Introduction
Dr. Vinayak P. Dravid is the Northwestern University President Abraham Harris Chaired Professor of Materials Science & Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Professor Dravid is the founding director of the NUANCE Center, an award-winning microscopy and surface science research infrastructure resource used annually by hundreds of researchers from across myriad scientific fields. He also conceived and founded the Global McCormick Initiative, which provides strategic and operational support in sustainable global research and educational initiatives. He now serves as its co-director and a special advisor to the Dean for Global Programs. In 2015, Vinayak founded the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource, a national resource that provides academic, small business and industry researchers access to cutting-edge nanotechnology facilities and expertise. SHyNE is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) node. Professor Dravid received his Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech.) in Metallurgical Engineering in 1984 from ITT Bombay, India. Immediately following receipt of his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University, Dravid joined the Northwestern faculty in 1990.
Professor Dravid’s scholarly interests are at the intersection of materials science with physics, chemistry, biology and engineering with implications for electronics, energy, environmental science and biomedicine. He has a diverse research portfolio encompassing advanced microscopy, nanotechnology, technology strategy, energy policy and emerging educational paradigms. He has authored over four hundred archival journal publications and book chapters, and he holds dozens of issued/pending patents. Many of his patents are licensed to start-up companies in nanotechnology, sensor/diagnostic systems. He is a co-founder of and closely affiliated with several high-tech stage start-ups related to his IP portfolio in nano-metrology, nanopatterning and bio-chem sensing.