Songi Han
Mark and Nancy Ratner Professor of Chemistry
Email: songi.han@northwestern.edu
Ph: 847 491 5060
Office: Silvermann Hall 4609 (4611)
Songi Han is a Physical Chemist and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University (NU) and is also affiliated with NU’s Applied Physics Program. She joined NU in July 2023 after a 20-year career as a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC Santa Barbara. Her research considers electron and nuclear spins as probes, amplifiers, sensors and detectors. She is on the Executive Committee of the International EPR Society since 2020, on the Executive Council of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR) and the inaugural chair of a new Gordon Research Conference on Magnetic Resonance and Quantum Information Science in 2026.
Find her Northwestern University faculty spotlight interview here: Faculty Spotlight Interview
Education
- 1995 – University of Köln, Germany – Vordiplom (Chemistry)
- 1998 – Aachen University of Technology – Diplom (Chemistry)
- 2001 – Aachen University of Technology – Dr. rer. nat. (Advisor: Prof. Bernhard Blümich)
Positions
- 2001-2002 – Postdoc, MPI for Polymer Research (Advisor: Prof. H-W. Spiess)
- 2002-2004 – Feodor Lynen Fellow, UC Berkeley (Advisor: Prof. A. Pines)
- 2004-2010 – Assistant Professor, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSB
- 2010-2012 – Associate Professor, Dept of Chemical Engineering, UCSB
- 2010-2012 – Associate Professor, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSB
- 2012-2023 – Professor, Dept of Chemical Engineering, UCSB
- 2012-2023 – Professor, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSB
- 2023-present – Professor, Dept of Chemistry, Northwestern University
Awards
- 2001 – Ernst Award of the GDCH (German Chemical Society) for best publication
- 2001 – Postdoctoral scholarship of the Max-Planck society
- 2002 – 1st Raymond Andrew Prize for outstanding thesis by the Ampere Society (Europe-wide)
- 2002 – Borchers Plakette for outstanding dissertation from the Aachen University of Technology
- 2002-2004 – Feodor-Lynen fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- 2004 – Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award
- 2006 – NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award
- 2007 – Co-recipient of the W.M. Keck Award for Science and Technology
- 2008 – Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering
- 2010 – Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award
- 2010 – Institute for Advanced Study—Visiting Fellow of the TU Muenich
- 2011 – NIH Innovator Award
- 2015 – Bessel Humboldt Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- 2015 – Regitze Vold Memorial Prize Lecturer, UC San Diego (Oct 22, 2015)
- 2018 – Biophysical Society (BPS) Innovation Award 2018, presented at BPS meeting in March 2019
- 2018 – Elected Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR, https://www.weizmann.ac.il/ISMAR/ismar-organization)
- 2021– EAS Award for Outstanding Achievements in Magnetic Resonance (https://eas.org/previous-eas-award-recipients/)
- 2023 – Callaghan Lecturer Prize of the ISMAR 2023 (https://ismar.org/prizes-paul-callaghan-lecture/)
- 2023 –Bruker Prize Lecture of the RSC EPR 2024
- 2024 – P. C. Cross Endowed Prize Lecture at the University of Washington Seattle 2024
Professional Activities
- 2002-present – Member, Humboldt Foundation
- 2003-present – Member, American Chemical Society
- 2003-present – Member, Biophysical Society
- 2007-2018 – Director of the spectroscopy facility of the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB
- 2011-2016 – Executive Committee of the Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference (ENC)
- 2013-2018 – Executive Committee Member, ACalNet Thematic Network by the German DAAD
- 2014-2018 – Permanent reviewer for the BBM study section at the National Institute of Health
- 2010-present – Editorial Board, Journal of Magnetic Resonance
- 2010-present – Advisory committee Chair, Institute of Terahertz Science and Technology
- 2013-present – External Advisory Committee, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
- 2017-present – Executive committee Rocky Mountain Conference-EPR section
- 2018-2020 – Vicepresident of the International EPR Society (IES) – Americas
- 2021-present – President of the International EPR Society (IES) – Americas
- 2022-present – Executive Council of ISMAR
- 2023-present – Organizing Committee of Alpin Conference