Anna Krylov

Anna Krylov

Anna Krylov is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California. Born and raised in Donetsk, Ukraine (then USSR), Krylov received her M.Sc. from Moscow State University (1990) and her Ph.D. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (1996, with Benny Gerber). Following postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley with Martin Head-Gordon, she joined USC's chemistry department in 1998. Krylov's research is focused on theoretical and computational quantum chemistry. She develops theoretical methods and software for open-shell and electronically excited species, including metastable states. Using computational chemistry, Krylov investigates the role of radicals and electronically excited species in combustion, solar energy, bioimaging, spectroscopy, and quantum information science. Krylov is active in the promotion of gender equality in STEM fields. She created and maintains the web directory Women in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Material Science, and Biochemistry. Krylov is also an outspoken advocate of freedom of speech and academic freedom. She is a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance and a member of its academic leadership committee. Her paper "The Peril of Politicizing Science," which launched a national conversation among scientists and the general public on the growing influence of political ideology over STEM, has received over 100,000 views. Krylov’s writings have been translated into French, Polish, and Estonian.