B. S. Chemistry (1981) Syracuse University
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry (1986) Purdue University
Postdoctoral Fellow Organometallic Chemistry (1986-1987) University of Wisconsin
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow Organic Chemistry (1987-1988) Stanford University
Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Education
Email: tour@rice.edu
Phone: (713) 348-6246
Office: Dell Butcher Hall, 255
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James Tour
Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor in MEMS and of Computer Science
James M. Tour, a synthetic organic chemist, received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Syracuse University, his Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University, and postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. After spending 11 years on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, he joined the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University in 1999 where he is presently the Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. Tour’s scientific research areas include molecular electronics, nanotubes for health applications, chemical self-assembly, conjugated oligomers, electroactive polymers, combinatorial routes to precise oligomers, polymeric sensors, flame retarding polymer additives, carbon nanotube growth, synthetic modifications and composite formation, hydrogen storage on carbon nanotubes, synthesis of molecular motors and nanocars, use of the NanoKids concept for K-12 education in nanoscale science, and methods for retarding chemical terrorist attacks. Tour has over 300 research publications and over 35 patents.
Tour was awarded the 2008 Fenyman prize in Nanotechnology and the NASA Space Act Award in 2008 for his development of carbon nanotube reinforced elastomers and the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society for his achievements in organic chemistry in 2007. Tour was the recipient of the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching in 2007. He also won the Small Times magazine’s Innovator of the Year Award in 2006, the Nanotech Briefs Nano 50 Innovator Award in 2006, the Alan Berman Research Publication Award, Department of the Navy in 2006, the Southern Chemist of the Year Award from the American Chemical Society in 2005 and The Honda Innovation Award for Nanocars in 2005. Tour’s paper on Nanocars was the most highly accessed journal article of all American Chemical Society articles in 2005, and it was listed by LiveScience as the second most influential paper in all of science in 2005. Tour has won several other national awards including the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award in Polymer Chemistry and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in Polymer Chemistry.
Tour is a co-founder of NanoComposites, Inc. which specializes in nanotube-based composites and he is a co-founder of RJAC-10, LLC, makers of the JAC line of corrosion inhibitor coatings. He also is the founder and principal of NanoJtech Consultants, LLC, performing technology assessments for the prospective investor. He serves on the Board of Directors of Ariel Ministries. He has served as a visiting scholar at Harvard University, on the Chemical Reviews Editorial Advisory Board, the Governor’s Mathematics and Science Advisory Board for South Carolina, the Defense Science Study Group through the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Defense Science Board Chem/Nano Study Section, the Department of Commerce Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee and the MD Anderson Cancer Research Center’s Competitive Grant Renewal Board. He has been active in consulting on several national defense-related topics, in addition to numerous other professional committees and panels.
Research Statement
This research, which is funded by The Robert A. Welch Foundation, American Honda Motorcar Co. and the National Science Foundation through a NIRT at Rice and a subcontract to Penn State's MRSEC and Center for Nanoscience, is focused on the synthesis of nanomachines such as nanocars, nanotrucks, motorized nanocars, and other machines that can roll on surfaces and do work at the nanoscale. The synthesis of the first nanocar took almost 10 years to complete, and the imaging of the nanocars moving on a surface by our Rice collaborator Prof. Kevin Kelly, was almost as difficult yet luckily did not take as long. This work has opened up a plethora of opportunities to design and synthesis new nanomachines. For representative publications see: Shirai, Y.; Morin, J.-F.; Sasaki, T.; Guerrero, J.; Tour, J. M. “Recent Progress on Nanovehicles,” Chem. Soc. Rev. 2006, 35, 1043-1055; Morin, J.-F., Shirai, Y.; Tour, J. M. “En Route to a Motorized Nanocar,” Org. Lett. 2006, 8, 1713-1716; Shirai, Y.; Osgood, A. J.; Zhao, Y.; Yao, Y.; Saudan, L.; Yang, H.; Yu-Hung, C.; Alemany, L. B.; Sasaki, T.; Morin, J.-F.; Guerrero, J.; Kelly, K. F.; Tour, J. M. “Surface-Rolling Molecules,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 4854-4864; and Shirai, Y.; Osgood, A. J.; Zhao, Y.; Kelly, K. F.; Tour, J. M. “Directional Control in Thermally Driven Single-Molecule Nanocars,” Nano Lett. 2005, 5, 2330-2334. The last publication was the most accessed paper of all papers published by the American Chemical Society in 2005.
Selected Publications
Shawn M. Dirk, Stephen W. Howell, B. Katherine Price, Hongyou Fan, Cody Washburn, David R. Wheeler, James M. Tour, Joshua Whiting, and R. Joseph Simonson "Vapor Sensing Using Conjugated Molecule-Linked Au Nanoparticles in a Silica Matrix." Journal of Nanomaterials, 2009 (2009): 481270.
Leonard, A. D.; Hudson, J. L.; Fan, H.; Booker, R. Simpson, L. J.; O’Neill, K. J.; Parilla, P. A.; Heben, M. J., Pasquali, M.; Kittrell, C.; Tour, J. M. "Nanoengineered Carbon Scaffolds for Hydrogen Storage." J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131 (2009): 723-738.
Tour, J. M.; He, T. "The Fourth Element." Nature, 453 (2008): 42-43.
Sasaki, T.; Guerrero, J. M.; Tour, J. M. "The Assembly Line: Self-Assembling Nanocars." Tetrahedron, 64 (2008): 8522-8529.
Genorio, B.; He, T.; Meden, A.; Polanc, S.; Jamnik, J.; Tour, J. M. "Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Thio Derivatives of Calix[4]arene on Noble Metal Surfaces." Langmuir, 24 (2008): 11523-11532.
Shirai, Y.; Sasaki, T.; Guerrero, J. M.; Yu, B.-C.; Hodge, P.; Tour, J. M. "Synthesis and Photoisomerization of Fullerene- and Oligo(phenylene-ethynylene)-Azobenzene Derivatives." ACSNano, 2 (2008): 97-106.
Lu, M.; He, T.; Tour, J. M. "Surface Grafting of Ferrocene-Containing Triazene Derivatives on Si(100)." Chem. Mater., 20 (2008): 7352-7355.
Doyle, C. D.; Rocha, J.-D. R.; Weisman, R. B.; Tour, J. M. "Structure-Dependent Reactivity of Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Benzenediazonium Salts." J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130 (2008): 6795-6800.
Ward, D. R.; Halas, N. J.; Ciszek, J. W.; Tour, J. M.; Wu, Y.; Nordlander, P.; Natelson, D. "Simultaneous Measurements of Electronic Conduction and Raman Response in Molecular Junctions." Nano Lett., 8 (2008): 919-924.
He, T.; Ding, H.; Peor, N.; Lu, M.; Corley, D.; Chen, B.; Ofir, Y.; Gao, Y.; Yitzchaik, S.; Tour, J. M. "Silicon/Molecule Interfacial Electronic Modifications." J. Am Chem Soc., 130 (2008): 1699-1710.
Presentations
"NanoMedicine." Traumatic Brain Injury Meeting, Houston, TX. (22 October 2008)
"Nanotechnology: The Passive, Hybrid and Active Sides." Lockheed Martin Corporation, Houston, TX. (3 September 2008)
"NanoMedicine." Tissue Engineering Conference, Houston, TX. (16 Aug 2008)
"NanoMedicine." Israeli Biodefense Institute, Israel. (June 2008)
"Nanotechnology: The Passive, Hybrid and Active Sides." Hebrew University, Israel. (June 2008)
Theses
Rebecca Lucente-Schultz, MS. "Antioxidant Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes." (2008).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Takashi Sasaki, Ph.D. "Understanding Nanocomponentry: The Design, Synthesis and Testing of Fullerene and Carborane-Functionalized Machines and Devices." (2008).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Katherine Price, Ph.D. "Functionalizations and Biological Applications of SWNTs and Graphite Systems." (2008).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Zheyi Chen, Ph.D. "Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) Polymer Composites & Composite Fibers." (2007).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Yasuhiro Shirai, Ph.D. "Design, Synthesis and Testing of Fullerence-Functionalized Devices and Machines." (2006).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Jared Hudson, Ph.D. "Development of New Techniques for Functionalizing Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes for Composite and Biological Systems." (2006).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Jason Stephenson, Ph.D. "Synthesis of Flame-Retardant Polymers and the Functionalization and Use of Carbon Nanotubes for Materials Applications." (2006).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Austen Flatt, Ph.D. "Design, Synthesis, and Testing of Novel Organic Oligomers For Use as Molecular-Scale Electronic Devices." (2005).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Jacob Ciszek, Ph.D. "Thiocyanate Monolayers and the Synthesis and Assembly of Transition Metal Complexes." (2005).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Awards
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society. (August, 2007).
Southern Chemist of the Year, 2005, American Chemical Society. (4 November 2005).
Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, Forsight Institue. (2008).
Nanotech Briefs Nano 50 Innovator Award, Nanotech Briefs. (2006).
Small Times magazine's Innovator of the Year Award, Small Times Magazine. (2006).
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