Charles M. Lieber

Charles M. Lieber (born 1959) is an American chemist and pioneer in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In 2011, Lieber was recognised as the leading chemist in the world by Thomson Reuters for the impact of his scientific publications.

Work

Lieber holds a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, as the Mark Hyman Professor of Chemistry, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He was assistant professor (1987-1990) and associate professor (1990-1991) of chemistry at Columbia University before moving to Harvard as a full professor.

Lieber has published over 330 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and he is the principal inventor on more than 35 patents. He has founded the nanotechnology companies Nanosys in 2001 and the nanosensor company Vista Therapeutics in 2007. He is known for his contributions to the synthesis, fundamental understanding, and assembly of nanoscale materials, pioneering demonstrations of nanodevices, the creation of nanotechnology companies and the education of numerous leaders in nanoscience.

Awards

• In 2012, Lieber was awarded the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (shared with Paul Alivisatos) for his contributions to nanochemistry.
• In 2002, Lieber won the Breakthrough of the Year by Science and the Feynman Prize for Nanotechnology.
• In both 2003 and 2004, he won the World Technology Award in Materials.
• the Willard Gibbs Award from the Chicago Section of the ACS (2013),
• Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience, Materials Research Society (2010);
• Inorganic Nanoscience Award, ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry (2009);
• Einstein Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2008);
• Pioneer Award, NIH (2008);
• Elected Fellow, MRS (2008);
• NBIC Research Excellence Award, University of Pennsylvania (2007);
• Nanotech Briefs Nano 50 Award (2005);
• ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials (2004);
• Scientific American 50 Award in Nanotechnology and Molecular Electronics (2003);
• New York Intellectual Property Law Association Inventor of the Year (2003);
• Nelson W. Taylor Award, Pennsylvania State University (2003);
• APS McGroddy Prize for New Materials (2003);
• Harrison Howe Award, University of Rochester (2002);
• MRS Medal (2002);
• NSF Creativity Award (1996);
• Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award, American Chemical Society (1995);
• George Ledlie Prize, Harvard University (1994-1995);
• MRS Outstanding Young Investigator Award (1993);
• ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1992);
• Wilson Prize (1990).

Other honors and positions

Lieber is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Materials Research Society, Fellow of the American Chemical Society (Inaugural Class), Elected Fellow of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society[disambiguation needed], Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2015)[3] and member of the American Physical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, International Society for Optical Engineering and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lieber is co-editor of Nano Letters, and serves on the editorial and advisory boards of a large number of science and technology journals.