Paul William Bohn (born 1955) is an American chemist who researches molecular nanotechnology. He is a fellow of 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Society for Applied Spectroscopy The Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) is an organization promoting research and education in the fields of spectroscopy, optics, and analytical chemistry. Founded in 1958, it is currently headquartered in Frederick, MD. In 2006 it had about 2 ...

, as well as a co-

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the '' Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry''.

Early life and education

Paul William Bohn was born in 1955 in Kentucky to parents Catherine and Joseph Robert Bohn. He grew up with one brother. He attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, graduating in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He then attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

for a PhD in chemistry, graduating in 1981.

Career

Bohn’s PhD training focused on the analytical chemistry of resist materials for

x-ray lithography X-ray lithography is a process used in semiconductor device fabrication industry to selectively remove parts of a thin film of photoresist. It uses X-rays to transfer a geometric pattern from a mask to a light-sensitive chemical photoresist, or ...

. His research primarily addresses molecular nanotechnology, particularly nanofluidics, combined

electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

and fluorescence spectroscopy of low-volume samples, nanophotonic/ nanoelectronic devices, such as the electrochemical

zero-mode waveguide zero-mode waveguide is an optical waveguide that guides light energy into a volume that is small in all dimensions compared to the wavelength of the light. Zero-mode waveguides have been developed for rapid parallel sensing of zeptolitre sample vol ...

, and multimodal chemical imaging of

microbial communities Microbial population biology is the application of the principles of population biology to microorganisms. Distinguishing from other biological disciplines Microbial population biology, in practice, is the application of population ecology and popu ...

. After finishing his PhD, Bohn worked at

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 ...

in Murray Hill, New Jersey in the Special Materials Group from 1981 to 1983. In 1983, he accepted a faculty position as an assistant professor at

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

; in 1989 he was promoted to associate professor, and in 1992 he became a full professor. He was head of its chemistry department from 1994 to 1999. In 2001 and 2002 he was the Interim Vice Chancellor for Research. He was the Centennial Professor of the Chemical Sciences from 2003 to 2006, at which point he joined the

as the

Arthur J. Schmitt Arthur J. Schmitt (14 June 1893 – 29 March 1971) was an Americans, American engineer, Invention, inventor, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur and Philanthropy, philanthropist. In 1932, he founded American Phenolic Corp (which became Amphenol) when ...

Professor. Together with Xiuling Li, he developed

metal assisted chemical etching Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (also known as MACE) is the process of wet chemical etching of semiconductors (mainly silicon) with the use of a metal catalyst, usually deposited on the surface of a semiconductor in the form of a thin film or nano ...

MacEtch
for the preparation of high aspect-ratio solid state nanostructures. He also pioneered nanopore electrode arrays for single entity measurements as well as the electrochemical zero-mode waveguide. He previously served as Editor of ''Analyst'' and is currently co-editor of the ''Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry''. He is the founding Director of th
Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health
the Director of th
Center for Bioanalytic Metrology
– an NS
Industry-University Cooperative Research Center
and a founding member of th
Indiana Consortium for Analytical Science and Engineering
He has also served as Program Chair, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair of th
Analytical Division of the American Chemical Society

Awards and honors

He received the

Coblentz Coblentz is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Clara Rankin Coblentz (1863-1933), American social reformer * Laban Coblentz (b. 1961), American writer and communications specialist * William Coblentz (1873–1962), American s ...

Award in 1990 for his contributions to molecular

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

, awarded to scientists younger than 36. He was also the recipient of th
Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Society
Award in 2004, the 200
Bomem-Michelson Award
from the

Coblentz Society The Coblentz Society is a non-profit scientific organization named after William Weber Coblentz which is involved in fostering the understanding and application of vibrational spectroscopy. The Society provides education, awards and recognitions ...

, the 2010

Theophilus Redwood Theophilus Redwood (9 April 1806 – 5 March 1892) was a Welsh pharmacist who was one of the founding members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. He was born in Boverton, Llantwit Major. In 1820 he was apprenticed to his brother- ...

Award from the

. He is the only person to have received the American Chemical Society Award i
Spectrochemical Analysis
(1997) an
Electrochemistry
(2017), and he is the recipient of the 202
Charles N. Reilley Award
of the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry. He is an elected Fellow of the

, and

. He was named one of the world’s 20 Most Influential Analytical Scientists in 2019 by
The Analytical Scientist
'.

Personal life

He is married to Raylene Bohn and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohn, Paul W Living people 1955 births Scientists from Kentucky American chemists University of Notre Dame alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Scientists at Bell Labs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Notre Dame faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Reviews (publisher) editors