Northwestern Prof. Tobin Marks was elected to join the world’s oldest academy of natural sciences this month.
Marks, a chemistry and materials science and engineering professor, is the first NU scientist to join the prestigious academy, called the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina.
With a mission to unite scientists who explore nature to benefit mankind, the academy was founded in 1692 by Emperor Leopold I. The Leopoldina is recognized worldwide and restricts the number of members to 1000 scientists under the age of 75, making it extremely selective.
“It’s a very rare honor, especially for a foreign (non-German) chemist,” said Bryan Stubbert, a chemistry graduate student who works in Marks’ lab. “It is something the university community can be proud of, not just Tobin and his students.”
Marks is recognized worldwide as a leader in his field. He graduated with a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970. Today, his research includes polymerization catalysis, organometallic chemistry, organo-metallic catalysis, and the biological aspects of transition metal chemistry. One of his main specialities is in plastics.
“Everything is made out of plastics,” Marks said.
Marks said he wants to improve methods of making and understanding new kinds of polymers. This includes the synthesis of plastic transistors and plastic light emitters. He is also working to discover new kinds of optical and electronic materials.
Currently Marks has three primary projects. The first is to create cleaner, greener and more recyclable plastics for medical purposes and daily life. The second is to create lighter and more flexible information displays, such as thinner computer monitors. Third, he is working to make cheaper and more flexible solar cells that will benefit those in developing countries who have no source of electricity.
Marks is well-recognized by his colleagues in the Chemistry Department.
“He has tremendous imagination,” said Mark Ratner, another NU professor who specializes in inorganic materials chemistry. “His imagination came from looking at a part of the periodic table that no one cared about, the actinides and the lanthanides, and discovering that it was an extremely important part and then discovering a new type of chemistry for it.”
Marks has more than 800 peer-reviewed publications and holds 82 U.S. patents. Before being elected into the Leopoldina, Marks had won some of the most recognized and prestigious national and international awards and honors in the fields of inorganic, catalytic, materials, and organometallic chemistry. He won the Chicago Section’s 2001 Josiah Willard Gibbs Medal, an award that some consider to be an honor only second to a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
In addition to his professional achievements, his colleagues and students praise Marks for his approachability.
“He’s easy to talk to and to get along with,” Stubbert said.
Despite all of the recognition, Marks says he feels that he is not done with his work.
“I think why all the faculty members do research is the thrill of the unknown, discovering things for the benefit of mankind,” Marks said. “I don’t have a feeling now that I can retire; I have lots of other challenges and things that I am doing.”
Marks said he appreciates the award, and he stressed that some of the recognition goes to the students who have helped him over the years.
“I’m happy because it’s a salute to all the work my students and I did. It’s not just recognized at Northwestern, or in the U.S., but it’s all over the world,” he said.
Reach Sameera Kumar at [email protected].
