John D. Tovar, assistant professor of chemistry in the
Krieger School of Arts
and Sciences, has won the National Science Foundation's
Faculty Early Career
Development award, which recognizes young scientists'
achievements in both
research and education.
This award, considered the NSF's most prestigious for
junior faculty
members, brings with it a five-year $500,000 grant enabling
Tovar to continue
research into the development of electronically conductive
plastics derived from
organic polymers. These polymers have potential
applications in medical
prosthetics, biosensors and flexible light-emitting
devices. Tovar also plans to
use the award to develop programs to provide hands-on
chemistry experiences to
children through local libraries.
"Our group is honored to receive recognition from the
NSF at such an early
stage of our research," Tovar said. "The field of organic
electronics will be
driven forward by technological breakthroughs and by
advances in pure science,"
he said. "I am grateful for the support that the NSF
provides for our group's
fundamental research in this area. This award will allow us
to apply our
expertise in topologically complex polymer architectures
toward the continued
development and realization of organic electronics."
The National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career
Development Program
supports the early activities of teacher-scholars who are
remarkable for their
creative and integrative research and education plans.
Tovar came to Johns Hopkins in 2005 after a
postdoctoral fellowship at
Northwestern University. He earned a bachelor's degree in
chemistry at UCLA in
1997 and a doctorate in organic chemistry at MIT in 2002.