Paul Alivisatos was appointed director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory by the University of California Board of Regents on November 19, 2009. Prior to that he was named interim director by UC President Mark G. Yudof on January 21, 2009. Alivisatos replaced former laboratory Director Steve Chu, who was sworn in as U.S. Energy Secretary. Prior to becoming interim director, Alivisatos was the deputy director of Berkeley Lab, serving as the lab’s chief research officer, overseeing the discretionary research budget, key research initiatives and technology transfer functions. In addition, he assisted the director in developing the overall strategic direction and institutional planning for the laboratory. Alivisatos is a leader of Berkeley Lab’s Helios solar research initiative, where he directs ground-breaking research on artificial photosynthesis and photovoltaic technology through the creation of nano-inspired devices.

From 2005-2007, Alivisatos was associate laboratory director for physical sciences. From 2002-2008 he was director of the materials sciences division and from 2001-2005 he was director of the Molecular Foundry at Berkeley Lab.

Alivisatos has been a member of the faculty at UC Berkeley since 1988. He is currently the Larry and Diane Bock Professor of Nanotechnology and a professor in the departments of materials science and chemistry. Alivisatos is a scientific founder of Quantum Dot Corp. and Nanosys Inc., and a board member of Solexant Inc. He is the founding editor of Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society.

Alivisatos attended the University of Chicago and received a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry with Honors in 1981. He continued his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1986, he went to AT&T Bell Labs where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow, and it was at this time that he first became involved in research related to Nanotechnology. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and became a principal investigator at Berkeley Lab.

For more about Paul Alivisatos and his research, visit his Web site.