Chad Alexander Mirkin (born November 23, 1963) is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann professor of chemistry, professor of medicine, professor of
materials science and engineering, professor of
biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
, and professor of chemical and biological engineering, and director of the
International Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
.
Mirkin is known for his development of nanoparticle-based biodetection schemes, the invention of
dip-pen nanolithography (recognized by ''National Geographic'' as one of the top 100 scientific discoveries that changed the world), and contributions to supramolecular chemistry, nanoelectronics, and nanooptics. In 2010, he was listed as the most cited chemist in the world over the last decade in terms of total citations, the second highest most cited chemist
in terms of impact factor,
and the top most cited nanomedicine researcher.
Early life and education
Mirkin was born November 23, 1963, in Phoenix, Arizona.
He received his B.S. degree from
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...
in 1986 and his PhD from
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in 1989 under the direction of Professor
Gregory L. Geoffroy.
He was a NSF postdoctoral research fellow at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
where he worked with Professor
Mark S. Wrighton
Mark Stephen Wrighton (born June 11, 1949) is an American academic and chemist. From 1995 to 2019, he served as the List of chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis, 14th Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, where he overs ...
on microelectrode devices for electrocatalysis.
He became a professor at Northwestern University in 1991.
Research
The focus of Mirkin's research is on developing methods for controlling the
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
of molecules and materials on the 1 – 100 nm length scale and utilizing such structures in the development of analytical tools that can be used in the areas of chemical and biological sensing, lithography, catalysis, and optics. Mirkin has pioneered the use of DNA and nanoparticles as synthons in materials science and the development of
nanoparticle
A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...
-based biodiagnostics.
A common strategy used by Mirkin's group is the use of the unique properties of
spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), spherical arrangements of nucleic acids with or without organic or inorganic nanoparticle cores, to enable the synthesis of novel materials and colloidal crystals, the development of high sensitivity probes for chemical and medical diagnostic purposes, and single-entity structures capable of intracellular gene regulation. His 1996 work with SNA-gold nanoparticle conjugates introduced the concept of a nanoparticle as an atom and nucleic acids as bonds, and it laid the ground work for the fields of colloidal crystal engineering with DNA and molecular diagnostics based upon well-defined nanoparticle and nanocrystal bioconjugates. SNAs are the cornerstone of Luminex's FDA-cleared Verigene system (now used in over half of the world's top hospitals), EMD Millipore's SmartFlare platform (licensed to AuraSense, In
and Holden Pharma), and seven drugs in human clinical trials. In addition, his inventions of DPN, Polymer Pen Lithography (PPL), and Beam Pen Lithography (BPL) are the basis for the TERA-fab M and E series commercial patterning tools, known as desktop fabs
TERA-print, LLC.
He has published over 900 manuscripts, with a Google Scholar H-index of 205,
and has over 1,200 patents and patent applications.
Mirkin has been elected into all three branches of the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the Uni ...
, the 10th person so honored. He has served on several editorial advisory boards, including
ACS Nano, the
Journal of the American Chemical Society
The ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' (also known as JACS) is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the ...
and
Angewandte Chemie. He is the founding editor of the nanotechnology journal
Small
Small means of insignificant size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or ...
, and he is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Mirkin is a co-founder of multiple companies, including
NanoInk, Nanosphere (acquired by Luminex for $83M in 2016 ), Azul 3D, TERA-print, Exicure, and Stoicheia.
Information scientists at CAS, a division of 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 ...
, singled out Mirkin and his contributions to supramolecular chemistry and nanomaterials in an article about potential future winners of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
, saying that “Overall, Mirkin’s work set up the foundation of modern nanotechnology and development of related diagnostic, therapeutic, and material applications.”
Science policy
In addition to his academic and research work, Mirkin has been involved in shaping science policy decisions.
From 2009 to 2017 Mirkin was appointed to President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
He co-chaired the PCAST report titled, "Engage to Excel," focusing on teaching and engagement issues involving students who are in their first two years of undergraduate study at R-1, 2 and 4-year institutions, and community colleges.
Awards and honors
* 2024 - Kavli Prize in Nanoscience
* 2024 - Guggenheim Fellow
* 2023 - Materials Today Innovation Awar
* 2023 –
King Faisal Prize
* 2022 - MRS Medal
* 2022 – John P. McGovern Science and Society Award
* 2022 –
Faraday
Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
Medal
* 2022 –
UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences
* 2021 –
De Gennes Prize (
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and 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 ...
)
* 2021 – Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal
* 2021 – G.M. Kosolapoff Award
* 2020 –
AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize
* 2019 –
Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine
* 2019 –
Perkin Medal
* 2019 – Netherlands Award for Supramolecular Chemistry
* 2018 – Theodore William Richards Medal
* 2018 –
Ira Remsen Award
* 2018 – Chinese
Friendship Award
* 2018 – Harrison Howe Award
* 2018 – Nano Research Award
* 2017 –
William H. Nichols Medal Award
* 2016 –
Dickson Prize
* 2016 – Rusnano Prize
* 2016 –
Dan David Prize
* 2016 –
American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal
* 2015 – American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow
* 2015 – Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Convergence Research of the National Academy of Sciences
* 2015 –
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and 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 ...
Centenary Prize
* 2014 –
Vittorio de Nora Award, Electrochemical Society
* 2014 – Honorary Professor, Nanjing Tech University
* 2013 – Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year
* 2013 –
Linus Pauling Award
* 2012 – Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitor to Singapore
* 2012 – Honorary Doctorate of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
* 2012 – American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention
* 2011 – Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
* 2010 – Member of the
Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...
* 2010 – Member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...
* 2009 – Member of the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
* 2009 –
Lemelson-MIT Prize
* 2007 – Alumni Fellow, Pennsylvania State University
* 2004 –
NIH Director's Pioneer Award
* 2004 – Outstanding Science Alumni Award, Pennsylvania State University
* 2004 – Honorary Degree, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
* 2004 – American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award
* 2003 – Raymond and Beverly
Sackler Prize
* 2002 –
Feynman Prize
* 2001 – Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award
* 2000 – Appointed to chair endowed by
George B. Rathmann
* 1999 –
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry
* 1992 –
Beckman Young Investigators Award
The Beckman Young Investigators Award was established by Mabel and Arnold Beckman in 1991, and is now administered by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program is intended to provide research support to ...
References
External links
Northwestern University Chemistry DepartmentThe Mirkin Research GroupInternational Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirkin, Chad
1963 births
Living people
21st-century American chemists
Jewish chemists
Northwestern University faculty
Dickinson College alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Members of the National Academy of Medicine
American scientists