Frontiers Forum > Speakers 2020 > Daniel Nocera | Harvard University

Daniel Nocera | Harvard University

Daniel G. Nocera is the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University. Widely recognized in the world as a leading researcher in renewable energy, he is the inventor of the artificial leaf and the bionic leaf - named by Time Magazine as Innovation of the Year for 2011 and the World Economic Forum as the Breakthrough Technology for 2017, respectively. Mimicking photosynthesis in plants, but at much greater efficiency, these technologies allow the production of biomass and liquid fuels from sunlight, water and air. Daniel extended this approach to also synthesize ammonia and fertilizer.

Other areas of interest include the first measurement and theory of proton-coupled electron transfer and its application to radical enzymology, the development of new cancer therapies by creating nanocrystal chemosensors for metabolic tumor profiling, and the design of spin frustrated materials to explore exotic states arising from highly correlated spins. He created the first quantum spin liquid from S = ½ spins on a kagomé lattice, a long-sought prize in condensed matter physics. Afield from chemistry, Daniel invented the Molecular Tagging Velocimetry (MTV) technique to make simultaneous, multipoint velocity measurements of highly three–dimensional turbulent flows. The technique has been employed by the engineering community to solve a number of long-standing and important problems.

Daniel’s research contributions in renewable energy have been recognized by several awards, some of which include the Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy, Eni Prize, IAPS Award, Burghausen Prize, and the United Nation’s Science and Technology Award and from the American Chemical Society the Inorganic Chemistry, Harrison Howe. Kosolapoff and Remsen Awards. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He was named as 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine and was 11th on the New Statesman’s list on the same topic, and he is a frequent guest on TV and radio and is regularly featured in print.

Before joining Harvard, Daniel began his career at Michigan State University, where he was a University Distinguished Professor and then in 1997 joined the faculty of MIT where he was the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy. He earned his B.S. degree at Rutgers University and his Ph.D. at Caltech. Daniel has mentored 159 PhD graduate and postdoctoral students, 69 of which have assumed faculty positions, published over 450 papers, given over 975 invited talks and 128 named lectureships. In 2008, Daniel founded Sun Catalytix, a company committed to developing energy storage for the wide-spread implementation of renewable energy. In August 2014, Lockheed Martin purchased the assets of Sun Catalytix, and now Sun Catalytix technology is being commercialized under the venture, Lockheed Martin GridStar™ Flow. A second company, Kula Bio, was founded by Daniel in 2018 to focus on the development of renewable and distributed crop fertilization and land restoration.