The object
Chad A. Mirkin invented dip-pen nanolithography, which coats an atomic-force-microscope tip with molecular ink and writes nanoscale patterns through capillary transfer. The technique patterns DNA, proteins, polymers and inorganic structures with sub-50-nanometre resolution, and led to parallel nanoprinting instruments for materials and biological systems.
What Chad did
Invented and developed dip-pen nanolithography, a scanning-probe method for direct nanoscale patterning.
Why it matters
Dip-pen nanolithography made programmable, direct-write nanofabrication a practical instrument process for chemical, biological and electronic surfaces.
Living-status check
Northwestern University reported in November 2025 that Mirkin will receive the Harvey Prize and identifies him as an active professor and inventor of dip-pen nanolithography.