Allon I. Hochbaum

Prof. Allon I. Hochbaum is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), holding joint appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the Department of Chemistry. He leads the Hochbaum Lab, which focuses on bioinspired materials, microbial-biofilm interactions, and conductive biomaterials. His research addresses energy and health challenges through interdisciplinary approaches.

Education: Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley (2008), S.B. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT (2003). Postdoctoral work at Harvard University (2008–2011).

Research Interests: The lab investigates conductive biomaterials, bacterial biofilm physiology, and material-microbe interfaces. Key areas include: electrical conductivity in peptide nanostructures, biofilm signaling pathways, and metabolic mapping in biofilms. Techniques span molecular dynamics, fluorescence microscopy, and electrochemistry.

Recent Work Trends: Publications emphasize biofilm-electronics interfaces, self-assembled conductive materials, and microbial communication. Collaborations with institutions like LBNL and UCSD highlight interdisciplinary impact.

• Awards:
  • AFOSR Young Investigator Program Award (2014)
  • 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2013)
  • Samueli Family Fellow (2012)

Advising & Grants: Supervises graduate students and postdocs in materials chemistry, microbiology, and bioengineering. Secured grants including an Environment Institute seed grant (2016) and NSF IGERT fellowships.

Labs/Teams: The Hochbaum Lab collaborates with the Ragan, Baldi, and Whiteson labs on biofilm monitoring. Maintains strong ties with national labs like Sandia and JPL.