Martin Thuo joined the department of Chemistry as a Mary-Fieser fellow in 2009. He has been pursuing post-doctoral studies under the tutelage of Prof. George M. Whitesides. His research at Harvard has been focused on physical organic studies of surface and interfaces to generate new materials or understand charge or fluid transport across materials. In the area of charge transport, Martin is interested in structure- property relations in charge transport by tunneling across organic thin filmsĀ - an area with potential impact on single molecule electronic devices, flexible electronics and our fundamental understanding of quantum tunneling in biology. In a related but slightly different project, Martin initiated studies on super-hydrophobic paper which has been used in fabrication of microfluidic devices, as selective flux membranes, and in sensor fabrication. Prior to joining Harvard, Martin obtained a doctorate from the university of Iowa where he was mentored by Prof. Daniel Quinn (PhD), Prof. Ned Bowden (PhD) and Prof. Len MacGillivray (visiting scholar). His doctorate work was on development of polymer membrane reaction vessels that would allow selective uni-directional flux for efficient cascade reactions and/or one-pot multi-step synthesis in the so-called 'pot-in-pot' reactions. Martin is currently interested in development of new materials that will allow controlled transport or containment of matter (electron/hole pairs or molecules) and applying these materials to address issues in fundamental, basic and applied science. As a person with roots in Africa, Martin is interested in applying this general area of materials development and controlled transport/flux to address healthcare and quality of life related challenges in the developing world. He is the recipient of 2 grants, 4 patents and 18 publications. For his research, he has received various awards including the Mary-fieser and the NSEC fellowships (Harvard University), the Lynn-aderson award for graduate research excellence (University of Iowa) and was an invited speaker (with travel award) to the 2012 International Conference for Young Researchers in Advanced Materials (ICYRAM) in Singapore.
Curriculum Vitae