Arend van der Zande

Arend van der Zande
Arend van der Zande
Associate Professor
(217) 244-2912
214 Seitz Materials Research Lab

For More Information

Education

  • Ph.D. Physics, Cornell University, 2011
  • Master of Science, Physics, Cornell University, 2008
  • Bachelor of Science, Physics and Mathematics, University of California Santa Cruz, 2003

Academic Positions

  • Affiliate, Materials Research Lab, September 1, 2017 - Present
  • Affiliate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, March 18, 2017 - present
  • Affiliate, Beckman Institute, November 1, 2015 - December 2020
  • Affiliate, Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Lab, UIUC August 15, 2015 - Present
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC, August 16, 2015 - Aug 2021
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Energy Frontier Research Center, Columbia University, 2012-2015
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, 2011-2015
  • Graduate Student Researcher, Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, 2004-2010

Resident Instruction

  • ME370 - Mechanical Design, Spring 2023
  • ME498 - Nanofabrication & Characterization, Fall 2022, on list of "teachers ranked as outstanding"

Research Interests

  • Professor van der Zande's research re-engineers classic 3D systems at atomic length scale like mechanical structures such as atomically-thin membranes or flexible films and electronic structures such as transistors or photodiodes. We utilize molecular scale building blocks made from new 2D materials like graphene and molybdenum disulfide. The materials are naturally stable at only one to a few atoms thick and can be grown or manually manipulated to build heterostructures with tailored properties by stacking 2D materials layer-by-layer, like lego building blocks. These new structures are then used in applications that lie at the forefront of nanotechnology such as highly-tunable nano-electro-mechanical systems, flexible electronics, pushing Moore's Law, sensors, biological interfaces and new energy systems.

Research Areas

  • Applied Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Energy
  • Manufacturing
  • Security and Defense
  • Solid Mechanics and Materials
  • Thermo and Heat Transfer

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

Research Honors

  • Thimann Award for excellence in the sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz (2002-2003)
  • Goldwater Award, national undergraduate award for excellence in the Sciences (2003)
  • Cornell Graduate Fellowship, Cornell University (2003-2005)
  • Cornell Center for Materials Research Gaines Fellowship, Cornell University (2007-2008)
  • Energy Frontier Research Center Fellowship, Columbia University (2012)
  • Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science. One of only 11 researchers at UIUC (2018)
  • NSF CAREER award 2019. MOMS program in CMMI Directorate. (2019)
  • Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science. One of only 8 researchers at UIUC. (2019)
  • 2021 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, Assistant Professor (2021)
  • Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science. One of only 8 researchers at UIUC. (2021)
  • Society for Engineering Science (SES) 2022 Young Investigator Medal (2022)
  • Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science. One of only 6 current researchers at UIUC. (2022)

Recent Courses Taught

  • BIOE 497 AZ - Individual Study
  • ME 370 - Mechanical Design I
  • ME 498 AVU (ME 498 LI3, ME 498 LI4, ME 498 LO3) - Nano-Fab & Characterization
  • ME 586 - Mechanics of MEMS
  • ME 598 AL1 (ME 598 AL2, ME 598 AN1, ME 598 AN2, ME 598 AV1, ME 598 AV2, ME 598 AV4, ME 598 AVG, ME 598 AVZ) - Mechanics of 2D Nanomaterials