The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for quantum dots research. Brown academics are no strangers to the field.
On Oct. 4, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Moungi Bawendi, Columbia Professor Louis E. Brus and scientist Aleksey Yekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”
For Ou Chen, associate professor of chemistry at Brown, the award hits very close to home: From 2010 to 2014, Chen worked as a postdoctoral assistant to Bawendi at MIT. Now, he researches quantum dots in his lab at Brown.
“The timing makes sense,” Chen said of the Nobel Prize. “Quantum dots have been (growing in prominence in) different fields, especially for display technology in the TV industry.”
“It’s been applied in this commercial product and is changing people’s lives, which is the definition of a Nobel Prize,” he added.
This is really exciting news! The Nobel Prize in Chemistry going to Professor Moungi Bawendi, Professor Louis E. Brus, and scientist Aleksey Yekimov for their work on quantum dots is a big deal. What’s even more special is that Professor Ou Chen at Brown, has a direct connection to this research, having worked as a postdoctoral assistant to Professor Bawendi at MIT. It’s great to see how quantum dots have become so important in various fields, especially in things like TV displays. The fact that this technology is changing the way we live and enjoy technology is what makes it Nobel-worthy. It’s a wonderful example of how science can make a real impact on our lives.