Mark C. Hersam
Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Science
Northwestern University
Room 1135 Cook Hall
2220 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208-3108 USA
Phone: +1-847-491-2696
Fax: +1-847-491-7820
E-mail: m-hersam@northwestern.edu
Website: http://www.hersam-group.northwestern.edu/
he/him/his
Mark C. Hersam is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Materials Research Center at Northwestern University. He also holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Applied Physics, Medicine, and Electrical Engineering. 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 (UK) in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UIUC in 2000. His research interests include nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing, scanning probe microscopy, nanoelectronic devices, biosensors, and renewable energy. Dr. Hersam is highly engaged in education and outreach at all levels including regularly giving public lectures, participating in the Northwestern University All-Scout Nano Day, serving as the Director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates Program for 12 years, and developing the Materials Science Exhibit in partnership with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Dr. Hersam has received several honors including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, AVS Peter Mark Award, MRS Outstanding Young Investigator, U.S. Science Envoy, MacArthur Fellowship, and eight Teacher of the Year Awards. An elected member of the National Academy of Inventors, Dr. Hersam has founded two companies, NanoIntegris and Volexion, which are commercial suppliers of nanoelectronic and battery materials, respectively. Dr. Hersam is a Fellow of MRS, AVS, APS, AAAS, SPIE, and IEEE, and also serves as an Associate Editor of ACS Nano.
Mark Hersam is a fourth-generation Chicagoan who grew up in a southwestern suburb called Downers Grove, which is located relatively close to Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab where he participated in science outreach activities as a high school student. An avid outdoorsman, Mark spent much of his youth camping and backpacking with his family and through scouting, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Downers Grove South High School in 1993, where he was an individual conference golf champion and was later honored as a Class of 2016 Distinguished Alumni. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an undergraduate, where he performed undergraduate research with Professor David Ruzic in the Nuclear Engineering Department and Professor Joseph Lyding in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. In addition to science, Professor Ruzic and Professor Lyding schooled Mark on the racquetball court and basketball court, respectively. After a short stint working at Argonne National Laboratory on surface acoustic wave sensors, Mark traveled to the University of Cambridge in the UK, where he earned a Master of Philosophy in Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics under the guidance of Professor Mark Welland. In addition to being humbled on the squash court by Professor Welland, Mark joined the Churchill College Boat Club, where he regularly rowed on the River Cam. Mark then returned to the University of Illinois for his PhD, where he was advised by Professor Joseph Lyding and also worked closely with Professor Jeff Moore and Professor Karl Hess in the Beckman Institute on the chemical functionalization of silicon surfaces. During his PhD, Mark spent an extended internship working with Dr. Phaedon Avouris on multi-walled carbon nanotubes at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. Immediately following his PhD in June of 2000, he was married to his wife Sue in an outdoor ceremony in the Fu Dog Garden at Allerton Park, honeymooned in Costa Rica, and then moved to Evanston where he began his tenure-track faculty position at Northwestern University. Mark and Sue have two precocious daughters, Angie and Abby, who were born in 2006 and 2009, respectively. The Hersam family enjoys traveling and a diverse array of outdoor activities including biking, hiking, roller blading, and kayaking.
Education
• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000
• M.Phil. in Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics, University of Cambridge (UK), 1997
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996
Professional Experience
• Executive Editor, ACS Nano, 2022-
• Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, 2015-
• Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, 2015-
• Director, Northwestern University Materials Research Center, 2013-
• Bette and Neison Harris Chair in Teaching Excellence, 2012-2015
• Professor of Medicine, Northwestern University, 2011-
• Associate Editor, ACS Nano, 2010-2021
• Professor of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2007-
• Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2006-
• Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2000-2006
• Research Intern, Nanoscale Science Department, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, 1999
• Research Aide, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 1996
• Research Intern, Center for Compound Semiconductor Microelectronics, UIUC, 1995
Selected Honors
• Materials Research Society Mid-Career Researcher Award, 2024
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2023
• Dorothy Ann and Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellowship, 2023
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2022
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2021
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow, 2021
• AAAFM Stoddart Award, 2021
• Nano Research Young Innovator Award, 2021
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2020
• AVS Medard W. Welch Award, 2020
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2019
• Department of Energy EFRC Ten at Ten Technology and Tools Award, 2019
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2019
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2018
• Advanced Materials Hall of Fame, 2018
• National Academy of Inventors, 2017
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2017
• AVS Nanotechnology Recognition Award, 2017
• U.S. Science Envoy, 2016
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow, 2016
• World Technology Network Fellow, 2015
• MacArthur Fellowship, 2014
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, 2014
• ACS Arthur K. Doolittle Award in Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, 2013
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2013
• Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture, 2013
• National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award, 2013
• American Physical Society (APS) Fellow, 2012
• American Vacuum Society (AVS) Fellow, 2012
• International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Fellow, 2012
• Materials Research Society (MRS) Fellow, 2012
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2011
• AVS Prairie Chapter Award for Outstanding Research, 2011
• W. M. Keck Foundation Science and Engineering Research Grant, 2011
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2010
• Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award, 2010
• SES Research Young Investigator Award, Electrochemical Society, 2010
• Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2009
• Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2009
• Teacher of the Year Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University 2007
• Young Alumni Achievement Award, ECE Department, UIUC, 2007
• AVS Peter Mark Award, 2006
• TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, 2006
• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2005
• Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, 2005
• Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, 2005
• Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2005
• Northwestern University Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll, 2004
• Teacher of the Year Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2003
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2002
• Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, 2001
• Searle Center for Teaching Excellence Junior Fellow, 2001
• Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Award, 2000
• IBM Distinguished Fellowship, 1999
• American Vacuum Society Graduate Research Award, 1999
• Koehler Graduate Fellowship, 1998
• National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1997
• British Marshall Scholarship, 1996