Naomi Halas, a nanoscientist from Rice University in Houston, Texas, will receive the 2019 Spiers Memorial Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry at their Faraday Discussion meeting in London in February. The award recognizes Dr. Halas’ “pioneering research at the intersection of optics and nanoscience and the demonstration of optical property manipulation by nanoparticle geometry.”
Dr. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University. She also serves at the director of the Smalley-Curl Institute. She is a pioneer in the study of light-activated nanoparticles and their possible uses. Her discoveries have wide-ranging applications in various areas including cancer treatment, optoelectronics, photocatalysis, chemical sensing, solar-powered distillation and steam production, and off-grid water treatment.
Dr. Halas is the first person at Rice University to be elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering for research done at Rice. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Materials Research Society, the Optical Society, the American Physical Society, the International Society for Optical Engineering, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Dr. Halas holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in physics from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.