SCI America has announced that world-renowned chemist and nanoscience expert Dr Chad Mirkin has won the 2019 Perkin Medal. Dr Mirkin is the Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and the George B Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University.
This honour recognises his contributions to nanotechnology and nanochemistry and the commercial products and process that are based upon them, including the invention and development of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and myriad nanopatterning methodologies.
‘The work Chad has done in nanotechnology and supramolecular chemistry has resulted in innovative solutions that have a positive impact on people’s lives,’ said Craig Rogerson, who serves as the Chair, President and CEO of Hexion Inc and is Chair of SCI America.
‘SCI America is pleased to reward Chad’s remarkable success in the industry, his contributions to science, and his commitment to developing diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the benefit of society.’
The Perkin Medal Selection Committee, consisting of the Chairs or Presidents of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Science History Institute, and SCI America, noted Dr Mirkin’s considerable contributions to chemistry, especially with regards to health care.
‘Dr Mirkin’s diagnostic inventions are used in half of the world’s top hospitals today, resulting in better doctoring, a better patient experience, a reduction in antibiotic resistance, and in lowering health care costs,’ said Dr Robert Anderson, President and CEO of the Science History Institute. ‘He exemplifies what the Perkin Medal stands for.’
About the honouree
Dr Chad Mirkin is known for his discovery and development of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and SNA-based biodetection and therapeutic schemes, the invention of Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN) and related cantilever-free nanopatterning methodologies, On-Wire Lithography (OWL), Co-Axial Lithography (COAL), and contributions to supramolecular chemistry and nanoparticle synthesis.
He is the author of over 730 manuscripts and over 1,100 patent applications worldwide (over 330 issued), and the founder of multiple companies, including AuraSense, Exicure, TERA-print, and CDJ Technologies.
Dr Mirkin has been recognised for his accomplishments with more than 130 national and international awards, including the inaugural NAS Sackler Prize in Convergence Research, the Linus Pauling Medal, the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, and the iCON Innovator of the Year Award. He served as a Member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology for the Obama Administration for eight years, and he is one of very few scientists to be elected to all three US National Academies – Medicine, Science, and Engineering.
Mirkin has served on the Editorial Advisory Boards of over 20 scholarly journals and at present is an Associate Editor of JACS and a PNAS Board Member. He is the Founding Editor of the journal Small, one of the premier international nanotechnology journals, and he has co-edited multiple bestselling books.
Dr. Mirkin holds a BS degree from Dickinson College in 1986 and a PhD in Chemistry in 1989 from the Pennsylvania State University. He was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the MIT prior to becoming a professor at Northwestern University in 1991.
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