Paul Alivisatos

A. Paul Alivisatos is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served on the faculty from 1988 to 2021 and also held a professorship in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1981 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. Throughout his career at Berkeley, Alivisatos occupied several prominent administrative positions, including Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Vice Chancellor for Research from February 2016 to August 2017, Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2009 to 2016, founding Director of the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute, and founding Director of the Molecular Foundry, a U.S. Department of Energy Nanoscale Science Research Center. As the Samsung Distinguished Professor of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, he made groundbreaking contributions to the fundamental physical chemistry of nanocrystals, investigating scaling laws that govern their optical, electrical, structural, and thermodynamic properties, such as band gap increasing as 1/r² and melting temperatures decreasing as 1/r.

Alivisatos developed innovative methods for synthesizing size- and shape-controlled nanocrystals, including branched, hollow, nested, and segmented structures, as well as automated, self-correcting synthesis techniques, surface derivatization, and assembly methods. His research demonstrated key applications of nanocrystals in biological imaging, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaics, photo-catalysis, and mechanical composites. Notable publications include 'Semiconductor clusters, nanocrystals, and quantum dots' (Science, 1996), 'Light-emitting diodes made from cadmium selenide nanocrystals and a semiconducting polymer' (Nature, 1994), 'Semiconductor nanocrystals as fluorescent biological labels' (Science, 1998), 'Shape control of CdSe nanocrystals' (Nature, 2000), and 'Hybrid nanorod-polymer solar cells' (Science, 2002). He founded nanotechnology companies Nanosys and Quantum Dot Corp., now part of Thermo Fisher, and served as the founding editor of Nano Letters, a leading American Chemical Society journal in nanoscience, and on the senior editorial board of Science. Alivisatos has received more than 25 major awards, including the National Medal of Science, Wolf Prize in Chemistry, 2021 Priestley Medal, Welch Award in Chemistry, Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences, E.O. Lawrence Award, Linus Pauling Medal, and Eni Award for Energy and Environment. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society.

Professional Email: paul.alivisatos@berkeley.edu