Marija Drndić

Marija Drndić is a leading nanoscientist who developed a novel method, Transmission Electron Beam Ablation Lithography (TEBAL), for fabricating sub-nanometer devices such as transistors and nanopores. Allowing for the manipulation and analysis of individual molecules, these devices hold great potential for rapid sequencing of DNA and extremely sensitive detection of proteins, among other applications. Her other groundbreaking basic research on optical and electrical transport effects in semiconductor quantum dots has implications for rapidly detecting trace amounts of contaminants and for developing a replacement for light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, and other nanoelectronic applications.

The impact and promise of Drndić’s early work at Penn has been recognized by a Presidential Early Career Award, the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, a DARPA Young Faculty Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. In addition to her service as Graduate Chair of Physics and Astronomy, Drndić is committed to science education, creating research opportunities for high school students in her lab as part of the Penn Summer Science Academy and doing physics outreach education at the Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School. She is also a recipient of the School’s Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Assistant Professor and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.