Brown University
Who did Vicki Colvin work for in Dec 2014?
Vicki Colvin Vicki Leigh Colvin ( born October 12 , 1965 ) is a Professor of Engineering and Molecular Pharmacology at Brown University . She is the Director of the Centre for Biomedical Engineering . Her work focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of nanomaterials . She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering . Early life and education . Colvin was inspired to study science after watching her mother drink coffee . She is the daughter of Harry Colvin and Carolyn Collins . She earned her bachelors degree in Chemistry and Physics at Stanford University in 1988 . She completed her doctoral studies in 1994 under the supervision of Paul Alivisatos at the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry . After completing her PhD , Colvin joined AT&T Bell Laboratories . Here she worked on materials for holographic data storage . Career . Colvin was appointed to Rice University in 1996 as part of their expansion in nanotechnology . She was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa teaching prize and named as Discover magazines Top Scientists to Watch . Her research was supported by a fellowship from the Alfred P . Sloan Foundation . She pioneered the use of water-soluble quantum dots in biomedicine . The quantum dots can be encapsulated into amphiphilic polymers , which allows control of the quantum dot toxicity . As a model for tissue localisation following intradermal infiltration , Colvin studied how quantum dots migrate in mice . She found that 1D quantum dots remain as a deposit on the skin and penetrate the nearby subcutis and were distributed to draining lymph nodes . She bound quantum dots to gold nanoparticles with a peptide sequence , which suppresses luminescence ; allowing the combination to be used as probes for targeted degradation . She investigated how the shape of quantum dots impacted their function and toxicity . She demonstrated that weathering quantum dots in acidic and alkaline conditions can increase the bactericidal activity due to the rapid release of cadmium and selenite ions . Her group worked on other nanomaterials , including fullerene C60 . At Rice University , Colvin was appointed the Kenneth S . Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Chemistry . Her work continued to consider the interactions of nanoparticles , with applications in water purification . She is particularly interested in how nanoparticles interact with living systems . She investigated cerium oxide nanocrystals , and whether when they could be used for medical applications when coated in oleic acid . Colvin led a UK-US scientific effort to create a framework to regulate the use of nanomaterials . She delivered the 2012 Arthur M . Sackler Colloqium , talking about the properties of nanoparticles . In 2013 Colvin was named by Chemistry of Materials as one of their most highly cited investigators . Her recent research looks at sorbents that can help to remove arsenic . Academic service . Colvin was Director of the National Science Foundation Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology from 2001 to 2011 . She was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007 and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2011 . She became the Vice Provost for Research at Rice University in 2011 . Colvin joined Brown University as Provost in 2014 , after a nationwide search . She joined the board of the Schlumberger Foundation that year , with the hope to secure funding for women scientists . During her time as Provost , she created an entrepreneurial education program , reined in the budget deficit and established a Vice Provost of the Arts position . She stepped down from her role as Provost in June 2015 to focus on her research . She has taught multiple courses for Coursera and is an advocate for flipped classroom learning . She is an editor of the journal Small .