DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Today, the scientific community lost one of its true visionaries with the passing of Mark A. Ratner this morning. A groundbreaking chemist, beloved mentor, gifted teacher, and intellectual force, Mark leaves behind a legacy that transformed chemistry, nanoscience, and molecular electronics for generations to come.

For more than four decades at Northwestern University, Mark Ratner inspired students, colleagues, and collaborators with his brilliance, curiosity, and humanity. Widely regarded as one of the founders of molecular electronics, his pioneering  work proposing the concept of a molecular rectifier opened the door to an entirely new scientific field and helped shape the future of nanotechnology. His ideas fundamentally changed how scientists think about molecules, electronics, and the interface between chemistry and physics.

Mark joined Northwestern in 1975 and became one of the university’s most influential scholars and educators. Over his distinguished career, he served twice as Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Interim Dean of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern. He mentored generations of students and postdoctoral scholars, taught thousands of undergraduate students, and was recognized repeatedly for his extraordinary commitment to teaching and mentorship.

His scholarly accomplishments were extraordinary. Mark authored nearly 1,000 scientific publications and several influential books spanning quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, energy science, and molecular electronics. His scientific insight was matched by a remarkable intellectual breadth that extended far beyond chemistry into literature, public policy, history, and the arts. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and received many of chemistry’s highest honors, including the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, the ACS Irving Langmuir Award, the Willard Gibbs Medal, and the Peter Debye Award.

Yet those who knew Mark will remember far more than his scientific achievements. He was deeply generous with his time, endlessly curious, and uniquely gifted at making others feel valued. Students and colleagues alike were drawn to his warmth, humor, wisdom, and infectious enthusiasm for discovery. He had the rare ability to challenge and encourage simultaneously, leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to work beside him. Many will also remember his thoughtful personal letters in a time dominated by texts and emails — a reflection of the care and sincerity that defined him.

Mark Ratner’s influence will continue to live on through the countless scientists he mentored, the field he helped create, and the ideas that continue to shape modern science. His passing is a profound loss to chemistry, to Northwestern, and to the global scientific community.

He will be deeply missed and forever remembered. May he rest in peace.

With profound sorrow,

Omar K. Farha

 

Research Statement

Ongoing research in seven major areas of chemistry: nonlinear optical response properties of molecules; electron transfer and molecular electronics; quantum dynamics and relaxation in condensed phase; mean-field models for extended systems, including proteins and molecular assemblies; photonics in nanoscale systems; excitons in molecule-based photovoltaics and hybrid classical/quantum representations

Selected Publications

Aviram, A. & Ratner, M.A. Molecular Rectifiers. Chem. Phys. Lett. 29, 277 (1974).

Mujica, V., Kemp, M. & Ratner, M. A. Electron conduction in molecular wires. I. A scattering formalism. J. Chem. Phys. 101 6849-6855 (1994).

Nitzan A, Ratner M. A., Electron transport in molecular wire junctions Science 300 1384-1389 (2003)

Vura-Weis J, Abdelwahed SH, Shukla R, Rathoire R, Ratner, MA and Wasielewski, MR. Crossover from Single-Step Tunneling to Multistep Hopping for Molecular Triplet Energy Transfer. Science 328, 1547-1550 (2010)

Selected Honors/Awards

• Fellow, AAAS (1992)
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001)
• Feynman Award in Nanotechnology (2001)
• Member, National Academy of Science (2002)
• Member, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (2003)
• Langmuir Award, American Chemical Society (2004)
• Honorary ScD. Hebrew university (2005), University of Copenhagen (2010)
• ACS J. Willard Gibbs Medal (2012)
• Northwestern Alumni Merit Award (2014)
• ACS Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry (2016)