Citizenship American | Name Martin Gruebele | |
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Institutions University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Notable awards Sackler Prize, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Fellowship Academic advisor |
#104 Martin Gruebele Vistis The OhioRAAM Show
Martin Gruebele (born January 10, 1964 in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German-born American physical chemist and biophysicist who is currently James R. Eiszner Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Physics, Professor of Biophysics and Computational Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he is the principal investigator of the Gruebele Group.The James R. Eiszner Endowed Chair was previously held by Peter Guy Wolynes.
Contents
- 104 Martin Gruebele Vistis The OhioRAAM Show
- Gruebele Lab School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Illinois
- Education
- Current positions
- Research
- Recent work
- Awards
- Personal
- References

Gruebele Lab, School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Illinois
Education

He completed his B.S in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984, with the University Certificate of Distinction and Department Citation for Highest Honors. He was advised by Ken Sauer (biophysics), Wilhelm Maier (organic synthesis), and Richard J. Saykally (laser spectroscopy). He did his graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratory of Richard J. Saykally, where he was a University Fellow (1984-1986), IBM Predoctoral Fellow, (1986-1987), and a Dow Chemical Graduate Fellow (1987-1988). Subsequently he held a postdoctoral position with Ahmed Zewail at California Institute of Technology, after which he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1992.
Current positions

Dr. Gruebele is Head of Chemistry and James R. Eiszner Endowed Chair (2008) in Chemistry, Professor of Physics, and Professor of Biophysics and Quantitative Biology. He also is a faculty member of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, and Adjunct Professor of Physics at Michigan State University.
Research

His research covers a wide range of areas in chemical and biological physics, including the kinetics of biological systems, quantum dynamics of energy flow within molecules, and optically assisted scanning tunneling microscopy. A common theme of his research is the implementation of state-of-the-art laser and microscopy techniques to interrogate and manipulate complex systems, coupled with quantum or classical simulations. He has published more than 250 articles on topics ranging from quantum computation, to RNA and protein folding in the test tube and inside cells, to fish swimming behavioral studies.
Recent work
Awards
Gruebele is an active collaborator with Hanoi University of Science to port University of Illinois Department of Chemistry undergraduate curriculum for Science in Vietnam. Recently, he has been on the list of "Teachers Ranked Excellent by their Students" at Illinois (2010-2016), and received the Teaching Excellence Award twice.
Personal
Gruebele is married to Nancy Makri, who is also a Professor of Chemistry and Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They have two children, Alexander and Valerie. He has a keen interest in cycling and running, and has competed in many ultra-distance events, such as the 2016 solo Race Across America, or the Tunnel Hill 100 mile. He has written a how-to book on ultraracing.