Prof. Muhammad Bashouti: The scientist who makes smart devices from molecules
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Photo of Dr. Muhammad Bashouti by Wolfgang
If you isolate a single molecule of a conductive metal, can it conduct energy all by itself? That question nagged Muhammad Bashouti in high school and stumped his science teacher.
So, this inquisitive son of a Muslim Galilee farmer made the correct assumption that every molecule does contain some of the properties of the whole. And he set out to determine how individual molecules of conductors, semiconductors and insulators could help humanity.
To learn every facet of the topic, Bashouti earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a doctorate in physical chemistry at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. He did postdocs in chemical engineering at the Technion and in physics at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany.
Along the way, he discovered something extraordinary: He could harness the properties of molecules to turn them into tiny smart devices that do tasks faster, better, at lower cost, using less energy and materials than do existing digital devices powered by transistors and diodes.
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Switching between campuses and languages over the course of the day – he speaks Arabic, Hebrew, English and German — Bashouti supervises 10 Israeli and international graduate students (including postdocs) plus two lab technicians and two visiting scientists.
They use sophisticated machines, some custom-made, to work with and observe the behavior of molecules too minuscule to see or manipulate.
The possible applications for Bashouti’s molecular chips are virtually endless, ranging from clean energy to telecommunications to medicine. One project is looking at how the molecules can split water to get hydrogen gas energy and fast-charging batteries.
Frequently traveling to conferences and potential partners around the world, Bashouti has come a long way from his modest Galilee roots, but he certainly hasn’t forgotten them.
He credits his father and his mother, a self-educated homemaker, with instilling in their seven sons a thirst for knowledge and a respect for people of all religions and cultures.
Accordingly, Bashouti takes time from his packed schedule at BGU and from his private time with his wife and baby to volunteer with Tipa Bamidbar (A Drop in the Desert), a BGU-sponsored program encouraging Bedouin high school students in the Negev to pursue higher education.
Bravo Bashouti!
This is right along the lines where single board mounted IC chips are now becoming micro-sized chemical processing plants. They are able to assemble chemical compounds molecule by molecule.
The concerning point is this technology can obviously be used for good, and for bad. (think chemical weapons)
The concerning point is this technology can obviously be used for good, and for bad. (think chemical weapons)
Or.. the invention of gunpowder!
(Which, BTW, was invented by the Chinese in the 9th Century A.D.....)
Or.. the invention of gunpowder!
(Which, BTW, was invented by the Chinese in the 9th Century A.D.....)
P.S: Don't be too impressed by my knowing that. Because, in fact, In didn't-- I had to google it.