Postdoctoral researcher and alumnus Babak Anasori (PhD 2014, advisor: Michel Barsoum) has received an MRS Postdoctoral Award “for innovative research on 2D materials, creative and artistic ways of presenting science, dedication to and love of teaching, and student mentoring.”
The MRS Postdoctoral Awards recognize postdoctoral scholars who show exceptional promise. Each award consists of a $2,000 honorarium, citation certificate, meeting registration fee to attend the Materials Research Society Spring or Fall Meeting at which the award is presented, and a one-year MRS membership.
Anasori’s postdoctoral research focuses on synthesis and characterization of new 2D metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) and he leads MXene research activities in the A. J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute. In less than a year’s time of his postdoc, his creativity and knowledge of MXene precursors (MAX phases) led Babak to discover and synthesize two new sub-families of 2D metal carbide MXenes. This important discovery was published in ACS Nano, selected as an Editors’ Choice piece by ACS, and was the subject of a ACS Nano Perspective article. Chemical & Engineering News, an international publication produced by the American Chemical Society, featured Anasori’s new MXenes as one of 2015’s “biggest moments in chemistry.” He has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals and serves as a reviewer for numerous journals, including Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie, and Scientific Reports.
Anasori received a bachelor of science degree in materials science and engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, a master of science degree in materials science and engineering from University of Tehran, Iran and a doctoral degree in materials science and engineering from Drexel University. During his doctoral studies, he received a number of other prestigious awards, including the Drexel Office of Graduate Studies 2014 Research Excellence Award, 2012 Teaching Excellence Award, 2013 Continuing Teaching Excellence Award, and 2014 Teaching Achievement Award, the Drexel College of Engineering 2013 George Hill, Jr. Fellowship, the 2012 NSF International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge “People’s Choice Award,” the 2014 NSF International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge First Place and “People’s Choice Award,” the 2012 ACerS Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Diamond Award, and back-to-back American Ceramic Society Roland B. Snow Awards for “Best in Show” in 2012 and 2013 for his stunning electron microscopy images.