George Whitesides

George M. Whitesides was born August 3, 1939 in Louisville, KY. He received an A.B. degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (with J.D. Roberts) in 1964. He was a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1963 to 1982. He joined the Department of Chemistry of Harvard University in 1982, and was Department Chairman 1986-89, and Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry from 1982-2004. He is now the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor. Awards: Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1968) American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Pure Chemistry (1975) Harrison Howe Award (Rochester Section of the ACS) (1979) Alumni Distinguished Service Award (California Institute of Technology) (1980) Remsen Award (ACS, Maryland Section) (1983) Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (ACS) (1989) James Flack Norris Award (ACS, New England Section) (1994) Arthur C. Cope Award (ACS) (1995) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Award for Significant Technical Achievement (1996) Madison Marshall Award (ACS) (1996) U.S. National Medal of Science (1998) Sierra Nevada Distinguished Chemist Award (Sierra Nevada Section of the ACS) (1999) The Wallac Oy Innovation Award in High Throughput Screening (Society for Biomolecular Screening) (1999) Award for Excellence in Surface Science (Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation) (1999) Von Hippel Award (Materials Research Society) (2000) World Technology Award for Materials from the World Technology Network (2001) Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Twente (The Netherlands) (2001) Small Times Magazine’s Researcher of the Year award (2002) Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award (Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh) (2003) Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology (Inamori Foundation, Japan) (2003) Paracelsus Prize (Swiss Chemical Society) (2004) Ralph and Helen Oesper Award (ACS, Cincinnati Section) (2004) Jacob Heskel Gabbay Award in Biotechnology and Medicine (Jacob and Louise Gabbay Foundation) (2004) 2004 Dickson Prize in Science (Carnegie Mellon University) (2005) Dan David Prize in Future Science (Dan David Foundation, Israel) (2005) Linus Pauling Award (Northwest Section ACS) (2005) Welch Award (2005) UAA-Dhirumbhai Ambani Award (National Academy of Science, India) (2006) Priestley Award (American Chemical Society) (2007) R&D Magazine’s Scientist of the Year (2007) August Wilhelm von Hofmann Lecture, German Chemical Society (2007) American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (2007) Wheland Medal (U. Chicago) (2008) Outstanding Achievement Award in Nanotechnology (Ohio State University) (2008) Nanoscience Prize (International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering) (2008) Prince of Asturias Award in Science and Technology (Prince of Asturias Foundation, Spain) (2008) Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (Franklin Foundation) (2009) Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award (2009) Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences (2009) Memberships and Fellowships: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Philosophical Society, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, New York Academy of Sciences, World Technology Network, Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Science, Honorary Member of the Materials Research Society of India, Honorary Fellow of the Chemical Research Society of India, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). Recent advisory positions include: • National Research Council: Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (1984-89; Chairman, 1986-99); Naval Studies Board (1989-97; Vice Chairman, 1992-97); Committee on Bioprocess Engineering (1991-92); Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy (1991-97); Visiting Committee to NIST/ATP on Advanced Technology (1994-97); Board on Physics and Astronomy (1997-2001) Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism (2002); Committee on Nanotechnology for the Intelligence Community (2003); Committee on Prospering in a Global Economy (the “Gathering Storm” Committee, 2005); Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP, 2005-, Chairman); Committee on Forefronts of Science at the Interface of Physical and Life Sciences (2007- 8). • National Science Foundation: Chemistry Advisory Committee (1984-86; Chairman, 1986), Materials Research Advisory Committee (1991-93; Chairman, 1993), Review Panel for the Materials Research Laboratories (1993, co-Chairman); Advisory Committee for Mathematics and Physical Sciences (1993-96); NSF Senior Assessment Panel: International Assessment of U. S. Mathematical Sciences (1997); Workshop on Chemical Bonding Centers, (2003); Workshop on Chemistry and Cognition (2004). • Department of Defense: Defense Advanced Research Pro