| Website | Home URL |
| Division | Physical |
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| gim@chem.ucla.edu | |
| Office | Young Hall 3042A |
| Office Phone | (310) 794-7514 |
| Lab | Young Hall B064, B112 |
| Office Lab | (310) 206-8259 |
Biography
Dr. Gimzewski is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and Director of the Nano & Pico Characterization Core Facility of the California NanoSystems Institute. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty, he was a group leader at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, where he research in nanoscale science and technology for more than 18 years. Dr. Gimzewski pioneered research on mechanical and electrical contacts with single atoms and molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and was one of the first persons to image molecules with STM. His accomplishments include the first STM-based fabrication of molecular suprastructures at room temperature using mechanical forces to push molecules across surfaces, the discovery of single molecule rotors and the development of new micromechanical sensors based on nanotechnology, which explore ultimate limits of sensitivity and measurement. This approach was recently used to convert biochemical recognition into Nanomechanics. His current interests are in the nanomechanics of cells and bacteria where he collaborates with the UCLA Medical and Dental Schools. He is involved in projects that range from the operation of X-rays, ions and nuclear fusion using pyroelectric crystals, direct deposition of carbonn nanotubes and single molecule DNA profiling. Dr. Gimzewski is also involved in numerous art-science collaborative projects that have been exhibited in museums throughout the world.
Research Interests
Above: Immunofluorescence analysis of a clinical pleural effusion displaying two cell populations. Image shows the positive immunofluorescence triple labeling assay for DNA(blue fluorescence), F-actin(green fluorescence), and Ber-EP4(red fluorescence).
Jim Gimzewski’s research is deeply connected with convergence and application of nanoscale science and technology with an emphasis on mechanics on the nanoscale. His research encompasses crucial aspects of physics, chemistry, engineering and life sciences, medicine and art. His research consists of:
(1) Nanomechanical dynamics and nanoarchitechtonics of living cells. This work is related to cancer, the action of drugs, environmental factors and other mutations in individual cells. The research pioneers the role of mechanics and cellular motion with the aim to develop new forms of medical diagnoses at the single cell level.
(2) Use of biochemistry and AFM to gene profile DNA on the single molecule level.
(3) Production of compact high energy beams of neutrons, photons, ions, and electrons using point source emitters coupled with piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects. Notable recent developments include the demonstration of thermo-nuclear fusion using a pocket-sized device powered by cooling the device by 20o C below ambient. Production of X-rays with fluxes suitable for X-ray radiology have also been demonstrated. (4) More recent work explores recyling of waste energy into electrical power.
Honors & Awards
- Carnegie Centenary Professorship from the Universities of Scotland, UK
- Dr. Honoris Causa, Université de la Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille II, presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France.
- Benajamin Meaker Visiting Professorship, Department of Physics, Bristol University, Bristol, UK
- Royal Society Elected Fellow
- International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering Elected Member
- World Innovation Foundation Elected Fellow
- Royal Academy of Engineering, London, United Kingdom (FREng) Elected Fellow
- Institute of Physics (FinstP), London, UK Elected Fellow
Representative Publications
[Recent publications, complete list here]
- C S Dunham, M E Mackenzie, H Nakano, A R Kim, A Nakano, A Z Stieg, J K Gimzewski, “Cardio PyMEA: A user-friendly, open-source Python application for cardiomyocyte microelectrode array analysis“, PloS one 17 (5), e0266647 (2022).
- D Banerjee, T Kotooka, S Azhari, Y Usami, T Ogawa, J K Gimzewski, H Tamukoh, H Tanaka, “Emergence of In-Materio Intelligence from an Incidental Structure of a Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube–Porphyrin Polyoxometalate Random Network“, Advanced Intelligent Systems 4 (4), 2100145 (2022).
- C S Dunham, M E Mackenzie, H Nakano, A R Kim, M B Juda, A Nakano, A Z Stieg, J K Gimzewski, “Pacemaker translocations and power laws in 2D stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte cultures“, Plos one 17 (3), e0263976 (2022).
- C Khandekar, S Buddhiraju, P R Wilkinson, J K Gimzewski, A W Rodriguez, C Chase, S Fan, “Nonequilibrium lateral force and torque by thermally excited nonreciprocal surface electromagnetic waves“, Physical Review B 104 (24), 245433 (2021).
- W Yu, S Sharma, E Rao, AC Rowat, JK Gimzewski, D Han, J Rao, “Cancer Cell Mechanobiology: A New Frontier for Cancer Research“, Journal of the National Cancer Center (2021).
- C S Dunham, S Lilak, J Hochstetter, A Loeffler, R Zhu, C Chase, A Z Stieg, Z Kuncic, J K Gimzewski, “Nanoscale neuromorphic networks and criticality: a perspective“, Journal of Physics: Complexity 2 (4), 042001 (2021).
- M LeClaire, J A Wohlschlegel, H Chang, M Wadehra, W Yu, J Rao, D Elashoff, J K Gimzewski, S Sharma, “Nanoscale Extracellular Vesicles Carry the Mechanobiology Signatures of Breast Cancer Cells“, ACS Applied Nano Materials 4 (9), 9876-9885 (2021).
- C S Ribeiro, M Lorusso, V Vesna, J K Gimzewski, C Jacques, K Bryson, I Dama, “The Quantum Biology of Politics“, BCS Learning & Development (2021)
- W Jung, C Dunham, K Perrotta, Y Chen, J Gimzewski, J Loo, “ICP-MS Analysis of Mercury in Fish: Exploration of Method Validation, Matrix Effect, and Kinetic Energy Discrimination“, ChemRxiv (2021).
- R Zhu, A Loeffler, J Hochstetter, A Diaz-Alvarez, T Nakayama, A Stieg, J Gimzewski, J Lizier, Z Kuncic, “MNIST classification using neuromorphic nanowire networks“, International Conference on Neuromorphic Systems 2021, 1-4 (2021).
- C Khandekar, S Buddhiraju, P R Wilkinson, J K Gimzewski, A W Rodriguez, C Chase, S Fan, “Nonequilibrium Casimir effects of nonreciprocal surface waves“, arXiv preprint arXiv:2106.10584 (2021).
- T Kotooka, S Lilak, A Stieg, J Gimzewski, N Sugiyama, Y Tanaka, H Tamukoh, Y Usami, H Tanaka, “Ag2Se nanowire network as an effective in-materio reservoir computing device“, (2021).
- R Aguilera, HO Sillin, AZ Stieg, JK Gimzewski, “Programmable Fading Memory in Atomic Switch Systems for Error Checking Applications“, Reservoir Computing, 273-303 (2021).
- S Lilak, W Woods, K Scharnhorst, C Dunham, C Teuscher, A Z Stieg, J K Gimzewski, “Spoken digit classification by in-materio reservoir computing with neuromorphic atomic switch networks“, Frontiers in Nanotechnology, 38 (2021).
- M LeClaire, J Gimzewski, S Sharma, “A review of the biomechanical properties of single extracellular vesicles“, Nano Select 2 (1), 1-15 (2021).