Hedi Mattoussi is named fellow of American Chemical Society

Hedi Mattoussi, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at FSU, was selected in Fall 2011 as a fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Selection as a fellow recognizes not only excellence in scientific research but a history of service to the society.

Mattoussi’s research has ranged over more than two decades from the physics of polymers and liquid crystals to the physical chemistry of inorganic nanocrystals, specifically luminescent quantum dots (QDs).

“Quantum dots, which are nanoparticles that glow brightly when you illuminate them, are used for imaging of biological samples and could one day provide early detection of diseases such as cancer,” says Professor Joseph Schlenoff, who was chair of the chemistry department in 2009 when Mattoussi joined the department.

“The impact of Professor Mattoussi’s lifetime of work is remarkable,” Schlenoff says. “He has had more than 140 interdisciplinary scientific reports on his research published in peer-reviewed journals. Most significantly, his publications [had] generated (as of September 2011) more than 12,000 citations, with over 75 citations per publication. This clearly reflects the tremendous impact that Mattoussi’s work has had on his peers in the field.”

Mattoussi, who has also recently received grants from the National Science Foundation and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. to support his research, was one of only 213 scientists in the entire world to receive the honor in 2011.

“I am honored and humbled that my peers have found my contributions worthy of inclusion in such a prestigious group,” Mattoussi says. Mattoussi was also quick to acknowledge the many colleagues, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students he has worked with at FSU as well as previously at the Collège de France in Paris, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. To read more, go to http://www.fsu.edu/news/2011/11/18/mattoussi.acs/