Norbert Scherer

Norbert F. Scherer is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, with affiliations to the James Franck Institute and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics. His research spans biophysics, materials chemistry, and optical physics, focusing on nonequilibrium systems, nanoplasmonics, and cellular transport mechanisms.

• B.S., University of Chicago (1982)
• Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (1989)

Research Highlights:

• Optical matter self-organization and nanoscale light-powered machines
• Optical magnetism in nanoplasmonic meta-materials
• Intracellular vesicle transport in diabetic cell models
• Development of ultrafast lasers, 4D microscopy, and image analysis methods

Scientific Contributions:

• 2022 Optica C.E.K. Mees Medal
• 2015 Peter Debye Prize
• 2014 Vannevar Bush Fellowship
• 1997 Sloan Fellow
• 1993 Packard Fellow

Student Advisees:

• Charlie Wright (PhD)
• Daozheng Gong

His group collaborates on quantum dot integration, optical vector beam spectroscopy, and machine learning approaches to intracellular dynamics.

Laboratory Focus: The Scherer Lab develops photonic methods for optical trapping, super-resolution microscopy, and nonequilibrium systems analysis, with applications in diabetes research and nanoscale machine design.