3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Lecture in Chemistry

How Do You Make a Micro-Robot?

The 24th annual 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Lecture in Chemistry was held Friday, March 29, 2024.

 

Guest lecturer: Thomas E. Mallouk, Vagelos Professor in Energy Research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania

About the 2024 lecture

Engines and motors are everywhere in the modern world, but it is a challenge to make them work if they are very small. On the micron length scale, inertial forces are weak, and conventional motor designs involving components such as pistons or flywheels cease to function.

Biological motors work by a different principle and use catalysis to convert chemical to mechanical energy on the nanometer length scale. Together with fellow professor of chemistry Ayusman Sen, as well as other colleagues at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pennsylvania, Mallouk and his colleagues have explored the concept of using catalysis to power synthetic nano- and microswimmers.

In his lecture, Professor Mallouk will discuss the principles behind biological motors and their potential applications.

Mitsch Lecturer Thomas E. Mallouk, Vagelos Professor in Energy Research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania

Thomas E. Mallouk, Vagelos Professor in Energy Research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania

About the 2024 guest lecturer

Thomas E. Mallouk is currently Vagelos Professor in Energy Research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the synthesis of inorganic materials and their application to solar energy conversion, catalysis and electrocatalysis, nano- and microscale motors, low dimensional physical phenomena, and environmental remediation.

He is the author of over 500 publications and patents, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

For more information about the lecture, please contact chemistry@hamline.edu.

About the lectures

The 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Lectures in Chemistry are part of the 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Endowed Fund in Chemistry, established in 1998 by the 3M Foundation in recognition and appreciation of Dr. Mitsch. The fund promotes new connections and pioneering efforts between education and industry as an essential basis for the education of chemists who are prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and beyond.

Past lectures

2023 "Making Graphene and Cleaning the Environment in a Flash with Flash Joule Heating." James Tour, the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University
2022 “Surf, Sink, or Swim: Understanding Environmentally Important Processes at Water Surfaces.” Dr. Geraldine Richmond, presidential chair in science and professor of chemistry, University of Oregon
2021 "On Transformation of the Drug Discovery Process: A Talk in Three Parts." Dr. Marti S. Head, University of Tennessee
2019 "Male Contraception: A Quest." Dr. Gunda I. Georg, University of Minnesota
2018 "Illuminating Sugars, the 'Dark Matter' of the Cell Surface." Dr. Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Stanford University
2017 "Meeting the Clean Energy Demand with Nanotechnology." Prashant V. Kamat, University of Notre Dame
2016 "New Chemical Probe Technologies: Applications to Cancer Imaging and Drug Discovery." Matthew Bogyo, Stanford University School of Medicine
2015 "Got Fakes? New Ways to Detect Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals." Dr. Marya Lieberman, University of Notre Dame
2014 "Biological and Ecological Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials." Dr. Christy L. Haynes, University of Minnesota
2013 "Recent Developments in the Peaceful Use of Chemistry: Eliminating the Chemical Weapons Threat." Ambassador Robert Mikulak '64
2012 "From Toxicology Mechanisms to Translational Medicine: Paracelsus Meets Sarandib." Dr. Daniel G. Baden, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
2009 “The Aging Brain and What We are Trying To Do About It.” Dr. Gregory A. Petsko, Brandeis University
2008 "The Golden Age of Pharmaceuticals." Dr. Cynthia A. Maryanoff, Stanford University
2007 Dr. Richard N. Zare, Stanford University
2006 "Applications of Olefin Metathesis Catalysts: Fundamental Research to Commercial Products." Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, California Institute of Technology
2005 Dr. JoAnne Stubbe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2004 "Chemical Studies of Violence, Sex and Drugs in the Insect World." Dr. Jerrold Meinwald, Cornell University

 

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