About
JAMES M. TOUR, Ph.D
Chao Professor of Chemistry
Professor of Computer Science
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Scienc
Rice University
Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology
The Tour group’s scientific research areas include molecular electronics, nanotubes for health applications, chemical self-assembly, conjugated oligomers, electroactive polymers, combinatorial routes to precise oligomers, polymeric sensors, flame retarding polymer additives, carbon nanotube growth, synthetic modifications and composite formation, hydrogen storage on carbon nanotubes, synthesis of molecular motors and nanocars, use of the NanoKids concept for K-12 education in nanoscale science, and methods for retarding chemical terrorist attacks.
We hire graduate students and post doctoral researchers studying in the areas of nanoscale science, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, electronics, materials science, and computer science. Our emphases in those areas vary depending on our current grant funding. We take a select number of undergraduate students to work during the school year and over the summer on various projects.
Within our own laboratories, as well as the facilities within the Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, we are fortunate to have access to a wide variety of instrumentation for the synthesis and analysis of nanomaterials. We also have active collaborations with several other institutions including the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston and Galveston, MD Anderson, and several national and defense department laboratories.