astronomy

Mark Hersam

Mark Hersam is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mark Hersam rather than just read about it. In short: Mark Christopher Hersam (born January 31, 1975) is a professor of Chemistry and Materials Science Engineering at Northwestern University (2000–present) who, according to the National Science Foundation, has made "major breakthrough[s]" in the field of nanotechnology. He is a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award and a 1996 Marshall Scholar.

Key takeaways

Mark Hersam belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mark Hersam to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mark Hersam from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mark Christopher Hersam (born January 31, 1975) is a professor of Chemistry and Materials Science Engineering at Northwestern University (2000–present) who, according to the National Science Foundation, has made "major breakthrough[s]" in the field of nanotechnology. He is a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award and a 1996 Marshall Scholar. He is also an Executive Editor of ACS Nano. As of October 2023, he has been cited over 68,000 times according to Google Scholar.

Education and early academic work

Education Mark Christopher Hersam attended Downers Grove South High School in Downers Grove, IL where he was Valedictorian and an Eagle Scout. He then went on to receive his B.S. in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1996. Upon winning the Marshall Scholarship, Hersam received a M.Phil. in Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics from the University of Cambridge in 1997. His Ph.D. was granted from the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000.

Early work While at UIUC, Hersam did research under Professor David Ruzic in the Nuclear Engineering Department and Professor Joseph Lyding in the Electrical Engineering Department. After graduating from UIUC, Hersam was an intern at the Argonne National Laboratory where he did research in the Energy Technology Division studying the energy-related applications of surface acoustic-wave-based sensing. While at Cambridge University, Hersam was advised by Mark Welland and the two co-authored the paper "Potentiometry and repair of electrically stressed nanowires using atomic force microscopy" in the journal of Applied Physics Letters. As a doctoral candidate, Hersam again worked with Professor Joseph Lyding at the Beckman Institute where they studied "atomic level manipulation and silicon-based molecular nanotechnology."

Research As head of the Hersam Group at Northwestern University, Hersam has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed publications studying hybrid hard and soft nanoscale materials for applications in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and alternative energy.

Corporate connections and applications Co-founder of NanoIntegris Intern at IBM Nanoscience

Honors and achievements

Honors Teacher of the Year in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010 Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award, 2010 SES Research Young Investigator Award, Electrochemical Society, 2010 Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2009 Young Alumni Achievement Award, ECE Department, UIUC, 2007 AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award, 2006 TMS Robert Lansing Hardy Award, 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2005 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, 2005 Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2005 Northwestern University Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll, 2004 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2002 Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Beckman Young Investigators Award, 2001 Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Award, 2000 American Vacuum Society Graduate Research Award, 1999

Scholarships Source:

Searle Center for Teaching Excellence Junior Fellow, 2001 IBM Distinguished Fellowship, 1999 Koehler Graduate Fellowship, 1998 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1997 British Marshall Scholarship, 1996

Professional organizations and societies Co-chair of the NSF International Study of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, 2009– AVS Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Executive Board Member, 2003–2005, 2007–2009 Review of Scientific Instruments Editorial Board Member, 2001–2003 Nanopatterning Synergistic Research Group Leader, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, 2001– Director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center Research Experience for Undergraduates, 2001– National Science Foundation SBIR, IMR/MRI, MRSEC and NUE Panelist Member of IEEE, MRS, AVS, AIP, APS, ACS, TMS, ASEE, AAAS In 2016, he was selected as a U.S. Science Envoy by the United States State Department.

Selected works 2006 -Sorting carbon nanotubes by electronic structure using density differentiation, MS Arnold, AA Green, JF Hulvat, SI Stupp, MC Hersam, Nature nanotechnology 1 (1), 60–65 2014 - Emerging device applications for semiconducting two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, D Jariwala, VK Sangwan, LJ Lauhon, TJ Marks, MC Hersam, ACS nano 8 (2), 1102-1120 2015 - Synthesis of borophenes: Anisotropic, two-dimensional boron polymorphs, AJ Mannix, XF Zhou, B Kiraly, JD Wood, D Alducin, BD Myers, X Liu, Science 350 (6267), 1513-1516

Personal life Hersam hosts Undergraduate Research Experience opportunity for students each summer.

See also Notable Carbon Nanotube Scientists:

Richard Smalley Sumio Iijima Phaedon Avouris Notable Northwestern University Professors:

Chad Mirkin Tobin J. Marks

References

External links Hersam Group at Northwestern University

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mark Hersam

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mark Hersam claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mark Hersam before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mark Hersam ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mark Hersam

In research: Mark Hersam appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mark Hersam in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mark Hersam is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1975 births, Alumni of the University of Cambridge, American nanotechnologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mark Hersam outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mark Hersam in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mark Hersam means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mark Hersam out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mark Hersam in simple terms?

Why does Mark Hersam matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mark Hersam?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mark Hersam.