Lieber named University Professor

The pioneering chemist of bio-compatible transistors and other nanoscale wonders receives Harvard’s highest faculty honor.  

Professor Charles Lieber in his lab at 12 Oxford Street

Professor Charles Lieber in his lab at 12 Oxford Street

Photograph by Rose Lincoln/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications

Chemist Charles M. Lieber, a pioneer in the creation of bio-compatible electronics, has been named the inaugural Friedman University Professor, a new position endowed by Joshua Friedman ’76, M.B.A. ’80, J.D. ’82, and Beth Friedman. University Professors hold the highest faculty rank at Harvard, reflecting the eminence of their scholarship. They are free to teach and conduct research in any University school. 

Lieber has made stunning advances in electronics, devising—as long ago as 2001—nanoscale logic circuits just a few atoms wide that would self-assemble when poured as liquid onto a pre-engineered surface.

He has continued to lead the way in developing nanoscale biological interfaces, initially with nanowires so sensitive that they could function as sensors in the brain. In 2010, he developed a virus-sized transistor similar in size to intra-cellular organelles that can penetrate cell membranes and probe their interiors without disrupting function. And he has taken each of those discoveries a step closer to the reality of a biological computing interface—think man and machine—with the development of syringe-injectable mesh nanoelectronics that can integrate into neural networks. 

Read more articles by Jonathan Shaw

You might also like

Harvard President Alan Garber Helps First-Years Move In

As a potential settlement with the Trump administration looms, Garber gets students settled. 

Harvard’s New Online Orientation Emphasizes Intellectual Paths

A summer course for first-years focuses on academic success, diverse viewpoints.

Two Years of Doxxing at Harvard

What happens when students are publicly named and shamed for their views?

Most popular

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Five Questions with Peter R. Girguis

A Harvard professor of evolutionary biology on what lurks in the deep sea  

Explore More From Current Issue

Room filled with furniture made from tightly rolled newspaper sheets.

A Paper House in Massachusetts

The 1920s Rockport cottage reflects resourceful ingenuity.

David McCord in suit reading a book at cluttered wooden desk in office filled with framed art and shelves.

The Pump Celebrates Its 85th Birthday

Giving Harvard traditions their due 

Two women in traditional kimonos, one lighting a cigarette, in a scene from Apart from You.

Harvard Film Archive Spotlights Japanese Director Mikio Naruse

A retrospective of the filmmaker’s works, from Floating Clouds to Flowing