Hersam elected to National Academy of Engineering

SQI member Mark Hersam, whose research has led to more effective and sustainable nanomaterials used in electronics, energy storage, and medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Election to the academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Hersam is one of 114 new members and 21 new international members announced by the NAE on February 6. They will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting on September 24.

“We are extremely proud to see Mark recognized with the highest honor in our profession,” said Christopher A. Schuh, dean of Northwestern Engineering. “His pioneering work in nanomaterials has helped make Northwestern a leader in the field, while also leading to countless advances in renewable energy and computing.”

Hersam, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) professor of electrical and computer engineering and of chemistry, studies nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing, scanning probe microscopy, nanoelectronics devices, biosensors, renewable energy, and quantum information science. His work includes the synthesis of borophene, a stronger, lighter, and more flexible material than graphene that has the potential to revolutionize batteries, electronics, sensors, solar cells, and quantum computing.

Hersam was cited for “the synthesis, purification, functionalization, and application of low-dimensional nanoelectronic materials.”

As director of the Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NU-MRSEC), Hersam leads the center’s efforts to promote and foster world-class materials research, education, and outreach via active interdisciplinary collaborations and with external partners in academia, industry, national laboratories, and museums. NU-MRSEC maintains two synergistic interdisciplinary research groups, an active seed funding program, and commercialization, shared facilities, education, and outreach programs that disseminate NU-MRSEC research advances to the scientific community. In 2023, the center received a six-year, $18 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Hersam has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, AVS Peter Mark Award, MRS Outstanding Young Investigator, US Science Envoy, the MacArthur Fellowship, and eight Teacher of the Year Awards. An elected member of the National Academy of Inventors, he has founded two companies, NanoIntegris and Volexion, which are commercial suppliers of nanoelectronic and battery materials, respectively.

Named a 2023 Highly-Cited Researcher by Clarivate, Hersam has published more than 680 journal articles and owns 78 patents. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign.

Note: This article was first published by the McCormick School of Engineering.