Materials for organic and hybrid inorganic/organic electronics

The following article is based on the Von Hippel Award address given by Tobin Marks, Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. Marks presented his award lecture during the 2009 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston. He was recognized with MRS's highest honor, the Von Hippel Award for consistently discovering and applying new scientific principles, and for advancing materials science across a spectrum from self-assembly to crystal growth, encompassing organic electronic, photonic, and photovoltaic materials, and oxide dielectrics, conductors, and superconductors. The Von Hippel Award honors those qualities most prized by materials scientists and engineers-exemplified by the life of Arthur von Hippel (http://vonhippel.mrs.org).