Rongchao Jin honored with Cotton Award from American Chemical Society
Rongchao Jin, Eberly Family Distinguished Chair of Chemistry, has been awarded the 2027 F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (ACS). Jin will be presented with the award, which recognizes outstanding achievements in synthetic inorganic chemistry, at the Spring 2027 ACS meeting in New Orleans.
Jin focuses his work on the synthesis of nanoparticles with precise control over particle size, shape, structure, and composition. He has developed several methods to create atomically precise nanoparticles, which can have unique structural and electronic properties based on their shape, structural complexity, and chemical composition that can be tuned for a variety of applications. These atomically precise nanoparticles hold potential in optics, catalysis, energy conversion, optoelectronics, quantum technology, and sensing applications.
“Rongchao Jin is clearly the world leader in the synthesis and structural characterization of atomically precise inorganic nanoclusters,” said Kenneth Knappenberger Jr., department head and professor of chemistry and professor of physics. “Rongchao really launched this field twenty years ago when, as an assistant professor, he used X-ray methods to solve crystal structures for colloidal nanoclusters that revealed their structure and bonding properties with atomic-level resolution. Soon, researchers from all over the world were following Ronghchao’s lead. It is very appropriate that Rongchao is being recognized by the ACS with this well-deserved National Award.”
Jin’s awards and honors include the Charles E. Kaufman New Initiative Grant in 2023, the U.S. National Science Foundation Creativity Award in 2020, and the International Precious Metals Institute Student Advisor Award in 2019. He has published his research in nearly 300 scientific papers in journals such as Science, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Chemical Reviews, and Nature. Since 2014, Jin has been named among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to Clarivate Analytics.
Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, Jin was a professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University from 2006 to 2026. He was previously a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago from 2003 to 2006, and in 2003 he earned his doctoral degree in chemistry from Northwestern University.
“Penn State has been a leader in materials chemistry for decades, producing multiple Kavli and other major award winners,” Knappenberger said. “One current strategic emphasis of the department is in structurally precise materials, which includes a core team composed of Lasse Jensen, Rongchao, Ben Lear, me, and Ray Schaak. Not surprisingly, Ray also won the Cotton Award in 2024. To have two faculty win the same ACS national award in such a short span is a clear reflection of the strength we have built at Penn State.”