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DAVID L.
PATRICK
Professor,
Analytical & Materials Chemistry
Director, Advanced Mat. Sci.
& Engineering Ctr.
Education
B.S. Chemistry, University of California at Davis (1990).
Ph.D. University of Utah (1995).
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, Cambridge University (1995-6).
Visiting Fellow, Oxford University (2002-3).
Selected Awards and Honors
WWU Olscamp Research Award (2005)
Henry Dreyfus
Teacher-Scholar Award (2001)
U.S.
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2000)
National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2000) Dreyfus Foundation New
Faculty Start-up Grant (1996)
University of Utah Cheves T. Walling Graduate Research Award (1995)
American Vacuum Society Graduate Student Award (1994)
Union Carbide Corp. Kenan Analytical Chemistry Award (1993)
Research Interests
All material objects are
made from atoms and molecules. If it were possible to precisely
manipulate matter at the size
scale of atoms, that is, at the size scale of about one nanometer, then
one could, in principle, make virtually anything. Our research is aimed
at developing ways to do just that. We are inventing and testing the
tools which will be used by a future generation of nanoengineers to
assemble molecules and particles into functional materials and devices.
The research can be compared to the way a child assembles wooden blocks
to make a house, only the building blocks we play with are much, much
smaller. To be a little more specific, our research uses liquid
crystals – the fluids found in LCDs – to manipulate the arrangement of
molecules and small particles deposited as thin films on solid
surfaces. Applications range from control over chirality in monolayer
molecular films to nanoscale wiring with carbon nanotubes and the
preparation of highly ordered organic semiconductor films.
Research students develop expertise with a number of techniques
including scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and a
variety of spectroscopic methods.
More about research interests.
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