Manish Chhowalla

Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy,
University of Cambridge,
27 Charles Babbage Road,
Cambridge, CB3 0FS

Manish Chhowalla is the Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are in the fundamental studies of atomically thin two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In particular, his group studies the optical and electronic properties of different phases of 2D TMDs. He has demonstrated that it is possible to induce phase transformations in atomically thin materials and utilize phases with disparate properties for field effect transistors, catalysis, and energy storage. Prof. Chhowalla is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and Churchill College. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Applied Materials Today and is now the Associate Editor of ACS Nano and Editor-in-Chief of MRS Energy & Sustainability. He has been on the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers since 2016.

Prior to Cambridge, Prof. Chhowalla was a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. He was also the Director of the Institute of Advanced Materials, Devices & Nanotechnology at Rutgers. Before that, he was a doctoral student in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge and Churchill College. After his doctorate and Royal Academy of Engineering Postdoctoral Fellowship, Professor Chhowalla briefly worked in industry where he developed applications for “amorphous diamond”.

Professional Preparation:

• Rutgers University, Materials Science and Engineering, B.S., 1992
• University of Cambridge, (UK), Electrical Engineering, Ph.D., 1998
   

Appointments:

• Chair in Emerging Technologies, Royal Academy of Engineering, 2024
• Director of Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Cambridge
• Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge
• Distinguished Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 2018.
• Director of Rutgers Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology, and Devices (IAMDN), July 1, 2016 – 2018.
• Professor and Associate Department Chair, Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 2010 – 2018.
• Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University, 2013 – 2018.
• Professor in Materials, Department of Materials, Imperial College London, 2009-2010
• Associate Professor, Materials Science Engineering, Rutgers University, 2006-2009
• Assistant Professor, Materials Science Engineering, Rutgers University, 2003-2006
• Royal Academy of Engineering Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK, 2000-2003
• Research Associate, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK,1998-2000
• Ph.D. Student, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK, 1995-1999
• Scientist, Multi-Arc Inc., Rockaway, NJ, 1992-1994
• Undergraduate Researcher, Rutgers University, 1988 – 1992.

Awards & Honors:

• Fellow of Materials Research Society; elected in Jan 2017
• Fellow of Institute of Physics; elected in 2015.
• Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry; elected in 2014.
• Clarivate (formerly Web of Science) Most Highly Cited Researchers (2016, 2017, 2018).
• Institute of Physics of Ireland Lectureship (September 2013).
• Donald H Jacobs Chair in Applied Physics (Jan 1, 2009 – Dec 31, 2012).
• Distinguished Visiting Professor in Department of Applied Physics, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (June 30, 2016 - Present).
• UK Royal Society’s Wolfson Merit Award (2018 & 2009).
• U.S. National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award for Young Investigators (April 2006)
• Sigma Xi Outstanding Young Investigator for the Mid-Atlantic Region (2006).
• Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship, University of Cambridge (2001–2003).
• Wolfson College (University of Cambridge) Junior and Senior Research Fellow
• > 200 Invited Talks at Major International Conferences.
• >50,000 citations and H-index = 88 (Google Scholar).

Selected Professional Activities:

• Editor-in-Chief of MRS Energy & Sustainability, 2024
• Member of MRS, AAAS, ACS
• Founding Editor-in-Chief of Applied Materials Today (May 2015 – May 2016)
• Associate Editor of ACS Nano (June 1, 2016).
• Editorial Boards of ACS Nano, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, NPG 2D Materials and Applications
• Director of Nanotechnology for Clean Energy NSF IGERT Graduate Training Program for US Students (Aug. 2009 – Aug. 2015).
• Co-Founder of GraphenEx –Start-up Company Supplying high-quality graphene and related materials.
• MRS Webinar on 2D Materials, July 22, 2015.