Douglas B. Chrisey's resume reads like the outline of a sci-fi novel. As a scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., he conducted research that a non-techie can barely comprehend: electronics that could withstand the radiation and cosmic rays of space, tissue sensors that could detect a single spore of a biological weapon, pen-like instruments that can "write" biomaterials.

Now, as the new deputy director for research and development at CNSE, Dr. Chrisey faces a more down-to-earth challenge. Yes, he will keep his hand in cutting-edge research -- leading teams of faculty, staff and students as they work on wireless sensor design and fabrication, electronics miniaturization, polymers for electronics, and protective coatings developed through combinatorial materials research. But he also will work to further integrate CNSE with NDSU faculty and to help the center earn more competitive grants. "Competitive funding is really cut-throat," he says, "but it brings with it prestige and reputation and respect."

Dr. Chrisey has plenty of experience to accomplish that. After gaining research experience at two premier industrial labs of the 1980s - Bell Labs and IBM - he earned his doctorate in engineering physics from the University of Virginia in 1987.

He became a researcher for the NRL in 1987. Over the next 18 years, Dr. Chrisey and his team were at the forefront of some of the most advanced technology of their time.
"You could say my research was driven by some sort of special path, but really I just found the low hanging fruit -- that being where the funding was," Dr. Chrisey says.
Among his inventions were a laser method to make oxide-based film coatings, ceramic-based coatings to make implantable devices more biocompatible with the body, and a laser-based "pen" that allows scientists to "write" electronic materials such as circuits.

Dr. Chrisey and his team learned the same technology could be applied to "write" biomaterials, such as biopolymers, proteins and bioceramics. This technology, which allows scientists to deposit living material at the cellular level, has great potential for building or replacing organs.

By the time Dr. Chrisey left the NRL, he had accumulated 400 journal articles with more than 5,000 citations and holds 15 patents. He also had amassed experience in both small business and academia, becoming a member of the technical advisory board and consultant for Nanotherapeutics, a small company that specializes in drug-coatings and drug delivery, and working as an advising professor at institutions like George Washington University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Now Dr. Chrisey is excited by this new chapter of his career. The NDSU position will allow him to work with students and faculty and to supervise research in a variety of areas. "Having my contacts in Washington and small business, and having worked with faculty and students in a unique setting allows me to seamlessly surf across all that's here (at CNSE) and all that will be here soon," he says. "Also, I will be able to work in areas ranging from planetary science to tissue engineering."

"We are extremely pleased that Dr. Chrisey will assist in the future development of the NDSU Center for Nanoscale Science & Engineering," said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer at NDSU. "His outstanding credentials from a top Department of Defense research laboratory are an asset to the continued development of nanotechnology on this campus."