For Christopher B. Murray, the promise of major investments in nanoscale science and technology—including a commitment to build what is now the world-class Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology—lured him from a big-time career in industry to a whole new world at Penn.

Murray, the Richard Perry University Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering with appointments in the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is a globally influential creator of new materials at the nanoscale who is exploring novel ways to improve energy and environmental sustainability, information processing, and human health. He works across scientific boundaries to develop new chemical methods to create building blocks at the 1- to 100-nanometer scale for materials to address these challenges.

Murray is one of 15 Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professors, a group of researchers and scholars whose world-renowned work bridges multiple academic disciplines.

This “master inventor” reflects on what he has learned about research, collaboration, and the extraordinary students he engages with everyday.