Team
Principle Investigator
F. Marc Michel, PhD
Associate Professor of Geosciences and Nanoscience
Hamlett Junior Faculty Fellow
Leader, Division of Nanoscience, Academy of Integrated Science
Virginia Tech
My background and expertise are in developing structure-property-behavior relationships for different types of natural and synthetic nanoparticles. My current interests also include developing new materials inspired by nature that can be used to more effectively treat contaminated water and more sustainably create and store energy.
Other Appointments and Affiliations:
Co-Principle Investigator, NanoEarth (https://nanoearth.ictas.vt.edu)
Associate Leader, VT Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program in Nanotechnology and Sustainability (VT SuN)
Fellowships, Awards, and Recognitions:
Luther and Alice Hamlett Junior Faculty Fellowship (Nov 2017-Present)
CGS/UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award Nominee (May 2008)
Stony Brook University President’s Award to Distinguished Doctoral Students (May 2008)
Best Student Paper Award – American Chemical Society, Division of Geochemistry (Mar 2007)
GAANN Fellowship (2006) Awarded through SBU Department of Geosciences by the U.S. Department of Education. (25,000 USD, Awarded)
SBU Department of Geosciences Teaching Assistant Award (May 2004)
Read Marc's Bio
Born and raised in upstate New York, Marc Michel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology with a minor in Art and Art History from Colgate University. He worked as a hydrogeologist for Lessard Environmental, Inc. for about 5 years before moving to Stony Brook University where he completed a Ph.D. in Geosciences. Advised by Drs. John Parise and Martin Schoonen, his dissertation focused on understanding the atomic structures of several different nanomaterials that are important in many natural biogeochemical processes.
In 2008, Marc moved to Stanford University where he completed two years of post-doctoral studies with Gordon E. Brown, Jr. followed by two more years working as a Research Associate with John R. Bargar at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL). Marc left Stanford in 2012 to start as Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. He was promoted and tenured in 2019. He is current leader of the nanoscience degree program in the Division of Nanoscience, Academy of Integrated Science. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career Award in 2017 and is Deputy Director of the National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure ("NanoEarth") at Virginia Tech.
Father to three children and two NanoDogs (Herald and Sparky), in his “spare” time, he enjoys mountain bike adventures and racing sprint karts with his family, vegetable gardening, and building stuff.