Paul Alivisatos is president of the University of Chicago and the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering of U. Chicago. As President of the University, he also serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory and Chair of the Board of Directors of Fermi Research Alliance LLC, the operator of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Paul is a chemist and an expert in the field of nanomaterials. He pioneered the development of nanocrystals, including semiconductor nanomaterials, which are foundational to nanotechnology and used in applications such as biological imaging. He holds more than 50 patents, and his inventions are widely used in biomedicine, imaging, and renewable energy applications.
Before being named president of U. Chicago in 2021, Paul was provost and executive vice chancellor at UC Berkeley for four years and lab director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for six years. In addition he was the Samsung Distinguished Professor of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at UC Berkeley, founding Director of the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute, and a professor in the departments of chemistry and materials science for 33 years.
He earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at U. Chicago and his Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley. He co-founded two nanotechnology companies, Nanosys and Quantum Dot Corporation (now a part of Thermo Fisher), and was also the founding editor of Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society.
Paul has been recognized with more than 25 awards, including the National Medal of Science, the E.O. Lawrence Award, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Linus Pauling Medal, the Eni Award for Energy and Environment, the Wilhelm Exner Medal, the 2021 Priestley Medal, and the National Academy of Science Award in Chemical Sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
