Chenfeng Ke, an assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded the 2020 Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry.

The prize, awarded annually by the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC), recognizes significant, original, and independent work by an early-career researcher in the area of supramolecular chemistry.

“It is a great honor to receive this award as a supramolecular chemist,” said Ke. “I really appreciate the support from the community. My aspiration is to contribute to the development of supramolecular chemistry by developing macroscopic machinery materials that operate cohesively at the molecular level.”

Supramolecular chemistry studies the structures that mimic biological mechanics such as those seen in double-stranded DNA, enzymes, and proteins. In the past few decades, this concept has been extended to make responsive polymers for 3D printing, functional biomaterials for therapeutics, as well as applications in data storage and processing.

“In his short career, Professor Chenfeng Ke has shown outstanding creativity in the development of 3D-printed mechanically interlocked monoliths,” said Roger Harrison, secretary of the ISMSC International Committee. “Ke is a premier supramolecular chemist.”

Dartmouth’s Ke Functional Materials Group focuses on developing smart materials for 3D and 4D printing applications, elastic crystalline porous organic materials for energy and environmental related applications, and carbohydrate receptors for biological applications.

The Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize is named in honor of Donald Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, and Charles Pedersen, winners of the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for establishing the supramolecular chemistry research field.

David Hirsch can be reached at David.S.Hirsch@dartmouth.edu.