Russell Hemley, Ph.D.

Hemley holds the position of LAS Distinguished Chair in the Natural Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His research explores the behavior of matter and materials in extreme environments, notably high pressures and temperatures, with applications to fundamental physics and chemistry, materials science and technology, and earth and planetary science. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, all in chemistry. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a corresponding fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, an honoris causa professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is a recipient of the Balzan Prize and the Percy W. Bridgman Award. He has co-authored approximately 700 scientific publications. His recent research at UIC has focused on the design, discovery and synthesis of novel energy materials, including the discovery of near-room-temperature superconductors.