News Release

John D. Tovar

John D. Tovar, assistant professor of chemistry at The Johns Hopkins University, 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 career development 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 post- doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University. He earned a B.S. in chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1997 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002.

Digital photos of Tovar are available. Contact Lisa De Nike at Lde@jhu.edu or by calling 443-287-9960.

Related Web site:
Tovar's Web page