news archives (2014-2020)
2019/01/17 - HERMAN's high-temperature reactor installed
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:46 AM by Emory Chan
The custom-designed, high-temperature microplate reactor for our HERMAN robot has passed its acceptance test and has been officially installed in HERMAN! Thanks to Kyle, Duane and Gary at Aslin Automation for making this happen! It's been a long journey, from an intern prototype, a couple robot vendors, and six Aslin prototypes, but we now have a reactor! Now for the fun part: programming.
2019/01/13 - Ayelet & Bella's upconverting nanopartice lifetimes research published in JPCC
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:43 AM by Emory Chan
Ayelet and Bella's manuscript investigating the power-dependent lifetimes and energy transfer networks in upconverting nanoparticles was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C. They show that UCNPs are complex energy transfer networks with collective, robust, non-linear dynamics. Congrats, Ayelet and Bella! Check out their work here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b00161
2018/12/07 - Haoran bids farewell, heading to Apple
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:38 AM by Emory Chan
It's a sad day as Haoran is departing the Chan group for a new job at Apple. The Chan group feasted on Peking duck at Haoran's going away lunch. Haoran was the 2nd postdoc in the Chan group, and he is our resident expert on WANDA, HERMAN, and semiconductor quantum dots. He will be sorely missed!
2018/11/21 - Andrea Pickel's nanothermometers User research published in Nature Communications
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:33 AM by Emory Chan
UC-Berkeley Users Andrea Pickel and Prof. Chris Dames (along with Ayelet, Emory, and Jim) have published their research on upconverting nanoparticle thermometers in Nature Communications. We sort out the age-old question of whether the lasers used to excite upconverting nanoparticle thermometers change their temperature (***see spoiler below!). Check the paper out here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07361-0
Congrats, Andrea & co!
*** spoilers below ***
they dont :)
2018/11/05 - Xindong Wang joins the group
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:28 AM by Emory Chan
Visiting student and China Scholarship Council fellow Xindong Wang has joined the Chan group on a 1-year stint from Prof. Guanying Chen's group at Harbin Institute of Technology. Welcome Xindong!
2018/10/20 - Shimon Weiss User Pub in ACS Photonics
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:24 AM by Emory Chan
Congratulations to WANDA Users from Prof. Shimon Weiss's group at UCLA for their ACS Photonics paper characterizing the Stark effect in semiconductor nanorod heterostructures! Yung, Jack, and Shimon are using these tiny nanorods as in vivo voltage sensors! Check out their work here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b00617
2018/08/15 - LiZnSb User pub from Javier Vela's group in Chemistry of Materials
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:17 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 2:02 AM ]
Users Art White, Alan Gonzalez, and Prof. Javier Vela have published their User research exploring the synthesis of LiZnSb materials using WANDA! They even discovered a new phase of LiZnSb! Congratulations, WANDA users! Check out their Chemistry of Materials paper here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b02910
2018/08/12 - A flood of good and bad news...
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:13 AM by Emory Chan
The Chan group was hit by a literal and figurative deluge last week. Early in the week, Emory and Irene welcomed the littlest member of the Chan group into the world, Baby Sydney!
But late in the week, the entire Foundry flooded when the sprinklers were set off, sending water raining down all over HERMAN, WANDA, and the rest of the 4th floor. Fortunately, due to the heroic efforts of the Foundry staff, we seemed to have escaped major damage (thank you Nate, Shaul, and the robot gloveboxes!). I guess we'll chalk that up to another stroke of good luck!
2018/08/06 - Bella's single upconverting nanoparticle research published in Nature Communicatons
posted Feb 11, 2019, 1:01 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 1:02 AM ]
Bella's research with Angel, Ayelet, Emory, Jim, and Bruce was published in Nature Communications. Congratulations Bella & co! Check the paper out here: https://10.1038/s41467-018-05577-8
2018/07/08 - Xinle's PSM-COF work published in Nature Communications
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:56 AM by Emory Chan
Congratulations to Xinle for his Nature Communications publication on the post-synthetic modification of covalent organic frameworks. These are the most stable COFs in the world! Read more about them here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05462-4
Congrats, Xinle!
2018/06/30 - Angel's upconverting microlasers published in Nature Nanotechnology!
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:37 AM by Emory Chan
Angel's research on upconverting nanoparticle microlasers with Liz, Bella, Bruce, Emory, and Jim was published in Nature Nanotechnology! Congrats Angel & co.! Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0161-8
These are the first continuous-wave upconverting nanoparticle lasers, and the smallest upconverting lasers in the world!
This story is being up by Nature, the APS Physics Central blog, and even Engadget!
2018/05/02 - Yehonadav and Jakob's double perovskite research published in Nano Letters
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:27 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 12:27 AM ]
Congratulations to Jakob and Users Yehonadav and Paul Alivisatos for their recent Nano Letters paper on double perovskite nanocrystals! Check it out here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b00560
2018/04/17 - The Chan group takes over the Unchained Labs User Meeting
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:18 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 12:19 AM ]
Emory gave a talk at the 2018 Unchained Labs West Coast User meeting, with Haoran, Yawei, Ayelet, Zhi, and Jakob in tow. We got to tour the robot zoo at Unchained Labs, whose Freeslate division built our group's HERMAN robot. Haoran won the mechanical bull riding contest, which won him a free grill! Jakob finished second, and managed to win a pair of Apple AirPods.
Well played, group, well played.
We'll see if Unchained Labs ever invites us back to their events...
2018/04/30 - Alumnus Deepak Subramanian awarded the NSF graduate fellowship
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:12 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 12:13 AM ]
The NSF has awarded former Chan group intern Deepak Subramanian (SULI '16, '17) its prestigious NSF graduate fellowship. Deepak is heading to MIT to earn his Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering. Congratulations, Deepak!
2018/04/23 - David Garfield's dye sensitized UCNP paper published in Nature Photonics
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:07 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 12:08 AM ]
Congratulations to David Garfield, Nick Borys, Jim Schuck, Brucen Cohen, and co. for our recent Nature Photonics publication uncovering the role of dye triplet states in the enhancement of upconversion in dye-sensitized upconverting nanoparticles! Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-018-0156-x
2018/04/13 - Shuren's User publication in Nature Communications
posted Feb 11, 2019, 12:01 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Feb 11, 2019, 12:03 AM ]
Congratulations to Users Shuren Lin and Prof. Jie Yao for their Nature Communications publication titled "Accessing valley degree of freedom in bulk tin(II) sulfide at room temperature" !
You can read it here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03897-3
2018/02/28 - Zhi Li joins the group
posted Feb 10, 2019, 11:55 PM by Emory Chan
Dr. Zhi Li has joined the group as a DARPA postdoc. Zhi hails from Prof. Peter Ford's group at UCSB and was a WANDA user. Welcome, Zhi!
2018/02/10 - Emory talks about upconversion Down Under
posted Feb 10, 2019, 11:53 PM by Emory Chan
Emory gave talks at UTS's IMDB Research Week in Sydney and at Monash University in Melbourne. Thanks to Prof. Dayong Jin and Prof. Udo Bach for the kind invitations!
2017/01/10 - Job opening: Postdoctoral fellow for in situ liquid cell TEM
posted Jan 10, 2017, 2:35 PM by Emory Chan
We're hiring a postdoc to develop for in situ liquid cell TEM of nanocrystal reactions! Please email Emory with your CV and cover letter if you are interested in the job described below:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) offers a unique opportunity for a postdoctoral fellow in the field of chemistry or materials science. The postdoc will carry out multidisciplinary research using liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to investigate the reactions of colloidal nanomaterials in situ. This position would be co-advised with Dr. Haimei Zheng and requires a unique ability to fabricate novel liquid cells and leverage them in the world-class TEM facilities at Berkeley Lab.
Responsibilities:
• Design and fabricate novel TEM liquid cells.
• Design and execute research projects using in situ liquid cell TEM to investigate reactions of colloidal nanomaterials and thin films with reagents in solution.
• Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists in the Materials Science Division and the Molecular Foundry to meet objectives and reporting requirements of funding agencies.
Qualifications:
• Recent Ph. D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical engineering, or a related field.
• Experience conducting solution phase chemical reactions or solid state reactions of materials.
• Expertise in transmission electron microscopy
• Experience in micro- or nano-fabrication, e.g., photolithography, etching, thin film deposition
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to work successfully with a diverse group of users, scientists, students
• Record of publication in high impact journals
• Ability to independently meet research goals, solve problems, and develop scientific ideas
Preferred:
• Experience with in situ and/or liquid cell TEM
• Knowledge of microfluidics, fluid mechanics, and/or finite element modeling
• Familiarity with developing physical models or programming simulations
2016/12/01 - Job opening: Postdoctoral fellow for robotic nanocrystal synthesis
posted Dec 7, 2016, 5:20 PM by Emory Chan
We're hiring a postdoc to develop a next-generation nanocrystal synthesis robot and to use this robot to synthesize complex semiconductor and doped nanostructures. Please email Emory with your CV and cover letter if you are interested in the job described below:
The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) offers a unique opportunity for a postdoctoral fellow in the field of chemistry or materials science. The postdoc will carry out multidisciplinary research using combinatorial techniques to synthesize colloidal nanoparticles and their hererostructures. This position requires a unique ability to synthesize nanomaterials a develop new capabilities for a recently installed, high-throughput synthesis robot.
Responsibilities:
• Design and synthesize complex inorganic nanoparticle heterostructures and/or lanthanide-doped, upconverting nanoparticles using air-free wet chemistry techniques and high throughput synthesis robots.
• Program robust workflows for a recently installed high-throughput synthesis robot. Interface with the subcontractor ensure that the robot meets fabrication milestones and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with a broad array of users, postdoctoral fellows, and students and help them conceive, plan, and execute experiments on the synthesis robots.
• Characterize materials using techniques including XRD, TEM, SEM, and optical spectroscopy.
Qualifications:
• Recent Ph. D. in Chemistry or Materials Science
• Expertise in any field of chemical synthesis (inorganic, organic, organometallic, polymer, materials)
• Experience characterizing the physical properties of materials using techniques such as TEM, SEM, XRD, and optical spectroscopy/microscopy
• Proficiency in a high-level programming language, e.g., LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python, Java
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to work successfully with a diverse group of users, scientists, students
• Willingness to contribute to the shared goals of a diverse user facility
• Record of publication in high impact journals
• Ability to independently meet research goals, solve problems, and develop scientific ideas
Preferred:
• Expertise in the air-free synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles, particularly semiconductor or lanthanide-doped nanoparticles
• Expertise in combinatorial or high-throughput chemistry
• Expertise in robotics, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering
• Familiarity with developing physical models or programming simulations
2016/10/13 - Stefan Fischer User Pub in Nano Letters
posted Dec 7, 2016, 4:58 PM by Emory Chan
Congratulations to Foundry Users Stefan Fisher and Paul Alivisatos for their publication on upconverting nanoparticles in Nano Letters! Check it out here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03683
2016/11/21 - Emory speaks at HIT and Peking University in China
posted Dec 7, 2016, 4:55 PM by Emory Chan
Emory gave seminars at Harbin Institute of Technology and Peking University in China. Thanks to hosts Guanying Chen and Lingdong Sun!
2016/09/07 - Liz and Cheryl's paper is published in ACS Nano!
posted Sep 13, 2016, 12:56 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Sep 13, 2016, 12:57 AM ]
Congratulations to co-first authors Liz Levy and Cheryl Tajon for their publication on Energy Looping Nanoparticles in ACS Nano! Thomas, Emory, and a bevy of collaborators and users all contributed. Check out the paper here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b03288
2016/08/12 - Emory talks at the Foundry User Meeting
posted Sep 13, 2016, 12:53 AM by Emory Chan
Emory talks about our latest work on Energy Looping Nanoparticles in the "Playing with Photons at the Nanoscale" session at the Molecular Foundry User Meeting.
2016/08/11 - Thomas introduces HERMAN at the Foundry User Meeting
posted Sep 13, 2016, 12:47 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Sep 13, 2016, 12:48 AM ]
Postdoc Thomas Bischof introduced our new nanocrystal synthesis robot, HERMAN, to the Molecular Foundry User Meeting audience in the session on new user capabilities.
2016/08/02 - ELNPs are a "Hot Topic" at the Nanocrystals GRC!
posted Sep 13, 2016, 12:43 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Sep 13, 2016, 12:45 AM ]
Emory gave a "Hot Topics" talk about Energy Looping Nanoparticles at the Gordon Research Conference on Semiconductor Nanocrystals in Mt. Snow, Vermont. Thanks to Delia Milliron for the invitation and Brett Helms for tying the session to Pokemon Go.
posted Jul 1, 2016, 3:38 PM by Emory Chan
We are hiring two postdoctoral fellows for research in the high-throughput synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles and covalent organic frameworks. If you are interested in applying for these positions, please email Dr. Emory Chan.
2016/05/28 - User paper on single nanoparticle nanothermometry in Nanoscale!
posted May 28, 2016, 10:04 AM by Emory Chan [ updated May 28, 2016, 10:18 AM ]
Congratulations to Users Jake Kilbane, Andrea Pickel, and Chris Dames on their new Nanoscale paper using upconverting nanoparticles as single nanoparticle thermometers! Emory and Liz also contributed. See the paper here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6NR01479H
2016/05/27 - Emory talks a the Upcon2016 conference in Wroclaw, Poland
posted May 28, 2016, 10:00 AM by Emory Chan [ updated May 28, 2016, 10:01 AM ]
Emory gave a talk at the Upcon2016 conference in Wroclaw, followed by a lecture at the Spring School. Thanks to organizer Artur Bednarkiewicz for the invitation!
2016/05/06 - Chemistry of Materials paper from Emory & User Saahil Mehra
posted May 6, 2016, 10:33 PM by Emory Chan [ updated May 6, 2016, 10:36 PM ]
Congrats to WANDA uber-user emeritus Saahil Mehra and Prof. Alberto Salleo for their new paper in Chemistry of Materials on controlling dopant incorporation and shape in doped ZnO nanorods!
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b00981
2016/01/21 - ACS Nano paper from User Gang Han & Emory
posted Jan 22, 2016, 12:15 AM by Emory Chan [ updated May 6, 2016, 10:38 PM ]
Congrats to Foundry User and former postdoc Gang Han on his group's new paper on dye-sensitized upconverting nanoparticles for optogenetics! http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b06383
2015/12/22 - HERMAN has arrived!
posted Jan 22, 2016, 12:12 AM by Emory Chan
Thomas and the Freeslate crew wheel in our new robot HERMAN into the Foundry for the first time!
2015/12/14 - Testing HERMAN at Freeslate!
posted Dec 18, 2015, 4:49 PM by Emory Chan
After years of work, we are finally testing our latest robot, HERMAN, at the Freeslate factory in Sunnyvale! Thomas, Jeremy, and Emory saw our new robot dispense solid reagents and run through routines to purify nanoparticles.
2015/12/03 - Emory talks at UMass Med School
posted Dec 18, 2015, 4:46 PM by Emory Chan
Emory was invited by Foundry alumn Gang Han to talk about upconverting nanoparticle research at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in the Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School.
2015/12/02 - Emory talks at the Fall MRS meeting in Boston
posted Dec 18, 2015, 4:44 PM by Emory Chan
Emory talked about our latest upconverting particles at the Fall MRS meeting in Boston.
2015/11/09 - Jeremy Geiss joins the group
posted Nov 15, 2015, 6:41 PM by Emory Chan
Jeremy Geiss joins the group as a visiting Masters student from the University of Duisburg-Essen. Welcome, Jeremy!
2015/10/30 - Emory gives a seminar at WSU
posted Nov 15, 2015, 6:36 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Nov 15, 2015, 6:38 PM ]
Emory gave a seminar to the Materials Science & Engineer program at Washington St. University in Pullman, WA. Emory was reminded what fall colors look like (and what a one-room airport looks like). Thanks to Min-Kyu Song for hosting! On the Halloween plane ride home, Emory got the unique experience of seeing two UCLA volleyball players go through TSA security as a (very tall) banana and a cross-dressing princess.
2015/09/08 - Thomas Bischof joins the group
posted Nov 15, 2015, 6:32 PM by Emory Chan
Postdoc Thomas Bischof joins the group. Welcome, Thomas!
2015/08/21 - Materials Discovery symposium at the Molecular Foundry Users' Meeting
posted Aug 26, 2015, 2:34 AM by Emory Chan
Emory co-organized a symposium with Raffa Buonsanti on "Materials Discovery: Lab-based and combinatorial approaches" at the 2015 Molecular Foundry Users' Meeting. Invited speakers included WANDA uber-users Prof. Jonathan Owen and Jake Sadie.
2015/08/06 - Emory gives a seminar at the National University of Singapore
posted Aug 26, 2015, 2:28 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Aug 26, 2015, 2:28 AM ]
Emory spoke to the Department of Chemistry at NUS about using high-throughput techniques to design upconverting nanoparticles. He met with the research groups of Prof. Xiaogang Liu and Prof. Yin Thai Chan, a fellow Alivisatos Nation and UC-Berkeley alumn.
2015/08/06 - Ramya shows off at the SULI poster session
posted Aug 26, 2015, 1:43 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Aug 26, 2015, 2:36 AM ]
Ramya presented her poster at the Summer 2015 SULI poster session. She showed off her research on the multi-step synthesis silver nanoparticles using her Nimbus robot, the newest addition to the CombiNano robot family!
2015/08/04 - Emory talks at the M3 conference in Singapore
posted Aug 26, 2015, 1:37 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Aug 26, 2015, 1:45 AM ]
Emory traveled to Singapore to give an invited talk about upconverting nanoparticles at the Molecular Materials Meeting, which was schedule to coincide with Singapore's 50th birthday as a country. Happy 50th, Singapore!
2015/06/08 - Saahil's paper published in J. Mater. Chem. C
posted Jul 2, 2015, 11:40 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Jul 2, 2015, 11:41 AM ]
WANDA user Saahil Mehra published his user project research with Emory on ZnO nanorods in J. Materials Chemistry C! DOI:10.1039/c5tc01216c Congratulations, Saahil!
2015/06/01 - Ramya joins the group.
posted Jul 2, 2015, 11:35 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Jul 2, 2015, 11:37 AM ]
Ramya Gurunathan has join the group as a SULI intern. Welcome, Ramya! If you are looking for a summer, fall, or spring internship, please email your resume to Emory.
2015/04/30 - Emory gives a talk at the Freeslate Forum
posted May 4, 2015, 6:24 PM by Emory Chan [ updated May 4, 2015, 6:24 PM ]
Emory gave an invited talk at the 2015 Freeslate Forum. He spoke about performing high-throughput nanocrystal synthesis at the Molecular Foundry.
2015/04/29 - Liz's swan song at the SULI poster session
posted May 4, 2015, 6:19 PM by Emory Chan [ updated May 4, 2015, 6:20 PM ]
Liz presented her poster at the SULI spring intern poster session. Liz completed the second of her two SULI tours and is now heading to UCSF for graduate school. Congratulations, Liz!
2015/03/24 - Postdoc position available
posted Mar 24, 2015, 2:27 PM by Emory Chan [ updated May 4, 2015, 6:15 PM ]
Looking for a postdoc? Want do make nanocrystals and assemblies with robots? We're hiring! Check out the job description here: https://lbl.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=80640 . Email Dr. Chan for more details. (Update: the position has been filled).
2015/03/24 - Advanced Materials review
posted Mar 24, 2015, 9:34 AM by Emory Chan [ updated Mar 24, 2015, 2:13 PM ]
Our Advanced Materials review on energy transfer in upconverting nanoparticles is now online! http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201500248/abstract
2014/12/01 - Saahil graduates!
posted Dec 18, 2014, 6:40 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Dec 18, 2014, 6:41 PM ]
Congratulations to uber-WANDA user Saahil Mehra for receiving his Ph. D. in Materials Science from Stanford! Emory served on Saahil's thesis committee along with Saahil's advisor, Prof. Alberto Salleo.
posted Dec 18, 2014, 6:09 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Dec 18, 2014, 6:10 PM ]
Liz braved the "Storm of the Decade" to present her research on upconverting nanoparticles at the Fall 2014 SULI poster session. Emory presented the group's research at the poster sessions for the Molecular Foundry's Scientific Advisory Board meeting.
2014/10/10 - WANDA in Science magazine
posted Dec 18, 2014, 5:58 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Dec 18, 2014, 5:58 PM ]
WANDA made a cameo in a review article in Science written by Foundry users Philip Howes and Molly Stevens: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1247390
2014/10/07 - Chem. Soc. Rev. UCNP review online.
posted Dec 18, 2014, 5:50 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Dec 18, 2014, 5:51 PM ]
Emory's review on combinatorial approaches for upconverting nanoparticle research was published in Chemical Society Reviews: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00205A
posted Dec 18, 2014, 5:41 PM by Emory Chan [ updated Dec 18, 2014, 5:46 PM ]
Welcome to the new website of the Chan Research Group! After 5 years as a Scientific Engineering Associate at the Molecular Foundry, Emory was promoted to Staff Scientist on 10/1/2014.