Vicki Colvin

Colvin was inspired to study science after watching her mother drink coffee.[1] She is the daughter of Harry Colvin and Carolyn Collins. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics at Stanford University in 1988.[2][3] She completed her doctoral studies in 1994 under the supervision of Paul Alivisatos at the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry.[3][4][5] After completing her PhD, Colvin joined AT&T Bell Laboratories.[6] Here she worked on materials for holographic data storage.[7]

Colvin was appointed to Rice University in 1996 as part of their expansion in nanotechnology.[6] She was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa teaching prize and named as Discover magazine's Top Scientists to Watch.[1][8] Her research was supported by a fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.[8] She pioneered the use of water-soluble quantum dots in biomedicine.[9] The quantum dots can be encapsulated into amphiphilic polymers, which allows control of the quantum dot toxicity.[9][10] As a model for tissue localisation following intradermal infiltration, Colvin studied how quantum dots migrate in mice.[11] She found that 1D quantum dots remain as a deposit on the skin and penetrate the nearby subcutis and were distributed to draining lymph nodes.[11] She bound quantum dots to gold nanoparticles with a peptide sequence, which suppresses luminescence; allowing the combination to be used as probes for targeted degradation.[12] She investigated how the shape of quantum dots impacted their function and toxicity.[13] She demonstrated that weathering quantum dots in acidic and alkaline conditions can increase the bactericidal activity due to the rapid release of cadmium and selenite ions.[14] Her group worked on other nanomaterials, including fullerene C60.[15]

At Rice University, Colvin was appointed the Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Chemistry.[16] Her work continued to consider the interactions of nanoparticles, with applications in water purification.[16] She is particularly interested in how nanoparticles interact with living systems.[17] She investigated cerium oxide nanocrystals, and whether when they could be used for medical applications when coated in oleic acid.[18][19] Colvin led a UK-US scientific effort to create a framework to regulate the use of nanomaterials.[20] She delivered the 2012 Arthur M. Sackler Colloqium, talking about the properties of nanoparticles.[21] In 2013 Colvin was named by Chemistry of Materials as one of their most highly cited investigators. Her recent research looks at sorbents that can help to remove arsenic.[22]