February 2, 2026
Bozhi Tian, professor in the Department of Chemistry, the James Franck Institute, and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, has received the 2026 Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award. The Divisional honor provides $100,000 for intellectually exciting and innovative research ventures that enable new research directions.
Tian joined the University of Chicago in 2012 as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. Prior to joining the University, he was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. Tian is a materials scientist whose research integrates semiconductor science, electrochemistry, and living systems to develop sustainable bioelectronic platforms for non-genetic, drug-free medical interventions.
“I am deeply honored by the Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award,” said Tian. “Throughout my career, I have tried to challenge myself daily by stepping beyond my comfort zone and by intentionally entering new research areas every few years. This award is especially meaningful because it celebrates curiosity-driven exploration and the courage to pursue new scientific directions.” The support empowers his group to continue taking intellectual risks at the intersection of physical chemistry and living systems.
Tian’s research team explores how bioelectrical and electrochemical signals regulate cellular and tissue-level behavior, and how semiconductor-enabled materials can interface with living systems to sense, modulate, and reprogram biological function with high spatial and temporal precision.
The team’s proposed research will pursue fundamental surface chemistry studies at semiconductor-cell interfaces, with a particular focus on how interfacial charge transfer, redox reactions, and local electrochemical fields modulate the structure and function of cell membrane proteins.
“By elucidating how surface chemical processes influence ion channels, receptors, and other membrane-associated proteins, this work aims to establish new principles for programmable, non-genetic control of cellular signaling using photo- and electro-active biointerfaces,” said Tian.
The great hope is that these studies will reveal how surface chemical and electrochemical cues at biointerfaces regulate the behavior of cell membrane proteins, enabling a mechanistic understanding of bioelectrical signaling and opening new pathways for precise, non-genetic modulation of cellular and tissue function for therapeutic applications.
This award will be used to support high-risk, high-reward exploratory studies, including the development of new semiconductor biointerfaces, early-stage device prototypes, and foundational experiments that open entirely new research directions beyond conventional funding mechanisms.
The proposed research builds on work that has shaped and redefined the fields of bioelectronics and photoelectroceuticals by demonstrating that inorganic materials can behave as active, adaptive components within living systems rather than passive electrodes or sensors.
In addition to the Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award, Tian’s accolades include the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in the Physical Sciences (Physical Chemistry for Biomedical Sciences, 2022), inaugural ETH Materials Research Prize for Young Investigators (2017), Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (2016), and TR35 honoree (2012). He also received the 2023 Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring from UChicago in recognition of his dedicated efforts in teaching and mentoring.
Tian was also featured in the 2025 edition of the Chicago Reader’s People Issue, an annual celebration of everyday Chicagoans doing extraordinary things through their own words.
The Marian and Stuart Rice Research Award was established by the family of Stuart Alan Rice (1932–2024), the Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and former chairman of the Department of Chemistry and dean of the Physical Sciences from 1981 to 1995. The honor is awarded annually to promote new research directions in the physical and mathematical sciences at the University of Chicago.