Armand Paul Alivisatos (born November 12, 1959) is an American chemist who serves as the 14th president of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. He is a pioneer in nanomaterials development and an authority on the fabrication of nanocrystals and their use in biomedical and renewable energy applications. He was ranked fifth among the world's top 100 chemists for the period 2000–2010 in the list released by Thomson Reuters.
On September 1, 2021, Alivisatos became the 14th president of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, where he also holds a faculty appointment as the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry, the
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) is the first school of engineering at the University of Chicago. It was founded as the Institute for Molecular Engineering in 2011 by the university in partnership with Argonne National Laborator ...
, and the College; and serves as the Chair of the Board of Governors of
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
and Chair of the Board of Directors of Fermi Research Alliance LLC, the operator of
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operat ...
.
Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Alivisatos was the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
(2017–2021). On July 1, 2017, he became Berkeley's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and then acted as Vice Chancellor for Research on an interim basis. He previously served the Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2009–2016), and as Berkeley’s interim Vice Chancellor for Research (2016–2017). He held a number of faculty appointments at Berkeley, including the Samsung Distinguished Professor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research and Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering at Berkeley. Alivisatos was also the Founding Director of the Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute (ENSI), an institute on the Berkeley campus launched by the Kavli Foundation to explore the application of nanoscience to
sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
technologies.
Early life
Paul Alivisatos was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Illinois, to a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
family, where he lived until the age of 10, when his family moved to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Alivisatos has said of his years in Greece that it was a great experience for him because he had to learn the
Greek language
Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
and culture then catch up with the more advanced students. "When I found something very interesting it was sometimes a struggle for me to understand it the very best that I could," he has said of that experience. "That need to work harder became an important motivator for me." Alivisatos returned to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to attend the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in the late 1970s.
Training and career
In 1981, Alivisatos earned a B.A. with honors in chemistry from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. In 1986, he received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, where he worked under Charles Harris. His Ph.D. thesis concerned the photophysics of electronically excited molecules near metal and semiconductor surfaces. He then joined
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
Bell Labs
Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984),
then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996)
and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007),
is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
working with Louis E. Brus, and began research in the field of
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
.
Alivisatos returned to Berkeley in 1988 as an assistant professor of chemistry, becoming associate professor in 1993 and professor in 1995. He served as Chancellor's Professor from 1998 to 2001, and added an appointment as a professor of materials science and engineering in 1999.
Alivisatos' affiliation with Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (or Berkeley Lab) began in 1991 when he joined the staff of the Materials Sciences Division. From 2005 to 2007 Alivisatos served as Berkeley Lab's Associate Laboratory Director for the Physical Sciences area. In 2008, he served as Deputy Lab Director under Berkeley Lab Director Steven Chu, and then as interim director when Chu stepped down to become the Secretary of Energy. He was named the seventh Director of the Berkeley Lab on November 19, 2009, by the University of California Board of Regents on the recommendation of UC President Mark Yudof and with the concurrence of the U.S. Department of Energy. He played a critical role in the establishment of the Molecular Foundry, a U.S. Department of Energy's Nanoscale Science Research Center; and was the facility's founding director.
Energy Secretary, Nobel laureate, and fellow Berkeley alumnus
Steven Chu
Steven Chund he cantake projects from material science to real-world applications."
Research
Alivisatos is an internationally recognized authority on nano chemistry in the synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots and multi-shaped artificial nanostructures. Further, he is a world expert on the chemistry of nanoscale crystals; one of his papers (Science, 271: 933–937, 1996) has been cited over 13,800 times. He is also an expert on how these can be applied, for example as biological markers (e.g., Science, 281: 2013–16, 1998; a paper cited over 10,900 times). In addition, his use of DNA in this area (
DNA nanotechnology
DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of artificial nucleic acid structures for technological uses. In this field, nucleic acids are used as non-biological engineering materials for nanotechnology rather than as the carriers of geneti ...
) has shown the surprising versatility of this molecule. He has used it to direct crystal growth and create new materials, as in Nature, 382: 609–11, 1996, and even to measure nanoscale distances (see Nature Nanotechnology, 1: 47–52, 2006).
He is widely recognized as being the first to demonstrate that semiconductor nanocrystals can be grown into complex two-dimensional shapes, as opposed to simple one-dimensional spheres. Alivisatos proved that controlling the growth of nanocrystals is the key to controlling both their size and shape. This achievement altered the nanoscience landscape and paved the way for a slew of new potential applications, including biomedical diagnostics, revolutionary photovoltaic cells, and LED materials.
Nanocrystals
Nanocrystals are aggregates of anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of atoms that combine into a crystalline form of matter known as a "cluster." Typically a few nanometers in diameter, nanocrystals are larger than molecules but smaller than bulk solids and therefore often exhibit physical and chemical properties somewhere in between. Given that a nanocrystal is virtually all surface and no interior, its properties can vary considerably as the crystal grows in size.
Prior to Alivisatos' research, all non-metal nanocrystals were dot-shaped, meaning they were essentially one-dimensional. No techniques had been reported for making two-dimensional or rod-shaped semiconductor nanocrystals that would also be of uniform size. However, in a landmark paper that appeared in the March 2, 2000 issue of the journal Nature, Alivisatos reported on techniques used to select the size but vary the shapes of the nanocrystals produced. This was hailed as a major breakthrough in nanocrystal fabrication because rod-shaped semiconductor nanocrystals can be stacked to create nano-sized electronic devices.
The rod-shaped nanocrystal research, coupled with earlier work led by Alivisatos in which it was shown that quantum dots or "qdots"–nanometer-sized crystal dots (spheres a few billionths of a meter in size)– made from semiconductors such as cadmium selenide can emit multiple colors of light depending upon the size of the crystal, opened the door to using nanocrystals as fluorescent probes for the study of biological materials, biomedical research tools and aids to diagnosis, and as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Alivisatos went on to use his techniques to create an entirely new generation of hybrid solar cells that combined nanotechnology with plastic electronics.
Applications
Alivisatos is the founding scientist of Quantum Dot Corporation, a company that makes crystalline nanoscale tags that are used in the study of cell behavior. (Quantum Dot is now part of Life Technologies.) He also founded the nanotechnology company Nanosys, and Solexant, a photovoltaic start-up that has since restarted as
Siva Power
Siva Power, Inc. is an American solar power company that developed thin-film technology. The company designed and manufactured copper indium gallium deselenide (CIGS) photovoltaics. Siva Power is based in San Jose, California. Bruce Sohn is CEO a ...
. His research has led to the development of applications in range of industries, including bioimaging (for example, the use of quantum dots for luminescent labeling of biological tissue); display technologies (his quantum dot emissive film is found in the Kindle Fire HDX tablet); and renewable energy (solar applications of quantum dots).
Patents
More than 50 as of 2021.
University of Chicago
Alivisatos became president of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
on September 1, 2021. He is the 14th president of the University of Chicago, succeeding Robert J. Zimmer who was president from 2006 to 2021. Alivisatos also serves as a John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry,
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) is the first school of engineering at the University of Chicago. It was founded as the Institute for Molecular Engineering in 2011 by the university in partnership with Argonne National Laborator ...
, and
the College
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
.
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Under Alivisatos’ leadership, Berkeley Lab embarked upon an ambitious period of strategic scientific infrastructure renewal, and shifted its priorities to the more interdisciplinary areas of renewable energy and climate-change research. During his tenure, the Lab began construction on new buildings for computational research, building efficiencies, solar energy research, and biological science. In addition, Alivisatos proactively invigorated Berkeley Lab's safety culture, elevated the Lab's community outreach and operational efficiency efforts, and worked to build a more diverse and inclusive community within the lab.
Alivisatos focused on integrating the Lab into the nation's innovation ecosystem, especially in the areas of energy and the environment. While some of the groundwork for this integration was laid by former Director Steve Chu, Alivisatos led efforts to leverage the wide range of scientific capabilities at Berkeley Lab with a variety of industry partners and entrepreneurs. These public/private sector collaborations resulted in technology transfer for industries as diverse as automobiles and medicine, and contributed to an increased speed of development in manufacturing and renewable energy. On March 23, 2015 Alvisatos announced that he would step down as Director when a replacement was identified.
In addition to his emphasis on innovation and outreach to the private sector, Alivisatos also worked to create a more closely connected network of the U.S. Dept. of Energy's seventeen national labs. During his tenure as the chair of the National Lab Directors Council, Alivisatos encouraged greater alignment and collaboration across the labs on such issues as diversity and workforce development.
Alivisatos has also been outspoken on the issue of basic science funding at the federal level and America's ability to stay competitive in the areas global scientific research and development.
Personal life
Alivisatos is married to Nicole Alivisatos, a retired chemist, former editor of the journal
Nano Letters
''Nano Letters'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. It was established in January 2001. The editor-in-chief is Teri W. Odom (Northwestern University). The journal covers all aspects of nanosci ...
, and daughter of the noted chemist, Gábor A. Somorjai. They have two daughters.
Awards and honors
* 1991–1995 –
Presidential Young Investigator Award
The Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI) was awarded by the National Science Foundation of the United States Federal Government. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Awards and Presiden ...
;
* 1991 – Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship;
* 1991 – ACS Exxon Solid State Chemistry Fellowship;
* 1994 – Coblentz Award for Advances in Molecular Spectroscopy;
* 1994 – Wilson Prize at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
;
* 1994 –
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Materials Chemistry;
* 1995 – Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award;
* 1997 – Department of Energy Award for Sustained Outstanding Research in Materials Chemistry;
* 2005 – Colloid and Surface Chemistry American Chemical Society Award;
* 2006 – E. O. Lawrence Award;
* 2006 – Eni Italgas prize for Energy and Environment;
* 2006 – The Rank Prize (Optoelectronics);
* 2006 – University of Chicago's Distinguished Alumni Award (Professional Achievement);
* 2008 – Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience, Materials Research Society;
* 2009 – Nanoscience Prize, International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation & Engineering;
* 2010 – ''Medaglia teresiana'',
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...
;
* 2011 –
Linus Pauling Award
The Linus Pauling Award is an award recognizing outstanding achievement in chemistry. It is awarded annually by thePuget Sound Oregon an
;
* 2011 – Von Hippel Award, Materials Research Society;
* 2012 –
Wolf Prize in Chemistry
The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts.
Laure ...
;
* 2014 –
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
;
* 2014 – ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials;
* 2015 – Axion Award, Hellenic American Professional Society;
* 2015 – Spiers Memorial Award,
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...
;
* 2016 –
Dan David Prize
The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognizes and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. It awards nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding ...
for nanoscience research;
* 2017 –
NAS Award in Chemical Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences is awarded for innovative research in the chemical sciences that in the broadest sense contributes to a better understanding of the natural sciences and to the benefit of humanity.
Reci ...
;
* 2019 –
Welch Award in Chemistry
The Welch Award in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Robert A. Welch Foundation, based in Houston, Texas, to encourage and recognise basic chemical research for the benefit of mankind. The award, which has been given since 1972, is one of the ...
;
* 2020 –
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...
;
* 2021 –
Priestley Medal
The Priestley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is awarded for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. Established in 1922, the award is named after Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen ...
;
In addition to those listed above, Alivisatos has held fellowships with the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, the
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
(1996), and the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...
. He is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
*
For a full list of publications, see http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/pagrp/publications.html
Editorships
Alivisatos is the founding editor of ''
Nano Letters
''Nano Letters'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. It was established in January 2001. The editor-in-chief is Teri W. Odom (Northwestern University). The journal covers all aspects of nanosci ...
'', a publication of the American Chemical Society. He formerly served on the Senior Editorial Board of ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
''. He has also served on the editorial advisory boards of''
ACS Nano
''ACS Nano'' is a monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal, first published in August 2007 by the American Chemical Society. The current editor in chief is Xiaodong Chen (Nanyang Technological University). The journal publishes original research ...
'', the ''
Journal of Physical Chemistry
''The Journal of Physical Chemistry A'' is a scientific journal which reports research on the chemistry of molecules - including their dynamics, spectroscopy, kinetics, structure, bonding, and quantum chemistry. It is published weekly by the Amer ...
'', ''Chemical Physics'', the ''
Journal of Chemical Physics
''The Journal of Chemical Physics'' is a scientific journal published by the American Institute of Physics that carries research papers on chemical physics.Advanced Materials
''Advanced Materials'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering materials science. It includes communications, reviews, and feature articles on topics in chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, ceramics, metallurgy, and biomaterials. Acco ...