Thomas George Thundat (born 1957) is an Indian-American scientist. He is currently the SUNY Distinguished Professor and a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo. Thundat conducts research in the field of nanosensors and microcantilevers.[1]

Thomas G. Thundat
FAPS, FAAAS, FECS, FASME, FSPIE, FNAI, FAIMBE, FIEEE
Born1957 (age 66–67)
Alma materUniversity of Kerala, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, SUNY Albany
SpouseDarilyn Songstad
Scientific career
FieldsNanotechnology, Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning probe microscopy, Cantilevers, Sensors, Single-wire transmission line, Wireless power transmission, MEMS, NEMS, Nanomechanics, Batteries, Fuel Cells, Supercapacitors, Chemical physics, Biophysics, Transport Phenomena, Quantum confinement, Optoelectronics, Composite material
Institutions
Doctoral advisorWalter Maxwell Gibson

He previously had a temporary appointment as an honorary Distinguished Professorship at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, a Centenary Professorship at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and holds a One Thousand Talents Professorship at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. He has held visiting faculty positions at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the University of Burgundy in France.[2]

Before arriving at UB, Thundat was a Canada Excellence Research Chair professor in Oilsands Molecular Engineering at the University of Alberta, and a Fellow of the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NRC-NINT) in Edmonton. Previously, he worked for many years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ONRL), where he was a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and group leader of the Nanoscale Science and Devices Group.[3][4][5]

Education

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He received his BSc in Physics from the University of Kerala in 1978, and an MSc in Physics from IIT Madras in 1980. He earned a PhD in physics from SUNY Albany in 1987. Thundat's doctoral advisor was Walter Maxwell Gibson.[6]

Thundat then was a postdoctoral fellow at Arizona State University.

Research

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Thundat conducts research on nanomechanical sensors. He has worked on the development of high-performance ultra-precise molecular-scale sensing, imaging and characterization systems based on microcantilevers. His work has been featured in press outlets such as Time.[7][8]

He has also conducted research on the development of single wire (single-contact) electricity transmission concept (2010), the development of hyphenated sensor concepts (for combining electrical, optical, and mechanical resonances) (2000), a novel class of physical, chemical, and biological sensors based on adsorption-induced force (1991), and the concept of micromechanical infrared detection & imaging technique including mechanical Infrared spectroscopy (1995).[9][10][11]

He is a co-author on more than 500 peer-reviewed publications in refereed journals, about 50 book chapters, and around 50 US patents. His research articles have been cited more than 30,000 times with an h-index of almost 100.[12]

Thundat's recent research has focused on physical, chemical, and biological detection using nanomechanical sensors as well as single-wire electrical power delivery. His other areas of expertise include the chemical physics of interfaces, biophysics, nanoscale transport phenomena and quantum confinement. Thundat's research group has developed novel high-performance sensor platforms and concepts based on atomic-scale interface engineering.[13][14][15] His team is also working on single-contact electricity transmission — similar to what Nikola Tesla had envisioned. The concept uses high-frequency electrical standing waves to power a network of devices in quasi-wireless mode.[16]

Honors

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Thundat has received several scientific and research awards, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Young Scientist Award, three R&D 100 Awards,[17] the ASME Pioneer Award, was a finalist for the 1998 and 2000 Discover Magazine Awards,[18][19] served on the editorial advisory board of the Scientific American Top 50 Technology Leaders Award,[20] the Jesse Beams Medal,[21] Foresight Institute Nano 50 Award, and multiple national awards from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for excellence in technology transfer. Oak Ridge National Laboratory named him Inventor of the Year twice.[22] He is also a Battelle Memorial Institute Distinguished Inventor.[23] He serves on the editorial boards of 25 international journals.

Fellowships

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Thundat has been elected Fellows of the American Physical Society (APS) (2002), the Electrochemical Society (ECS) (2008),[24] the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2006),[25][26] the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (2010),[27] the SPIE (2012),[28] the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (2021),[29][30][31] the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (2017),[32][33][34] and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) (2014).[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Thomas Thundat at UB". The University at Buffalo. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Thomas Thundat at ORNL". Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Canada Excellence Research Chair Professor Thundat". The University of Alberta. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Canada Excellence Research Chair Professor Thundat". NRC-CERC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "Canada Excellence Research Chair Professor Thundat". NRC-CERC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "PhD Dissertations Archive, Physics, SUNY Albany". The (State) University (of New York) at Albany. Retrieved Jul 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Superstar scientist joins UB-RENEW". The University at Buffalo. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "Oak Ridge builds novel microscope, the first of its kind in the world". Oak Ridge National Lab. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Wu, Guanghua; Datar, Ram H.; Hansen, Karolyn M.; Thundat, Thomas; Cote, Richard J.; Majumdar, Arun (2001). "Bioassay of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) using microcantilevers" (PDF). Nature Biotechnology. 19 (9): 856–860. doi:10.1038/nbt0901-856. PMID 11533645. S2CID 6172652. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Chen, G. Y.; Thundat, T.; Wachter, E. A.; Warmack, R. J. (1995). "Adsorption-induced surface stress and its effects on resonance frequency of microcantilevers". Journal of Applied Physics. 77 (8): 3618–3622. Bibcode:1995JAP....77.3618C. doi:10.1063/1.359562. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Thundat, T.; Warmack, R. J.; Chen, G. Y.; Allison, D. P. (1994). "Thermal and ambient-induced deflections of scanning force microscope cantilevers". Applied Physics Letters. 64 (21): 2894–2896. Bibcode:1994ApPhL..64.2894T. doi:10.1063/1.111407. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Google Scholar Profile for Thundat, Thomas". Google Scholar – Standing on the shoulders of giants. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "The earth's soil will transmit electricity to homes". The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Discovery sets new world standards in nano-generators". The R&D World. 11 December 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  15. ^ "Explosive & Bomb detection now easier". Softpedia. 16 March 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "The Future Belongs to Nanomachines". The ASME Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  17. ^ "ORNL scientists win R&D 100 Awards". UT-Battelle. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "Thundat wins the 2000 Discover Award". UT-Battelle news release (2000). Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "Thundat honored by Discover Magazine". Discover Magazine. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Thundat serves on editorial advisory board of SA50 Awards". Scientific American. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "APS Fellow Thundat awarded Jesse Beams Medal". American Physical Society. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Thomas Thundat at ORNL". Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  23. ^ "Thundat named Corporate Fellow". DOE-ORNL. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  24. ^ "ECS Fellow Thundat". The Electrochemical Society. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  25. ^ "AAAS Fellows Annual Report 2006" (PDF). The American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  26. ^ "AAAS Fellow Thundat". The American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  27. ^ "ASME Fellow Thundat" (PDF). The American Society for Mechanical Engineering. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  28. ^ "SPIE Fellow Thundat". The SPIE. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  29. ^ "Thundat Biography - The IEEE" (PDF). The Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  30. ^ "IEEE Fellow Thundat". The Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  31. ^ "IEEE Fellow Thundat". The IEEE Xplore. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "AIMBE inducts Thundat as their new Fellow". The AIMBE. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  33. ^ "AIMBE inducts SPIE members as their new Fellows". The AIMBE. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  34. ^ "AIMBE Fellow Thundat". The American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering. Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  35. ^ "NAI names new cohort of Fellows". The National Academy of Inventors (Press release). Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.