Daniel Herr

Bio & Education

Professor Herr is a pioneer in collaborative and convergent research and innovation. He is the JSNN Site PI of the NSF NNCI Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) cluster, and mentors a transdisciplinary team that explores and addresses strategic and convergent; e.g., More-than-Moore, synthetic biology, SemiSynBio and food security application opportunities, with high impact potential. His research tests the limits of extreme self-assembly and investigates functional and sustainable smart agriculture technologies for flexible electronics and food security applications. He guided his team to develop some of the world’s thinnest bioinspired self-assemblies of conducting metal nanowires, e.g., ~3 nm in diameter. His research addresses critical sub-10 nm fabrication challenges faced by international nanoelectronics’ industry, and may enable strategic and benign SemiSynBio options. His team also studies the functional impact and sustainability of designed additives on hydroponic crop yields and the corresponding microbiome. Some of these nanoenhanced crops grow >40% faster than the controls, with no significant adverse impact on the microbiome. He also serves as Regional Editor for the Journal of Nanoparticle Research and as Fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering. He is the inventor of several foundational patents and disclosures on extreme self-assembling systems, defect tolerant patterning, controlled nanotube synthesis and placement, deterministic semiconductor doping, ultimate CMOS devices, and hydroponically grown smart textiles.

Prior to joining the JSNN, Professor Herr served as the Director of Semiconductor Research Corporation’s [SRC’s] Nanomanufacturing Sciences area, leading an international team that provided vision, guidance, and leveraged support for the top interdisciplinary, nanoelectronics related, university research programs. As founding co-chair of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors’ (ITRS) Emerging Research Materials Working Group, he provided ongoing technical leadership on emerging strategic materials and processes for the international nanoelectronics community.

Selected Publications

A Vision for Convergence and Emergence in 21st Century Nano-STEAM+ Education, US State Department Hidden No More, JSNN Greensboro, NC, 2018 

• SBTDC’s Department of Defense SBIR/STTR Funding Session at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, December 2018, 5 presentations:
  • SBTDC Introduction
  • Global Perspective of NSE Education Ch 3
  • Army SBIR
  • NC Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
  • Partnering Opportunities with JSNN
• Selected Slides on Hydroponic Routes to Nutritionally Enhanced Produce and Nutraceuticals, An Innovation Bridge to Help Address Strategic 21st Century Food Security Needs, February 4, 2019

Book

• Kelkar, A., Herr, D.J.C. and Ryan, J. (Eds.). (2014). Nanoscience and Nanoengineering: Advances and Applications, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

CHapters

• Lin, Q., Bashier, R., Bathe, M., Chrisey, L., Harb, J., Herr, D.J.C., LaBean, T., Liddle, A., Ng, Kwok, Schulman, R., Seeman, N., Shetty, R., Sitaraman, S., Starobin, J., Woolley, A., Zadegan, R., Zhitenev, N. (December 2018) Biological Pathways for Semiconductor Fabrication and Integration, 2018 Semiconductor Synthetic Biology Roadmap, Semiconductor Research Corporation, NIST
• Akbar, B., Brummet, J.L., Jennifer L., Flores, S.C., Gordon, B., Murday, J.S.. (Contributing Authors), Herr, D.J.C., (Contributor and Ghost Editor). (April 2018). Global Perspectives in Convergence Education, Workshop Report, Washington D.C.: NSF / OECD / U.S. National Academies / U. Southern California
• Herr, D.J.C., and Akinaga, H. (Editors). (July 2016). Emerging Research Materials Chapter, The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2.0, Washington, DC: Semiconductor Industry Association.
• Herr, D.J.C. (June 28, 2016). Chapter 3 – The Need for Convergence and Emergence in Twenty-first Century Nano-STEAM+ Educational Ecosystems. In K. Winkelmann, B. Bhushan (eds.), Global Perspectives of Nanoscience and Engineering Education, Science Policy Reports, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31833-2_3. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Selected Articles

• J.C. Herr, B. Akbar, J. Brummet, S. Flores, A. Gordon, B. Gray and J. Murday, (In print), “Convergence education – an international perspective”, Journal of nanoparticle Research; DOI: 10.1007/s11051-019-4638-7
• Rathnayake, G. Pathiraja, D. Herr, “Novel approach to sub-5- nm patterning platforms: the self-assembly of metal conjugated bio-inspired molecules,” Proc. SPIE 10958, Novel Patterning Technologies for Semiconductors, MEMS/NEMS, and MOEMS 2019, 1095811 (5 June 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2518995
• Bath, Mark, Chrisey. L.A., Herr, D.J.C., Lin, Qinghaung, Rasic, D., Wooley, A., Zadegan, R., Zhimov, Victor V. December 2018: Roadmap on Biological Pathways for Electronic Nanofabrication and Materials, NanoFutures
• A Agabi, O., Bashir, R., Basu, M., Bathe, M., Beal, J., Bogdan, P., Bramlett, B., Burley, M., Carmean, D., Chrisey, L., Cumbers, J., Candelaria, J., Coley, C., Cunningham, B., Densmore, D., Harb, J., Herr, D.J.C., Hessel, A., Hua, W., Hughes, W., Hyunjun, P., Issa, S., Kasianowicz, J., Klavins, E., Kosuri, S., LaBean, T., Liddle, A., Lin Q., Linton J., Makki, R., Markowitz, D., McArthur, G., McCorkle, N., Ng, K., Nikonov, D., Peck B., Qiu, J., Sandhu, G., Sarpeshkar, R., Schulman, R., Seeman, N., Shepard, K., Shetty, R., Sitaraman, S., Starobin, J., Strauss, K., Sukharev, V., Varshney, U., Vodkin, P., Wander, M., Wang, H., Woolley, A., Zadegan, R., Zhirnov, V., Zhitenev, N.. (May 2018). SemiSynBio Technical Report [October 2017-March 2018], Research Triangle Park: Semiconductor Research Corporation

Media

• Herr, D.J.C., (June 17, 2019) Exploring the Wonders of the Nano-World: A Conversation with Dan Herr, Stories from the NNI, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Alexandria, VA.
• Herr, D.J.C. (April 16, 2013). TEDx Talk, “Nanoinspired by Nature.” Invited presentation and posted May 16, 2013
• Herr, D.J.C. (April 4, 2013). Public Radio: State of Things (Invited interview)

Honors & Awards

2019-          Adjunct Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, North Carolina State University, NC

2018-         Member, Board of Directors, Berkshire Corporation, Great Barrington, MA

2016-17        Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award, UNC Greensboro, NC

2015-         Regional Editor, Journal of Nanoparticle Research

2013-19        Director, Nanomanufacturing Innovation Consortium, Greensboro, NC

2011-         Advisory Board Member, Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication, UNSW, AU

2011-15        Member-at-Large (Elected), Industrial Science and Technology Section, AAAS

2006-16        Founding Co-Chair, ITRS ERM Technical Working, Semiconductor Industry Association

2005         Contributing SRC Team Member, National Medal of Technology      U.S.Department of Commerce

2005-         Fellow, International Society for Optical Engineering, WA

2001-18        Adjunct Associate Professor, MS&E Department, North Carolina State University, NC

1988-07        Founding CEO, Avatar R&D, Minneapolis, MN

Classes Taught

• NAN611 – Hydroponics Lab Rotation
• NAN609 – Nanosafety
• NAN621 – Professional Development Seminar I
• NAN622 – Professional Development Seminar II
• NAN735 – Nanomaterials and Reactions by Design

Research