RESEARCH AREAS

Mark C. Hersam

Mark C. Hersam Professor, Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University P: 847-491-2696 E: m-hersam@northwestern.edu Hersam Research Group B.S., University of Illinois, 1996; Ph.D., University of Illinois, 2000

Biographical Sketch

Mark C. Hersam is currently a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and a Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1996, M.Phil. in Physics from the University of Cambridge in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UIUC in 2000. In 1999, he was a researcher at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Laboratory under the support of an IBM Distinguished Fellowship. His research interests include single molecule chemistry, nanofabrication, scanning probe microscopy, semiconductor surfaces, and carbon nanomaterials. In recognition of his early career accomplishments, Hersam was directly promoted from assistant professor to full professor with tenure in 2006. In 2007, he co-founded NanoIntegris, which is a start-up company focused on supplying high performance carbon nanomaterials.

Research Statement

The Hersam Research Group develops scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques that enable sensing, characterization, and actuation at the single molecule level. In particular, SPM-based nanolithography enables isolation of individual organic, biological, and inorganic molecules on semiconductor surfaces. The resulting nanostructures are employed in research topics ranging from fundamental studies of intermolecular phenomena to applied nanodevices. Ongoing materials science projects include exploration of molecular rotors, carbon nanotubes, catalytic oxide surfaces, ultrananocrystalline diamond, polymer micelles, and DNA/protein interactions. Concurrently, materials engineering projects are determining the suitability of surface-mounted nanostructures for molecular electronic devices, organic light emitting diodes, nanoscale gene chips, and biomedical nanosensors.

Publications

• "Progress towards monodisperse single-walled carbon nanotubes," M.C. Hersam, Nature Nanotechnology 3, 387 (2008).
• "Colored semitransparent conductive coatings consisting of monodisperse metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes," A.A. Green and M. C. Hersam, Nano Lett. 8, 1417 (2008).
• "Spatially resolved photocurrent mapping of operating organic photovoltaic devices using atomic force photovoltaic microscopy," B. J. Leever, M. F. Durstock, M. D. Irwin, A. W. Hains, T. J. Marks, L. S. C. Pingree, and M. C. Hersam, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 013302 (2008).

Most Significant Honors & Awards

• Beckman Young Investigator Award, 2001
• NSF CAREER Award, 2001
• ARO Young Investigator Award, 2005
• ONR Young Investigator Award, 2005
• Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2005
• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2005
• TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, 2006
• AVS Peter Mark Award, 2006
• Teacher of the Year, Northwestern University; 2003, 2007