Jacob Israelachvili
FRS, FAA, NAE, NAS
curriculum vitae
 
Address
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of California (M/C 5080)
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5080 USA
 
Telephone: (805) 893-8407
Facsimile: (805) 893-7870
Email: jacob@engineering.ucsb.edu
 
Academic Record
   
BA degree

University of Cambridge (England, UK), Christ's College
Natural Sciences Tripos Part I (Physics): lst Class
Natural Sciences Tripos Part II (Physics): lst Class


 
1965-1971
PhD degree
Under Prof. David Tabor at the Surface Physics Department, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge. Thesis title: "Surface Forces"  
     
Research Experience and Positions Held
line    
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara Professor – joint appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials Dept, Materials Research Laboratory (MRL), and the Biomolecular Science and Engineering (BMSE) Program. University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) 1986-present
     
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Associate Director – Materials Research Laboratory
1993-2003
     
Australian National University (ANU),
Canberra, Australia
Research Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow, Professorial Fellow jointly in the Department of Applied Mathematics (Head of Department: 1984-1985) and the Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Advanced Studies 1974-1986
     
University of Stockholm, and the Karolinska Institute Research Fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) at the Biophysics Institute 1972-1974
     
University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, U.K.
Post doctoral research, Dept. of Surface Physics, Cavendish Laboratory 1971-1972
     
Selected Awards and Miscellaneous Career Highlights
ACS National Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry
2009
Named by the AICHE as one of the "One Hundred Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era"
2008
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering – University of South Florida
2007
Honorary Degree of Doctor sc. h.c. - ETH Zurich
2006
Schlumberger Visiting Professor – University of Oxford, UK
2005
MRS Medal, awarded for recent work on adhesion and friction.
2004
NAS (Elected to the US National Academy of Science in the area of Engineering Science)
2004
APS Fellow
(Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in the area of Biological Physics)
2004
Probstein Lecturer in Fluid Dynamics and Microfluidics, MIT
2004
Adhesion Society Award for “excellence in adhesion science”
2003
Haim Weizmann Memorial Lecturer, Weizmann Institute, Israel
1999
Faculty Research Lecturer: UCSB
1997
NAE (Elected Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering)
1996
Arne Brändström Lecture in Biophysical Chemistry: Chalmers U., Göteborg, Sweden
1995
Langmuir Lecturer: American Chemical Society, Chicago
1993
Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research: AICHE
1991
FRS (Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London)
1988
Debye Lecturer (American Chemical Society): Cornell University
1987
Citation analysis of most-cited articles in core journals in Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics shows that paper No. 23 in publication list (on self-assembly of amphiphiles) was the most cited article in the Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Trans. I, for the period 1955-1983 (source: Current Contents, Jan 13, 1986)
1986
Matthew Flinders Lecturer medallist (Australian Academy of Sciences)
1986
Publication of 1st edition of "Intermolecular and Surface Forces", Academic Press
1985
David Syme Prize (shared) awarded for the best original research in biology, physics, chemistry or geology produced in Australia in the previous two years
1984
FAA (Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science)
1982
   
Research Interests
   

Israelachvili’s research interests are in the general area of intermolecular and intersurface forces in biological, complex fluid and materials systems. He uses the Surface Forces Apparatus for directly measuring the forces between surfaces in liquids and vapors, and for studying other interfacial phenomena at the molecular level. Many other techniques are also used. Not only static (i.e., equilibrium) but also dynamic forces are being looked at, such as the ‘micro’ and ‘nano’ viscosities of ultra-thin liquid films, molecular relaxation processes at surfaces, adhesion and friction, lubrication and wear. In particular, Professor Israelachvili is currently studying the very short-range forces between surfaces in liquids and the relation between adhesion, friction, and the conformations of molecules trapped between surfaces.  Another area of activity is the development of new experimental techniques, especially for studying dynamic and time-dependent interactions. New techniques are also being developed for studying different materials and surfaces such as polymers, gels, silica, metals, metal oxides, ceramics, biological macromolecules (lipids, proteins, biopolymers, ligands and their receptors) and the interactions (adhesion, fusion and biolubrication) of model and real biomembranes and biosurfaces. The aim of these studies is to gain insight into the fundamental interactions in complex colloidal and biological systems that also have technological applications, for example, for creating biocompatible surfaces, developing new types of structured materials and soft biomaterials, and for medical diagnoses or treatments. As of October 2004 has published (authored or co-authored) 287 papers, and is the author of a text-book entitled “Intermolecular and Surface Forces”.