The Materials Research Society has named Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology as MRS Medalist. He was cited for “seminal contributions in the discovery, controlled synthesis, and fundamental understanding of ZnO nanowires and nanobelts, and the design and fabrication of novel, nanowire-based nanosensors, piezotronic devices, and nanogenerators.” Wang will be recognized during the awards ceremony at the 2011 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston. During the Meeting, he will present his award talk, “From nanogenerators to piezotronics—a decade study of ZnO nanostructures.”

Wang has made seminal contributions to the discovery, controlled synthesis, understanding, and novel applications of ZnO nanowires and nanobelts in energy harvesting, as nanosensors, and in piezotronics. He is a pioneer in the invention and study of nanogenerators for self-powered nanodevices and nanosystems, and he is responsible for breakthrough innovations for in situ mechanical and electrical property measurements of nanotubes in transmission electron microscopy, and in the fundamental understanding of the growth mechanisms of nanoparticles/nanowires and their self-assemblies. His work on nanogenerators and nanopiezotronics has opened a new field in nanotechnology, nanoscale energy generation, which has had a major impact on the development of nanodevices and self-powered nanosystems, with significant potential for biosensing, nanorobotics, microelectromechanical systems, defense technology, and consumer electronics.

Wang received his BS degree in applied physics from Xidian University (1982) and his PhD in physics from Arizona State University (1987). He has authored and co-authored four textbooks, edited 14 books, and published over 620 articles. He is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; a member of the European Academy of Sciences; and a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Microscopy Society of America, and the Materials Research Society. He has received the S.T. Li Prize for Outstanding Contribution in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the Burton Medal from the Microscopy Society of America, and the Purdy Award from the American Ceramic Society.