Paul S. Weiss

(Last Updated On: July 22, 2023)

UC Presidential Chair
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Bioengineering
Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
California NanoSystems Institute
570 Westwood Plaza
Building 114
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095
USA

psw >at< cnsi.ucla.edu
+1 (310) 825-0317
+1 (310) 267-4918 fax

Google Scholar


About

Born: 10 October 1959
Married, three sons

S.B. and S.M. in Chemistry from MIT, 1980. Research in high resolution laser spectroscopy with Bob Field

Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, 1986. Research in excited atom reactions in crossed molecular beams with Yuan T. Lee

Postdoctoral Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1986-1988

Research in the effects of surface chemistry and gas-surface collisions on semiconductor surface electronic properties with Mark Cardillo

Visiting Scientist at IBM Almaden Research Center, 1988-1989. Research developing and using low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy with Don Eigler

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of ChemistryThe Pennsylvania State University, 1989-1995

Associate ProfessorDepartment of ChemistryThe Pennsylvania State University, 1995-2001

ProfessorDepartment of ChemistryThe Pennsylvania State University, 2001-2013

Professor, Departments of Chemistry and PhysicsThe Pennsylvania State University, 2002-2013

Distinguished Professor, Departments of Chemistry and PhysicsThe Pennsylvania State University, 2005-2013

Visiting ProfessorDepartment of Molecular BiotechnologyThe University of Washington, 1996-1998

Visiting ProfessorVenture Business LaboratoryDepartment of Electronic Science and EngineeringKyoto University, 1998

Visiting Professor, Nanyang Technological University, 2015-

Distinguished Visiting ProfessorKavli Nanoscience Institute and Joint Center for Artificial PhotosynthesisCalifornia Institute of Technology, 2015

Visiting ScholarKavli Institute for Bionano Science & TechnologyWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 2015-

DirectorCenter for Molecular Nanofabrication and DevicesThe Pennsylvania State University, 2001-2002

Associate DirectorCenter for Nanoscale ScienceThe Pennsylvania State University, 2002-2005

Nanofabrication FellowThe Pennsylvania State University, 2005-2009

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & BiochemistryUCLA, 2009-

Fred Kavli Chair in NanoSystems SciencesUCLA, 2009-2014

California NanoSystems Institute DirectorUCLA, 2009-2014

Distinguished Professor of Materials Science & EngineeringUCLA, 2010-

UC Presidential ChairUCLA, 2015-

Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics, CMIT, 2018-

Distinguished Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, 2021-2026


Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Fellow
American Chemical Society, Fellow. Southern California Section
American Physical Society, Fellow
American Vacuum Society, Fellow
Canadian Academy of Engineering, Inaugural Foreign Fellow
Chinese Chemical Society, Honorary Foreign Fellow
IEEE, Fellow
Materials Research Society, Fellow
Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), Fellow
Phi Lambda Upsilon, President of MIT Chapter, 1978-79
Sigma Xi


Selected Awards and Honors:

MIT Undergraduate Award in Chemistry (1980)
Earle C. Anthony Fellow (1980-1981)
National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator (1991-1996)
Scanning Microscopy International Presidential Scholarship (1994)
B. F. Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Award (1994)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship (1995-1997)
American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (1996)
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1997-1998)
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow (2000)
American Physical Society, Fellow (2002)
Penn State Schreyer Honors College Excellence in Honors Teaching Award (2004)
Penn State Nanofabrication Fellow (2005)
Penn State, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physics (2005)
University of Arizona, Eminent Scholar Lecture (2006)
University of PittsburghDepartment of Chemistry, Levine Lecturer (2007)
Alpha Chi Sigma Outstanding Professor Award (2007)
American Vacuum Society, Fellow (2007)
University of Oklahoma, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, J. Clarence Karcher Lecture (2008)
Texas A&M University, Department of Chemistry Frontiers Lectures (2008)
Association of American Publishers, Professional Scholarly Publishing PROSE Award for 2008, Best New Journal in Science, Technology, and Medicine (2009)
Prof. J. W. McBain Memorial Lecture, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India (2009)
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Institute of Advanced Study Distinguished Lecture (2010)
Thomas Jefferson University, William Potter Lecture (2010)
ISI Rising Star, ACS Nano (ten times: March 2010, May 2010, July 2010, September 2010, November 2010, January 2011, May 2011, July 2011, September 2011, November 2011)
American Chemical Society, Fellow, (2010)
Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Chemical Society, Molecular Science Forum Lecture Professorship (2010)
Chinese Chemical Society, Honorary Fellow (2010)
Gordon Research ConferencesAlexander M. Cruickshank Lecturer in the Physical Sciences (2011)
Harbin Institute of Technology, Honorary Professor (2012)
Tongji University, Advisory Professor (2012)
University of Aukland, Distinguished Visitor (2013)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow
Georgia Tech Department of Chemistry, Fink Lecturer (2015)
American Chemical Society Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry (2015)
Caltech Kavli Nanoscience Institute Distinguished Visiting Professor (2015)
Jilin University, Visiting Professor, (2015)
Hope College, Department of Chemistry Neckers Lecturer (2016)
Peking University, Xingda Lecture (2015)
UCLA, UC Presidential Chair in Chemistry (2015-)
Soochow University, Institute for Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Distinguished Lecture (2015)
Soochow University, Honorary Professor (2015-)
Northeastern University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Distinguished Speaker (2015)
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Elected Fellow (2016)
Hope College, Department of Chemistry Neckers Lecturer (2016)
Griffith University, Honorary Professor (2016-2019)
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), 2016 INRS Chaire d’excellence Jacques­Beaulieu at the Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications (2016-2017)
Fulbright Scholar Specialist (2016-2021)
American Chemical Society, Southern California Section, Richard C. Tolman Medal (2016)
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Institute Lecture (2017)
Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Honorary Professor (2017)
American Chemical Society Patterson-Crane Award for Contributions to Chemical Information
NANOSMAT Prize (2018)
University of Alberta, Edward Herbert Boomer Memorial Lecture (2019)
McMaster University, Les Shemilt Lectureship (2019)
Case Western Reserve University, Department of Chemistry Frontier Lecture (2019)
Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN), Distinguished Lecturer (2019)
IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology (2019)
American Vacuum Society, Nanoscience Recognition Award (2019)
ICN2: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Manuel Cardona Lecture (2020)
International Academy of Nanotechnology, Fellow (2020)
Arizona State University, School of Molecular Science, Eyring Lectures (2020, delayed until 2021)
Rice University, Department of Chemistry, Franklin Memorial Lectures (2020, delayed until 2021), shared with Anne M. Andrews
Weizmann Institute of Science, School of Chemistry, Gerhard Schmidt Lecture (2022)
Inaugural Exploration Master Class (2022)
Aggregate, special issue

See also the awards my students and post-docs have won.


Selected Service and Committee Memberships

International Union of Pure and Applied ChemistryChemRAWN Committee (Chemistry Research Applied to World Needs), US Observer, Lisbon, Portugal, 1993; Guildford, UK, 1995
STM ’95, Eighth International Conference on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Program Committee, 1994-1995
Physical Electronics Conference Executive Committee, 1995-1999; Local co-chair for 1998 Physical Electronics Conference
Defense Science Study Group V, 1996-1997.
Penn State Center for Materials Physics, renamed Center for Nanoscale Science, Executive Committee, 1997-2009
STM ’99, Tenth International Conference on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Program Committee, 1998-1999
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, U. S. National Committee, 2000-2005
American Vacuum SocietyNanoscience and Technology Division, Executive Committee, 2001-2004
Review of Scientific Instruments, Editorial Board, 2002-05
Foundations of Nanoscience, Technical Co-Chair, 2006-
IEEE Electron Device Letters, Senior Editor, 2005-2007
International Conference on Molecular Electronics, Chair, 2007
ACS Nano, founding Editor-in-Chief, 2007-2021
American Chemical Society Spring 2009 National Meeting, Thematic and Program Chair, 2009
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences Advisory Board, 2009-2020, Chair 2013-2020
American Chemical Society, Task Force on Author Rights and Responsibilitie, 2009-2010
American Chemical Society, Council of Editors, 2010-2015
Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, Strategic Advisory Board, 2010-2013
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Molecular Foundry, Scientific Advisory Board, 2011-2012
Tel Aviv University, Nanomedicine for Personalized Theranostics, International Nanotechnology Scientific Advisory Board, 2012-2017
Hunan University State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, International Advisory Board, 2012-2015
Harbin Institute of Technology, National Grand Project – Space Environmental Simulation Facilities on Ground, Advisory Board, 2012-2015
Texas A&M Department of Chemistry, Review Committee Chair, 2013
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,Physical Sciences Advisory Board, 2013-2014
UCSD Center for Brain Activity Mapping of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind Advisory Board, 2013-
Weizmann Institute of Science, President’s Nanoscience Review Committee, 2013
Academia Sinica, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences Advisory Committee, 2013-2015
Rutgers University, Nanoscience Review Committee Chair, 2014
King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Nanoscience Center Advisory Committe,- 2014-
San Diego Supercomputer Center, External Advisory Board, 2015-
Soochow University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO­CIC) Advisory and Consultative Committee – 2015-
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, External Advisory Board – 2015-
Beijing University of Chemical Technology, College of Energy, Advisory Board – 2015-
Chem, 2015-2019
University of Wisconsin (and partners), Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, Advisory Board – 2016-2019
Chemical Physics Letters, Editorial Advisory Board, 2016-2019
NPG Asia Materials, Editorial Advisory Board, 2018–2021
Precision and Future Medicine, Editorial Advisory Board, 2019–2022
ACS Materials Letters, Editorial Advisory Board, 2019–2022
Aggregate, Editorial Advisory Board, 2020-2023
Fundamental Research, Editorial Advisory Board, 2021–2024
Exploration, Editorial Advisory Board, 2021–2024


Teaching

At UCLA
Chemistry 20BH: Honors General Chemistry (Later classes available to students through UCLA’s course websites) | Winter 2019 Class | Winter 2018 Class (My favorite classes to teach are the freshman general chemistry courses.)
Chemistry 249: Materials Chemistry Winter 2019 Class Winter 2018 Class

At Penn State
Chemistry 12: General Chemistry
Chemistry 13: General Chemistry
Chemistry 13H: Honors General Chemistry. (See Chemistry 112H) | Spring 2007 Class | Spring 2006 Class | Spring 2005 Class | Spring 2004 Class | Spring 2003 Class | Spring 2002 Class | Spring 2001 Class | Spring 2000 Class | Spring 1999 Class | Spring 1998 Class | Spring 1996 Class
Chemistry 16: Careers in Chemistry. Fall 1999 Class
Chemistry 112H: Honors General Chemistry. Spring 2009 Class | Spring 2008 Class | Spring 2009 Class
Chemistry 429: Analytical Spectroscopy (lecture and lab)
Chemistry 448: Surface Chemistry. Fall 2001 Class | Fall 2000 Class | Fall 1999 Class | Fall 1998 Class | Fall 1997 Class
Chemistry 526: Spectroscopy (graduate)
Chemistry 597A: Nanoscience. A new class created and taught with Prof. Mary Beth Williams. Fall 2002 Class
Computer Science & Engineering 597D/Physics 597D: Biologically-Inspired Computation. A new class created and taught with Vijay NarayananAnne AndrewsWill Hancock, and others. Fall 2007 Class | Fall 2006 Class


Research & Research Group

Learn about our research in atomic-scale surface chemistry and physics, molecular devices, nanolithography, biophysics, and neuroscience.
Meet our excellent research group of dynamic young scientists, and see the awards they have won.
Look over our research publications (or look over my publications from before coming to Penn State).
See a list of upcoming talks where you can catch Weiss group members live.
Have a look at recent news articles on our group.
Here is my philosophy in how we run our group.