Professor John A. Rogers

Professor Rogers holds a Swanlund Chair, the highest chaired position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is director of the Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. He has a primary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, with joint appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Bioengineering, Mechanical Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds a PhD in physical chemistry (1995), SM degrees in physics and chemistry from MIT (1992), and a BA as well as BS (1989) in chemistry and physics from the University of Texas, Austin. He served as the director of a Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center on nano-manufacturing, funded by the National Science Foundation, from 2009–2012.

Professor Rogers’ research interests include fundamental and applied aspects of nano and molecular scale fabrication. His research is also focused on materials and patterning techniques for unusual electronic and photonic devices, with an emphasis on bio-integrated and bio-inspired systems. He exemplifies an unparalleled body of knowledge and entrepreneurship. He has published more than 450 research papers and is an inventor of over 80 patents, of which more than 50 are licensed or are in active use by large companies and startups that he has co-founded. His research is highly recognized and rewarded with numerous awards. Awards include, the A.C. Eringen Medal of the Society for Engineering Science (2014), the Smithsonian Award for American Ingenuity in the Physical Sciences (2013), and the Robert Henry Thurston Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2013). Besides, he has also been named in many distinguished lectureships, including Dr. R .A. Mashelkar Endowment Lecture, CSIR-NCL, 2015, etc.

Starting in September 2016, Professor Rogers will be on the faculty at Northwestern University. However, he will still maintain an affiliation with the University of Illinois.