Chemistry Prof. Chad Mirkin received the 2023 King Faisal Prize in Medicine and Science, according to a University press release. 

The award, given out by the King Faisal Foundation, is named after former Saudi Arabian statesman Faisal bin Abdulaziz. A committee of more than 40 specialists, scientists and public figures from 26 countries selected Mirkin. His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz is chairman of King Faisal Prize Board.

“This award is a tremendous honor for Professor Mirkin and for Northwestern,” University President Michael Schill said in the release. “It recognizes Mirkin’s groundbreaking work in nanotechnology, where he has established Northwestern as a leader in the field.” 

Mirkin, also founder and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, was awarded the 2022 Faraday Medal by the Institution for Engineering and Technology. He also received China’s Friendship Award in 2018, an honor recognizing foreign experts who have contributed to the nation’s economic and social progress.

Mirkin is widely recognized for inventing spherical nucleic acids, effective gene regulation agents. 

“The prize is extraordinary validation for the strategic bet Northwestern made on nanoscience two decades ago, and it is tremendous recognition for the hundreds of talented students, postdocs and colleagues, who have contributed to efforts to discover new structures and materials through miniaturization that can be used to transform the fields of chemistry, energy and medicine,” Mirkin said in the release.

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