6/25/2012 By Kathryn L. Heine
Written by By Kathryn L. Heine
A materials sciences professor affiliated with MechSE and a former postdoctoral research associate were recently selected to receive MacArthur Foundation “genius” grants worth $500,000 apiece. John Rogers, the Lee J. Flory-Founder Chair in Engineering Innovation and a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, and Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied mathematics in Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, were two of 24 researchers nationwide to be named MacArthur Foundation Fellows for 2009.
Both were nominated anonymously by leaders in their fields and did not even know they were being considered until they received a phone call informing them that they had won.
Rogers is known for his research on new materials for classes of electronics that overcome design limitations associated with conventional systems, all of which rely on planar, rigid and brittle semiconductor wafers. The soft, stretchable and curvilinear devices enabled by these approaches open entirely new application opportunities, ranging from cameras with designs that are inspired by the human eye, to electronics that can integrate intimately with the soft tissues of the human body for advanced monitoring or therapeutic purposes. Highlights of his work during the last two years include the first electronic-eye cameras, flexible inorganic light-emitting diode displays, stretchable integrated circuits, and bendable monocrystalline silicon solar modules. His current work also focuses on conformal, biointerfaced and bioresorbable electronics and sensors.
Mahadevan, who was once a postdoctoral researcher in Illinois’ Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, specializes in applied mathematics, macroscopic physics, and biological dynamics.
MacArthur Fellows are selected for their creativity, originality and potential. By providing resources without stipulations, the foundation offers the opportunity for fellows to accelerate their current activities or take their work in new directions.