Chad Mirkin

Mirkin was born November 23, 1963, in Phoenix, Arizona.[6] He received his B.S. degree from Dickinson College in 1986 and his PhD from Penn State University in 1989.[1][7] 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.[8] He became a professor at Northwestern University in 1991.[7]

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.[1][7]

A common strategy used by Mirkin's group is the use of the unique properties of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), 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 (now used in over half of the world's top hospitals), EMD Millipore's SmartFlare platform (now distributed by AuraSense, after Millipore was acquired by Sigma-Aldrich), and four drugs in human clinical trials. In addition, his inventions of DPN, Polymer Pen Lithography (PPL), and Beam Pen Lithography (BPL) are the basis for the TERA-fab M and E series commercial patterning tools, known as desktop fabs (TERA-print, LLC).

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,[9] Nanosphere (acquired by Luminex for $83M in 2016 [10]), AuraSense, Azul 3D, TERA-print, and Exicure (XCUR:NASDAQ).

Information scientists at CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, singled out Mirkin and his contributions to supramolecular chemistry and nanomaterials in an article about potential future winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, saying that “Overall, Mirkin’s work set up the foundation of modern nanotechnology and development of related diagnostic, therapeutic, and material applications.” [11]

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 (PCAST).[12][13]

Mirkin co-chaired and contributed chapters ("Applications: Nanobiosystems, Medicine, and Health" and "Synthesis, Processing, and Manufacturing of Components, Devices, and Systems") to the world study on nanotechnology research directions for societal needs (Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal Needs in 2020: Retrospective and Outlook, Boston and Berlin: Springer 2010. Roco, M. C.; Mirkin, C. A.; Hersam, M. C., editors). 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 (APEC) 2011 Summit (Honolulu), 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.”

• 2020 – AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize [14]
• 2019 – Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine [15]
• 2019 – Perkin Medal [16]
• 2019 – Netherlands Award for Supramolecular Chemistry [17]
• 2018 – Theodore William Richards Medal [18]
• 2018 – Ira Remsen Award[19]
• 2018 – Chinese Friendship Award [20]
• 2018 – Harrison Howe Award[21]
• 2018 – Nano Research Award [22]
• 2017 – William H. Nichols Medal Award [23]
• 2016 – Dickson Prize [24]
• 2016 – Rusnano Prize[25]
• 2016 – Dan David Prize [26]
• 2016 – American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal[27]
• 2015 – American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow [28]
• 2015 – Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Convergence Research of the National Academy of Sciences[29]
• 2015 – Royal Society of Chemistry Centenary Prize[30]
• 2014 – Vittorio De Nora Award, Electrochemical Society [31]
• 2014 – Honorary Professor, Nanjing Tech University [32]
• 2013 – Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year [33]
• 2013 – Linus Pauling Award [34]
• 2012 – Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitor to Singapore [35]
• 2012 – Honorary Doctorate of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore [36]
• 2012 – American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention [37]
• 2011 – Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [38]
• 2010 – Member of the Institute of Medicine [39]
• 2010 – Member of the National Academy of Sciences [40]
• 2009 – Member of the National Academy of Engineering [41]
• 2009 – Lemelson-MIT Prize[42]
• 2007 – Alumni Fellow, Pennsylvania State University [43]
• 2004 – NIH Director's Pioneer Award [44]
• 2004 – Outstanding Science Alumni Award, Pennsylvania State University [45]
• 2004 – Honorary Degree, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA [46]
• 2004 – American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award [47]
• 2003 – Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize [48]
• 2002 – Feynman Prize [49]
• 2001 – Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award [50]
• 2000 – Appointed to chair endowed by George B. Rathmann[51]
• 1999 – ACS Award in Pure Chemistry [52]
• 1992 – Beckman Young Investigators Award[53]

• Northwestern University Chemistry Department
• The Mirkin Research Group
• International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University