Roukes is the Robert M. Abbey Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology. His scientific interests range from quantum measurement to applied biotechnology — with a unifying theme of the development, very-large-scale integration, and application of complex nanosystems to precision measurements in physics, the life sciences, and medicine. Roukes was the founding Director of Caltech’s Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) from 2003-2006. In 2007, he co-founded the Alliance for Nanosystems VLSI(very-large-scale integration) with scientists and engineers at CEA/LETI in Grenoble, which maintains a billion-dollar-scale microelectronics research foundry (chip factory). He then continued as co-director of Caltech’s KNI from 2008 until 2013. Since then he has returned to full-time pursuit of research efforts with his group and collaborators worldwide. Concurrent with his Caltech appointment, he has held a Chaire d’Excellence in nanoscience in Grenoble, France since 2008. Among his honors, Roukes is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a recipient of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, and has been awarded Chevalier (Knight) dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the Republic of France.
