ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Nicholas A. Kotov

Sponsor: Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Citation: For creative foundational studies of self-assembly phenomena of nanoparticles on surfaces and in dispersions.

Current position: Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Engineering, University of Michigan

Education: M.S., chemistry and chemical engineering, Moscow State University; Ph.D., chemistry and chemical engineering, Moscow State University

Kotov on what gets his creative juices flowing: “Finding something different than expected and demonstrating that it is real and possible, even though someone might think it is impossible or ridiculous.”

What his colleagues say: “Starting more than 20 years ago, Nick gave the field of nanomaterials an intellectual spark. He has shown us that inorganic nanoparticles can spontaneously produce diverse superstructures, competing in complexity with those found in biology that were deemed by some to not be possible in materials engineering. He also elaborated the conceptual foundation of the nanoparticle self-organization phenomena by deciphering the convoluted interplay of forces in nanocolloids. Nick further implemented nanoparticle self-assembly for the production of a large family of biomimetic composite materials using layer-by-layer deposition. The impact of his work is apparent by its wide use in materials and device manufacturing by several startup companies created by him and his group members.”—Rodney S. Ruoff, director, IBS Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology