Chad Mirkin


Chad Alexander Mirkin is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann professor of chemistry, professor of medicine, professor of materials science and engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and professor of chemical and biological engineering, and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at Northwestern University.
Mirkin is known for his development of nanoparticle-based biodetection schemes, the invention of dip-pen nanolithography, and contributions to supramolecular chemistry, nanoelectronics, and nanooptics. In 2010, he was listed as the most cited chemist in the world over the last decade in terms of total citations, the second highest most cited chemist in terms of impact factor, and the top most cited nanomedicine researcher. He was the first chemist to be elected into all three branches of the National Academies. He has published over 780 manuscripts and has over 1200 patents and patent applications. These discoveries and innovations have led to over 10 different product lines and over 2000 commercial products that are being used worldwide.

Early life and education

Mirkin was born November 23, 1963, in Phoenix, Arizona. He received his B.S. degree from Dickinson College in 1986 and his PhD from Penn State University in 1989. He was an NSF postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked with Professor Mark S. Wrighton on microelectrode devices for electrocatalysis. He became a professor at Northwestern University in 1991.

Research

The focus of his research is 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 DNA and nanoparticles as synthons in materials science and the development of nanoparticle-based biodiagnostics.
A common strategy used by Mirkin's group is the use of the unique properties of spherical nucleic acids, spherical arrangements of nucleic acids with or without organic or inorganic nanoparticle cores, to enable the synthesis of novel materials and colloidal crystals, the development of high sensitivity probes for chemical and medical diagnostic purposes, and single-entity structures capable of intracellular gene regulation. His 1996 work with SNA-gold nanoparticle conjugates introduced the concept of a nanoparticle as an atom and nucleic acids as bonds, and it laid the ground work for the fields of colloidal crystal engineering with DNA and molecular diagnostics based upon well-defined nanoparticle and nanocrystal bioconjugates. SNAs are the cornerstone of Luminex's FDA-cleared Verigene system, EMD Millipore's SmartFlare platform, and four drugs in human clinical trials. In addition, his inventions of DPN, Polymer Pen Lithography, and Beam Pen Lithography are the basis for the TERA-fab M and E series commercial patterning tools, known as desktop fabs.
Mirkin served on several editorial advisory boards, including ACS Nano, the Journal of the American Chemical Society and Angewandte Chemie. He is the founding editor of the nanotechnology journal Small, and he is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Mirkin is a co-founder of multiple companies, including NanoInk, Nanosphere, AuraSense, Azul 3D, TERA-print, and Exicure.

Science policy

In addition to his academic and research work, Mirkin has been involved in shaping science policy decisions.
From 2009 to 2017 Mirkin was appointed to President Barack Obama's President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Mirkin co-chaired and contributed chapters to the world study on nanotechnology research directions for societal needs. He also co-chaired the PCAST report titled, "Engage to Excel," focusing on teaching and engagement issues involving students who are in their first two years of undergraduate study at R-1, 2 and 4-year institutions, and community colleges. Mirkin also served as the PCAST ex-officio member of the Advanced Manufacturing Steering Committee. The report produced by the committee calls for sustaining the investments in advanced science and technology that produced America's innovation economy and the establishment of a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation Institutes.
Mirkin participated as a delegate at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2011 Summit, with leaders, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and representatives from Fortune 500 companies. At APEC, he served on a panel with the president of Chile, Sebastian Piñera Echenique, focused on, "Game Changing Technology Redefining the Region.”

Awards and honors