Mark Christopher Hersam (born January 31, 1975) is a professor of Chemistry and Materials Science Engineering 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 ...

(2000–present) who, according to the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, has made "major breakthrough in the field of nanotechnology. He is a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award and a 1996

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarshi ...

. He is also an Executive Editor of ''ACS Nano''. As of October 2023, he has been cited over 68,000 times according to

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Education and early academic work

Education

Mark Christopher Hersam attended Downers Grove South High School in Downers Grove, IL where he was Valedictorian and an Eagle Scout. He then went on to receive his B.S. in electrical engineering at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

in 1996. Upon winning the

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...

, Hersam received a M.Phil. in Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1997. His Ph.D. was granted from the Electrical Engineering Department at the

in 2000.

Early work

While at UIUC, Hersam did research under Professor David Ruzic in the Nuclear Engineering Department and Professor Joseph Lyding in the Electrical Engineering Department. After graduating from UIUC, Hersam was an intern at the

Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...

where he did research in the Energy Technology Division studying the energy-related applications of surface acoustic-wave-based sensing. While at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, Hersam was advised by Mark Welland and the two co-authored the paper "Potentiometry and repair of electrically stressed nanowires using atomic force microscopy" in the journal of

Applied Physics Letters ''Applied Physics Letters'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by the American Institute of Physics. Its focus is rapid publication and dissemination of new experimental and theoretical papers regarding applications of ...

. As a doctoral candidate, Hersam again worked with Professor Joseph Lyding at the Beckman Institute where they studied "atomic level manipulation and silicon-based molecular nanotechnology."

Research

As head of the Hersam Group at

, Hersam has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed publications studying hybrid hard and soft nanoscale materials for applications in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and alternative energy.

Corporate connections and applications

*Co-Founder of NanoIntegris *Intern at IBM Nanoscience

Honors and achievements

Honors

* Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering,

2003, 2007, 2009, 2010 *

Materials Research Society The Materials Research Society (MRS) is a non-profit, professional organization for materials researchers, scientists and engineers. Established in 1973, MRS is a member-driven organization of approximately 13,000 materials researchers from academi ...

Outstanding Young Investigator Award, 2010 * SES Research Young Investigator Award,

Electrochemical Society The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership comprises ...

, 2010 * Senior Member,

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

, 2009 * Young Alumni Achievement Award, ECE Department, UIUC, 2007 * AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award, 2006 * TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, 2006 *

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

, 2005 * Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, 2005 * Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, 2005 * Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2005 *

Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll,AVS Profile
2004 *

CAREER Award, 2002 * Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation,

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 ...

, 2001 * Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Award, 2000 *

American Vacuum Society AVS: Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing (formally the American Vacuum Society, Inc.) is a professional and scientific society founded in 1953 as a committee on vacuum technology. The AVS supports networking among its ...

Graduate Research Award, 1999

Scholarships

Source: * Searle Center for Teaching Excellence Junior Fellow, 2001 * IBM Distinguished Fellowship, 1999 * Koehler Graduate Fellowship, 1998 * National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1997 * British Marshall Scholarship, 1996

Professional organizations and societies

* Co-Chair of the NSF International Study of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, 2009– * AVS Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Executive Board Member, 2003–2005, 2007–2009 * Review of Scientific Instruments Editorial Board Member, 2001–2003 * Nanopatterning Synergistic Research Group Leader, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, 2001– * Director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center Research Experience for Undergraduates, 2001– * National Science Foundation SBIR, IMR/MRI, MRSEC and NUE Panelist * Member of IEEE, MRS, AVS, AIP, APS, ACS, TMS, ASEE, AAAS In 2016, he was selected as a U.S. Science Envoy by the

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

Selected works

* 2006 -Sorting carbon nanotubes by electronic structure using density differentiation, MS Arnold, AA Green, JF Hulvat, SI Stupp, MC Hersam, Nature nanotechnology 1 (1), 60–65 * 2014 - Emerging device applications for semiconducting two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, D Jariwala, VK Sangwan, LJ Lauhon, TJ Marks, MC Hersam, ACS nano 8 (2), 1102-1120 * 2015 - Synthesis of borophenes: Anisotropic, two-dimensional boron polymorphs, AJ Mannix, XF Zhou, B Kiraly, JD Wood, D Alducin, BD Myers, X Liu, Science 350 (6267), 1513-1516

Personal life

Hersam hosts Undergraduate Research Experience opportunity for students each summer.

References

External links

Hersam Group
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hersam, Mark 1975 births Living people MacArthur Fellows American nanotechnologists People from Downers Grove, Illinois Grainger College of Engineering alumni Marshall Scholars Alumni of the University of Cambridge Northwestern University faculty Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers