Dr. Giselle Sandi-Tapia is the Director of Research Excellence Programs at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). With a steadfast dedication to fostering a premier research environment, she spearheads initiatives that drive excellence and cultivate a thriving research culture. Under her visionary leadership, her team excels in providing professional development opportunities, supporting funding and award applications, enhancing the publishing process, and overseeing the student, faculty, and postdoctoral programs at the laboratory.

Boasting over 25 years of experience within the national laboratory system, Dr. Sandi-Tapia is an esteemed expert in energy storage, nuclear forensics, nanoscale engineering, and in-situ characterization techniques. Her extensive academic career spans 35 years across various prestigious institutions. Her notable academic roles have included adjunct instructor at the University of Costa Rica, adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Director of the Office of Mentoring Programs and associate professor in the Medical College at Rush University, and adjunct instructor in the Department of Chemistry at Benedictine University.

Prior to her tenure at INL, Dr. Sandi-Tapia served as the Deputy Division Director and Division Operations Lead of the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where she provided exemplary programmatic and technical leadership.

Dr. Sandi-Tapia’s contributions to STEM have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. In 2019, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Educational Award from Great Minds in STEM and the Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award. In 2021, she received the Motivator Award from the Association for Women in Science, Chicago Chapter, for her outstanding mentorship and support for women in STEMM. Additionally, from 2020 to 2023, she garnered seven impact awards while serving as Deputy Division Director at Argonne National Laboratory. Her innovative efforts were also recognized in 2011 by the UChicago Argonne LLC Board of Governors with the Pinnacle of Education Award for establishing the postdoctoral program.

Dr. Sandi-Tapia holds a PhD in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University. Her prolific contributions to the scientific community include 89 scientific publications, 175 invited and contributed talks, seven book chapters, and three U.S. patents.