Dr. James K. Gimzewski

Dr. James K. Gimzewski, Ph.D., Ph.D. hc, FRS, CPhys, FIoN, FInstP, FWIF, FREng is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Member of the Executive Board of the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI-UCLA) and Codirector of the Center for Social Interfaces & Networks Advanced Programming Simulations & Environments (SINAPSE), UCLA. He was on the Scientific Advisory Board of the 2004 and 2005 Nobel Symposiums on Controlled Nanoscale Motion in Biological and Artificial Systems, Stockholm, Sweden.
 
Throughout his twenty-three year career in Nanotechnology he has been actively involved in promoting science and technology to the public. He has worked with Industrial and Government organizations in Switzerland, the UK, US, European Union and Japan on issues relating to Nanotechnology.
 
Since 1983, he led a Nanotechnology group at the IBM Corporate Research Laboratories in Zurich, Switzerland, for 21 years, and he is internationally recognized as a pioneer in Nanotechnology research.
 
Jim has received numerous awards for his work in Nanotechnology, including the 1997 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, the 1997 The Discover Award for Emerging Fields, the 1998 ‘Wired 25’ Award from Wired magazine, and the 2001 Institute of Physics’ “Duddell” prize and medal for his work in Nanoscale science. Additionally, he holds many awards from IBM, including two IBM “Outstanding Innovation Awards”. He is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s smallest calculator.
 
He is a cofounder of the Institute of Nanotechnology, UK and served as a member of the board and chairman of its European advisory board. He has served on the board of reviewing editors of Science and the editorial board of Nanotechnology, as well as the Nanotechnology Opportunity Report by CMP Cientifica, which publishes state-of-the-art analysis of nanotechnology companies and organizations.
 
Jim was elected Fellow to the Royal Academy of Engineering for his research in engineering nanotechnology in 2001, and he is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation, and Fellow of the Royal Society.
 
His professional work includes board memberships of the Advisory Group of the International Review of Physics, UK Government; he was a member of the Advisory Group on Nanotechnology – Office of Science & Industry, Department of Trade and Industry, (DTI) UK. He was an expert witness for the Nanoscale and Technology Outlook: 20 Years, UK Government, Department of Trade and Industry, London, UK. He was a steering committee board member of the National Research Program (NRP) “Molecular Devices and Supramolecular Structures” in Switzerland, and he is a Member of the Evaluation Committee for the NRIM Center of Excellence Development Project in Japan. He also served on the board of six European research programs in Nanotechnology.
 
Jim directed many international conferences on nanotechnology, including two NASA Advanced Study Institutes in 1993 and 1995, the first ever industrial workshop on Nanotechnology in Davos, Switzerland in 1991, and a US-Japan Conference in 2002 at UCLA.
 
He has joined the scientific boards of several nanotechnology companies, including Veeco-DI Instruments, Quantum Precision Instruments and the Kentucky Initiative in Nanometer Scale Science and Technology.
 
Jim is a co-director of NANO, an interactive exhibit comprised of nine installations that present Nanotechnology using a hybrid of art and science that spans 10,000 square feet of exhibition space. The installation started in December 2003 and ran until September 2004, at LACMALab, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibition attracted over 100,000 people from all walks of life in the Los Angeles area, including organized groups of school children, and it has spawned NANO related activities such as NexGen’s Nano night, nano fashion shows and modern dance all focused around issues of Nanotechnology and Society.
 
With over 180 papers published and more than 200 invited international talks, Jim’s research continues to appear in journals, such as Science, and Nature.
 
Approximately 300 press articles reporting highlights of his work have appeared in various print media including Nature, Science, Scientific American, The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall St Journal, The London Times, Financial Times, New Scientist, Discover Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. He was featured on the cover story of LA Weekly.
 
TV programs and radio interviews on his work have been broadcast in the US, Europe and Japan, as well as on BBC World Services, CNN International, Deutschland Radio, ABC Radio, etc. He was featured in a program on Nanotechnology for BBC Television in “The Next Big Thing”. He was a guest panelist twice on NPR’s “Science Friday”, where he discussed emerging trends in nanotechnology.
 
Jim earned a B.Sc. with Honors in Pure Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK in 1974 and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK in 1977. He conducts his research in a specially constructed Nanotechnology Laboratory at UCLA, where he directs a group of 14 researchers. He lives in Santa Monica, with his wife and three children who were created using advanced self-replicating nanotechnology.