one of the 2022 Programing Chairs for the International Materials Research Congress. She has been a departmental Mentor and Director for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority Scholars Program to advance underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, since 2005. She is also co-director of the Water, Health and Sustainability Graduate Certificate. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and her B.S. from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).