Rice alum Louis Brus receives Welch Foundation’s highest award in chemistry

Rice alum Louis Brus receives Welch Foundation’s highest award in chemistry

Louis Brus

Columbia University physical chemist and Rice alum Louis Brus ’65 received the Welch Foundation’s 2013 Welch Award in Chemistry May 29 in New York. A pioneer in the field of semiconductor nanomaterials, Brus is best known for the discovery of quantum dots, tiny semiconducting crystals with unique optical properties. The award is the most prestigious given by the Houston-based Welch Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest and largest sources of private funding for basic research in chemistry.