Toby L. Nelson is a Research Associate Professor of Clean Manufacturing and Advanced Materials at the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. He was an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Director of Student Engagement and STEM Initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University. Professor Nelson’s research program covers the design and synthesis of organic semiconductors, polymer chemistry, green chemistry, mechanochemistry, organic electronics, biosensors, bioelectronics and development of bioinspired materials based on the natural pigment, Melanin. His current research focuses on the design and synthesis of organic materials via green methods such as green solvent usage, C-H functionalization and solvent free techniques like high-speed ball-milled reactions and polymerization.

He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Francis Marion University and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from University of South Carolina. Dr. Nelson was also a UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral Fellow in organic materials at Carnegie Mellon University under advisement of Professor Richard D. McCullough (now President of Florida State University).