Shuming Nie

Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, Professor of Bioengineering, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Member of the Beckman Institute, the Micro/Nanotechnology Lab, and the Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Advice to my younger self
If I were to start all over again, I would focus on the development of cutting-edge analytical technologies, and the application of these technologies to address major chemical and biomedical problems.

Proudest moment
My proudest moment came 20 years ago, when my student Steve Emory and I discovered “hot” nanoparticles that were able to amplify the efficiency of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) by 14–15 orders of magnitude.

Biggest game changers
The biggest breakthroughs in nanoscale science have been the development of semiconductor quantum dots, plasmonic nanostructures, and smart stimuli-responsive nanoparticle imaging probes.

Part of the Power List 2017

The Magnificent Tens
After 2016’s celebration of women in analytical science, we return to the Top 100 for 2017.
But there’s a twist. This summer, we asked you to nominate scientists in ten categories – from the stars of separation science, to omics explorers, to the mentors training the next generation.

Go to The Power List 2017