George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering

Director of the Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly

B.S., 1986, Dickinson College
Ph.D., chemistry, 1989, Pennsylvania State University

Contact Info

Mirkin Research Group

Nanoscience

Our research focuses on developing methods for controlling the architecture of molecules and materials on the 1-100 nm length scale, and utilizing such structures in the development of analytical tools that can be used in the areas of chemical and biological sensing, lithography, catalysis, and optics. Mirkin has pioneered the use of biomolecules as synthons in materials science and the development of nanoparticle-based biodiagnostics. Many of the concepts and materials developed within his laboratories are now the basis for commercial detection and lithography systems.

Associations and Awards

National Academy of Engineering

NIH Director’s Pioneer Award

Collegiate Inventors Award

National Inventors Hall of Fame (2002, 2004)

Honorary Doctorate Degree from Dickinson College

Pennsylvania State University Outstanding Science Alumni Award

ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry

Dickinson College Metzger-Conway Fellowship

2003 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences

Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology

Leo Hendrick Baekeland Award

Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40 Award,”

Discover 2000 Award for Technological Innovation

I-Street Magazine’s Top 5 List for Leading Academics in Technology

Materials Research Society Young Investigator Award

ACS Award in Pure Chemistry

PLU Fresenius Award

Harvard University E. Bright Wilson Prize

BF Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Award

Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award

DuPont Young Professor Award

NSF Young Investigator Award

Naval Young Investigator Award

Beckman Young Investigator Award

Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation New Faculty Award

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Editorial Advisory Board of Accounts of Chemical Research

Editorial Advisory Board Advanced Materials

Editorial Advisory Board Chemical and Engineering News

Editorial Advisory Board BioMacromolecules

Editorial Advisory Board Macromolecular Bioscience

Editorial Advisory Board SENSORS

Editorial Advisory Board Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Editorial Advisory Board Chemistry-A European Journal

Editorial Advisory Board Macro-Journals of Macromolecule

Editorial Advisory Board Chemistry & Biology

Editorial Advisory Board Nanotechnology Law & Business

Editorial Advisory Board Journal of Materials Chemistry

Editorial Advisory Board Journal of Cluster Science

Founding editor of the journal Small

Science Advisory Board member for the International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering.

Selected Publications

Vesper, B.J.; Salaita, K.S.; Zong, H.; Mirkin, C.A.; Barrett, A.G.M.; Hoffman, B.M. "Surface-Bound Porphyrazines: Controlling Reduction Potentials of Self-Assembled Monolayers through Molecular Proximity/Orientation to a Metal Surface" J. Am. Chem. Soc 2004,ASAP Web Release Date: 26-Nov-2004; (Article)

Mirkin, C.A. "The Beginning of the Small Revolution"Small 2004,1, 14-16.

Brown, A.M.; Ovchinnikov, M.V.; Stern, C.I; Mirkin, C.A "Halide-induced supramolecular ligand rearrangement" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 14316-14317.

Park, S.; Chung, S.-W.; Mirkin, C.A. "Hybrid Organic-Inorganic, Rod-Shaped Nanoresistors and Diodes" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126,11772-11773.

Gianneschi, N.; Cho, S.-H.; Nguyen, S.T.; Mirkin, C.A. "Reversibly Addressing an Allosteric Catalyst In Situ: Catalytic Molecular Tweezers" Angew Chem Int. Ed 2004, 43, 5503-5507.