Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy 

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this year was awarded jointly to three scientists who revolutionized the field by discovering and developing quantum dots:

• Moungi G. Bawendi: American, received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. He currently serves as the Lester Wolfe Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Louis E. Brus: American, earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972. He continues to work as the Samuel Ruben and Dorothy P. Ruben Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University.
• Aleksey Yekimov: Russian, obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from the A.F. Ioffe Physical Technical Institute in 1980. He is currently the Head of the Laboratory of Semiconductor Nanostructures at the St. Petersburg State University.

Their Contributions:

These three laureates were jointly recognized for their pioneering work on quantum dots, tiny semiconductor particles with unique optical and electronic properties. Their independent discoveries and subsequent advancements in synthesizing and manipulating these particles opened up a wide range of potential applications across various fields.

• Bawendi revolutionized the chemical production of quantum dots, making them brighter, more stable, and easier to control, paving the way for their widespread use.
• Brus was one of the first researchers to synthesize quantum dots and played a crucial role in understanding their physical and chemical properties.
• Yekimov independently discovered quantum dots and made significant contributions to elucidating their unique optical behavior.

Their collective work on quantum dots has had a profound impact on diverse fields, and their ongoing research holds immense promise for future advancements in various technologies, from energy generation and healthcare to electronics and communications.