Plenary Session Featuring The Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Materials Science

Biography

A co-laureate of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Moungi G. Bawendi received his AB degree in 1982 from Harvard University and his PhD degree in 1988 from The University of Chicago. This was followed by two years of postdoctoral research at Bell Laboratories, working with Louis Brus, where he began his studies on nanomaterials. Bawendi joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1990, becoming Associate Professor in 1995 and Professor in 1996.

Bawendi was one of the initial developers of the field of colloidal quantum dots. He has followed an interdisciplinary research program that has probed the science and technology of chemically synthesized nanostructures. His work has advanced both the fundamental studies of nanomaterials as well as their applications. His laboratory has demonstrated applications of nanomaterials for light emission, photodetection, spectral sensing, solar-energy harvesting, and bio-imaging. His group has pioneered novel tools for the spectroscopy of single nanostructures as well as for in vivo imaging.

Bawendi’s studies have included (1) the development of methods for synthesizing, characterizing, and processing quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles and J-aggregates; (2) the study of the fundamental optical and magnetic properties of nanostructures using a variety of spectroscopic methods, including the development of photon correlation tools to study single nanoscopic emitters; (3) incorporating quantum dots, magnetic particles, J-aggregates and thin-film materials into optical and optoelectronic device structures; and (4) developing optical tools and probes, including nanoparticles and other imaging agents, for biomedical imaging.

Bawendi is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.