URIC Research Impact Day

The Office for Research is excited to host its first URIC Research Impact Day on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026!

Research Impact Day is a forum for presenting the interdisciplinary research discoveries and innovations happening across Northwestern’s stellar University Research Institutes and Centers (URICs). This forum allows researchers to share their findings, invite feedback, and open doors for collaboration across our institution. Join us to see what discoveries and technologies will lead us into a better future for humankind and our surroundings.

Date: Wednesday, January 14th, 2026
Location: Louis Room, Norris Center
Time: 8:00am – 1:30pm

REGISTRATION

Breakfast & Refreshments will be provided.

NORRIS UNIVERSITY CENTER DIRECTIONS & PARKING INFORMATION

SCHEDULE

8:00am – 9:00am	Poster Set Up & Breakfast
9:00am – 10:30am	Session 1: Materials & Biomedical Research Opening Remarks by Jian Cao and Eric Perreault. In Session 1, we will hear from John Rogers from Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Mark Hersam from Materials Research Center, and Milan Mrksich from International Institute for Nanotechnology.
10:30am – Noon	Poster Session & Lunch This poster session will feature interdisciplinary research from Northwestern's University Research Institutes and Centers.
Noon – 1:30pm	Session 2: Society & Universe Research In Session 2, we will hear from Vicky Kalogera from Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics and SkAI, Ted Sargent from Trienens Institute, and Andy Papachristos from International Policy Research. Closing Remarks by Jian Cao and Eric Perreault.

SPEAKERS

John Rogers	John A. Rogers is the Director of the Querrey-Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics and the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor at Northwestern University. His research combines materials science, electronics, and biomedical engineering to create flexible and wearable devices. He has published over 1,000 papers and holds around 100 patents, and he is a member of the U.S. National Academies of Engineering, Sciences, Medicine, and Inventors.
Mark Hersam	Mark C. Hersam is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Materials Research Center at Northwestern University. He also holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Applied Physics, Medicine, and Electrical Engineering. His research interests include nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing, scanning probe microscopy, nanoelectronic devices, biosensors, and renewable energy. He is a MacArthur Fellow, a U.S. Science Envoy, and an elected member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Milan Mrksich	Milan Mrksich is the Henry Wade Rogers Professor with appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Cell & Developmental Biology. He served as Northwestern’s Vice President for Research, was the Founding Director of the Center for Synthetic Biology and an Associate Director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. He earned a BS degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Chemistry from Caltech. He then served as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University before joining the Chemistry faculty at the University of Chicago in 1996, where he remained until his move to Northwestern in 2011. His honors include the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the TR100 Innovator Award, the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, the Illinois Bio ICON Innovator Award, the Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award, and election to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Mrksich is a leader in the science and engineering of materials that contact biological environments. His laboratory has pioneered several technologies, including strategies to integrate living cells with microelectronic devices, the SAMDI biochip technology for high throughput experiments, and the megamolecule approach to making synthetic proteins for therapeutic applications.
Vicky Kalogera	Vicky Kalogera is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor and the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern. She also serves as the Director of the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI). Kalogera is a leading astrophysicist recognized for her pioneering work on compact objects—black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs—and for her leadership in gravitational-wave astrophysics.
Ted Sargent	Ted Sargent is the Director of the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability & Energy at Northwestern University, where he holds the Lynn Hopton Davis and Greg Davis Professorship in Chemistry and Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on developing materials and technologies that address global energy and climate challenges, including carbon capture, solar energy conversion, and advanced sensors.
Andy Papachristos	Andrew V. Papachristos is the John G. Searle Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Institute for Policy Research. He is also the founder and Faculty Director of the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science (CORNERS) at Northwestern University. His research applies network science to study gun violence, police misconduct, and urban communities, partnering with local organizations and public institutions to improve outcomes.