Alex Zettl is a distinguished experimental physicist renowned for his pioneering contributions to nanotechnology and materials science. He currently serves as Professor of the Graduate School in Physics at the University of California Berkeley and Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he has led groundbreaking research programs for decades. After earning his A.B. from UC Berkeley in 1978 and Ph.D. from UCLA in 1983, he joined the UC Berkeley faculty that same year, establishing himself as a visionary in condensed matter physics. Zettl's leadership at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory included directing the superconductivity program from 1990 to 2002 and the sp2-bonded materials program from 1997 to 2022, demonstrating his sustained influence across multiple research domains.
Dr. Zettl's research group has achieved numerous world-first breakthroughs including the synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and the creation of carbon nanotube chemical sensors that revolutionized molecular detection capabilities. His laboratory developed the world's smallest synthetic electrically powered rotational nanomotor, the smallest fully integrated FM radio receiver, and a nanomechanical mass balance with single-atom sensitivity, pushing the boundaries of nanoscale engineering. The team's invention of the nanomanipulator, suspended graphene grid, and graphene liquid/flow cells has significantly advanced transmission electron microscopy capabilities worldwide. More recently, his research group developed an innovative technique for fabricating tiny circuits from ultrathin materials that enables rewritable, low-power memory circuits for next-generation electronics. This groundbreaking work published in Nature Electronics demonstrated the potential for creating electronic devices with unprecedented reconfigurability and energy efficiency.
Beyond his technical contributions, Professor Zettl has profoundly shaped the field of nanotechnology through his mentorship of numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to establish their own successful research programs. His work has been recognized with prestigious awards including the James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials, APS Fellow, and multiple R&D 100 Awards, reflecting the high impact of his research. As a member of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at Berkeley, he continues to lead collaborative efforts that bridge fundamental physics with practical applications in energy and electronics. Currently focused on advancing two-dimensional electronic materials and novel nanofabrication techniques, Professor Zettl's ongoing research promises to further transform our understanding and utilization of quantum-scale phenomena for future technological innovations.
