Researcher

Naomi Halas

Profile

Naomi Halas is a nanophotonics pioneer and University Professor at Rice University who invented gold nanoshells—a class of nanoparticles with a silica core surrounded by an ultrathin gold shell whose optical resonance can be tuned across visible and near-infrared wavelengths by adjusting the shell thickness. This tunability made gold nanoshells ideal candidates for photothermal cancer therapy, in which near-infrared light penetrates deep tissue and is absorbed by nanoshells concentrated in tumors, generating heat that selectively destroys cancer cells. Halas co-founded Nanospectra Biosciences to translate this technology into clinical practice; the nanoshell-based cancer treatment (AuroLase) has advanced through clinical trials for prostate and head-and-neck cancers. Her laboratory also contributed to the development of nanoscale antennae for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), enabling single-molecule detection; plasmon-driven photocatalysis for chemical synthesis and water purification using sunlight; and thermal desalination using plasmonic nanoparticle solar absorbers. She holds 24 patents and has co-founded multiple companies. Science buyers in oncology devices, diagnostics, water purification, and solar energy technology follow her laboratory's output.

Industry Ties