Paul S. Weiss (born October 10, 1959) is a leading Americannanoscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds numerous positions, including UC Presidential Chair, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry,[1] Bioengineering, and of Materials Science and Engineering,[2] founder and editor-in-chief of ACS Nano,[3] and founding partner and board member at Kronos Fusion Energy since 2022.[4] From 2019–2014, he held the Fred Kavli Chair in NanoSystems Sciences and was the director of the California NanoSystems Institute.[5] Weiss has co-authored over 400 research publications and holds over 40 US and international patents.[6]
Weiss's lab has traditionally focused on understanding and controlling chemistry and materials at the smallest scales. They demonstrated how atoms and molecules communicate through substrates on which they sit at greater than chemical distances.[citation needed] They have exploited self-assembled monolayers as well-defined environments to isolate single molecules for measurements of electron transport, as a means to improve nanofabrication techniques and as a way to isolate probe molecules on biospecific capture surfaces.[citation needed] The group has now diversified its focus to encompass projects that have wide-ranging impact in nanoscience and other fields, including nanobiosensor arrays for brain research and studying the microbiome.[citation needed] Weiss led the technology roadmap for the BRAIN Initiative[8][9] and with Julie S. Biteen contributed to the roadmap for the National Microbiome Initiative,[10] both published in ACS Nano.
In a podcast with Citrine Informatics, Prof. Jillian Buriak estimated that Weiss travels 300,000 miles a year in relation to his scientific research and community involvement.[11]
Awards and honors
1995-1997 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship[citation needed]
1997-1998 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship[citation needed]
1996 American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry[citation needed]
^Weiss, Paul S. (2013). "President Obama Announces the BRAIN Initiative". ACS Nano. 7 (4): 2873–2874. doi:10.1021/nn401796f. PMID23607423.
^Alivisatos, A. Paul; Andrews, Anne M.; Boyden, Edward S.; Chun, Miyoung; Church, George M.; Deisseroth, Karl; Donoghue, John P.; Fraser, Scott E.; Lippincott-Schwartz, Jennifer; Looger, Loren L.; Masmanidis, Sotiris; McEuen, Paul L.; Nurmikko, Arto V.; Park, Hongkun; Peterka, Darcy S.; Reid, Clay; Roukes, Michael L.; Scherer, Axel; Schnitzer, Mark; Sejnowski, Terrence J.; Shepard, Kenneth L.; Tsao, Doris; Turrigiano, Gina; Weiss, Paul S.; Xu, Chris; Yuste, Rafael; Zhuang, Xiaowei (2013). "Nanotools for Neuroscience and Brain Activity Mapping". ACS Nano. 7 (3): 1850–1866. doi:10.1021/nn4012847. PMC3665747. PMID23514423.
^Biteen, Julie S.; Blainey, Paul C.; Cardon, Zoe G.; Chun, Miyoung; Church, George M.; Dorrestein, Pieter C.; Fraser, Scott E.; Gilbert, Jack A.; Jansson, Janet K.; Knight, Rob; Miller, Jeff F.; Ozcan, Aydogan; Prather, Kimberly A.; Quake, Stephen R.; Ruby, Edward G.; Silver, Pamela A.; Taha, Sharif; Van Den Engh, Ger; Weiss, Paul S.; Wong, Gerard C. L.; Wright, Aaron T.; Young, Thomas D. (2016). "Tools for the Microbiome: Nano and Beyond". ACS Nano. 10 (1): 6–37. doi:10.1021/acsnano.5b07826. hdl:1912/7761. PMID26695070.