Northwestern University nanotechnology researcher Chad A. Mirkin has been named to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Northwestern University nanotechnology researcher Chad A. Mirkin has been named to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
President Barack Obama announced the names of the 20 members in a speech at the National Academy of Sciences Monday.
Obama said the council would advise him “about national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation.”
Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering.
He also is director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern.
He’s an expert in the research and application of nanotechnology, including nanoscale manufacturing and applications to medicine.
He is known for his invention and development of biological and chemical diagnostic systems based upon nanomaterials and is the inventor and chief developer of Dip-Pen Nanolithography, a groundbreaking nanoscale fabrication and analytical tool.
He is the founder of Nanosphere and NanoInk, two Chicago-based companies.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Mirkin has been recognized with more than 50 national and international awards for his advances.
Others named to the group include the CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt.
Professor Mirkin is in this video: “We Call it Nano U.”
This fantastic video will tell you everything you want to know: http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/they-call-it-nano-u/15519839
Professor Mirkin explains how he and others have developed a technique using nano particles that can tell from
a single blood sample which of hundreds of diseases a person might have, spotting cancer while it is easily treatable. The FDA has already approved tests that will soon be used in hospitals, and eventually in doctor’s offices.
The nano technologists at NU also developed a gel that will allow broken bones to heal, and cartilage to regenerate. This could take the place of hip replacement and cumbersome metal and plastic pieces that surgeons now use to repair joints.
Amazingly, Northwestern’s team sees potential for organ regeneration. Some day, nanotechnology may allow damaged hearts to re-grow.