News

Jonathan named Finalist for 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

Jonathan Rivnay has been named one of 18 Finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, chosen from 372 nominees at 187 institutions nationwide. The awards, created by the Blavatnik...

Welcome to our new website

Our first post on the new site rounds up everything that has happened in the group since our last update.

Tunable anti-ambipolar vertical bilayer organic electrochemical transistor enable neuromorphic retinal pathway

Anti-ambipolar transistors feature a drain current that moves from OFF to ON to OFF states with increasing gate bias. This property is intrinsic to some conjugated polymers. However, limited stable and tunable...

Organic mixed conductors for electrochemical transistors

Our review, “Organic mixed conductors for electrochemical transistors,” was published in Matter.

Electrocatalytic on-site oxygenation for transplanted cell-based therapies

Implantable cell therapies and tissue transplants require a reliable oxygen supply to function effectively. However, achieving sufficient oxygenation within the transplant host remains challenging due to limited vascularization. Previous methods for exogenous...

Droplet Polymer Bilayers for Bioelectronic Membrane Interfacing

New collaborations have created new opportunities for our synthetic biology sensors. The lab’s efforts to build cell membrane-derived bioelectronic devices are led by Dr. Emily Schafer, with the aim of creating platforms...

Direct quantification of ion composition and mobility in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors

Our paper “Direct quantification of ion composition and mobility in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors” was published in Science Advances.

Bridging length scales in organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors through internal strain and mesoscale dynamics

Disordered systems, especially polymers, play an important role in shaping our modern society and are expected to be an even bigger part of the future. However, the complexities of these systems pose...

Welcome, new graduate students

The Rivnay Group welcomes our new graduate students, Victoria Kindratenko, Beliz Utebay, Rosalba Huerta and Junyi Liu, working on sensor robustness, lipid bilayer sensing, fundamentals and oxygenation projects, respectively. We have no...

Welcome, Yebin and Priscila

The Rivnay Group welcomes two new post-doctoral researchers, Yebin Lee and Priscila Cavassin, working on biochemical sensing and material characterization, respectively. We look forward to fantastic science and mentorship from Yebin and...

Group retreat

We enjoyed our bi-annual retreat to Michigan City, Indiana, on a warm weekend in September. Board games, cooking and outdoor fun were matched with equally energetic discussions on our research priorities and...

Group outing

Ziplines, ropes courses, yard games, home-cooked food, and charades late into the night—a full day for the Rivnay Group on our quarterly retreat.

Congratulations, Professor Tropp!

Rivnay Group postdoc Joshua Tropp has joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Tech University as an assistant professor. Professor Tropp is an exceptional mentor and scientist, and anyone interested...

Congratulations, Dr. Wu!

Our very own Dr. Ruiheng Wu successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Operando Characterization of Structure, Composition, and Charge Transport of OMIECs.”

Congratulations, Dr. Keate!

Dr. Rebecca Keate successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Designing conductive polymer biomaterials for regenerative engineering applications.”

New Paper Published in Nature

Members of the Rivnay Group, Jonathan Rivnay, Xudong Ji and Abhijith Surendran, have contributed to a new paper, “Vertical organic electrochemical transistors for complementary circuits.”

Summer outings – Terrariums and Kayaking

This summer the group built terrariums at a workshop in Chicago and went kayaking near Starved Rock, followed by a cookout by the Illinois River.

Sources and Mechanism of Degradation in p-Type Thiophene-Based Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Our paper “Sources and Mechanism of Degradation in p-Type Thiophene-Based Organic Electrochemical Transistors” was published in ACS Applied Electronic Materials.

Rebecca Keate presents Rising Stars of SQI Lecture (Aug 31, 2022)

Congratulations to graduate student Rebecca Keate, joint with Guillermo Ameer, on her Rising Stars of SQI lecture.

Josh Tropp receives multiple honors

Postdoc Josh Tropp was named an ACS PMSE Future Faculty Fellow and the NU Postdoctoral Association’s Postdoc of the Month for August 2022.

Jonathan promoted!

Congratulations to Jonathan Rivnay, who was promoted to Full Professor with tenure in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, effective Sept 1, 2022.

Congratulations to Dr. Reem Rashid!

Graduate Student Reem Rashid defended her PhD Thesis in Spring 2022. Congratulations, Doctor! She is the lab’s first PhD graduate.

Chemical Reviews paper on Operando OMIEC characterization is out!

Grad Student Ruiheng Wu led an opus, “Operando Characterization of Organic Mixed Ionic/Electronic Conducting Materials,” now out in Chemical Reviews as part of a special issue on “Organic Bioelectronics.” Congrats to Ruiheng...

A Semiconducting Two‐Dimensional Polymer as an Organic Electrochemical Transistor Active Layer

Our work “A Semiconducting Two‐Dimensional Polymer as an Organic Electrochemical Transistor Active Layer” was published in Advanced Materials. Congratulations to Reem Rashid for leading this effort with Austin Evans from Will Dichtel’s...

3D Printed conducting hydrogels published in Macromolecular Bioscience

Our work with Cheng Sun’s lab on 3D-printed electroactive hydrogels, led by Rebecca Keate, is out now in Macromolecular Bioscience.

Reem’s paper on OECT circuits for bioamplification was published in Science Advances!

Reem has published a new paper which focuses on means to make “back end” electronics more usable in more compact form, which could revolutionize how medicine utilizes bioelectronics in the body.

Reem, Xudong, and Professor Rivnay have published a review in Biosensors and Bioelectronics!

The review examines the potential applications of organic electrochemical transistors in bioelectronic circuits, which hold potential in the fields of printed electronics, bioelectronics, and neuromorphic computing, among others.

Jonathan was featured as a plenary speaker at the 2021 IEEE International Flexible Electronics Conference (IFETC)!

Jonathan Rivnay gave a presentation entitled “Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Bioelectronics” at the 2021 conference.

Reem received a Fulbright and American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) Award to study at Linköping University (Laboratory of Organic Electronics) in Sweden!

Reem Rashid has received two awards, one Fulbright grant and one from the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF). She will use both to travel and study at Linköping University in Sweden.

DARPA project for implantable ‘living pharmacy’ that would help regulate body’s sleep/wake cycles kicks off!

Our lab has received a cooperative agreement with DARPA to develop a wireless, fully implantable ‘living pharmacy’ device that could help regulate human sleep patterns. The project is through the DARPA BTO...

Bryan’s review was published in Annual Review of Materials Research!

The article, “Mixed Ionic-Electronic Transport in Polymers,” was published in July 2021. It was written by Bryan D. Paulsen, Dr. Rivnay, and Simone Fabiano, of the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of...

Bryan and Reem collaborated on a published study in Journal of the American Chemical Society!

The study, “Regiochemistry-Driven Organic Electrochemical Transistor Performance Enhancement in Ethylene Glycol-Functionalized Polythiophenes,” was a collaboration with the McCulloch group at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

Xudong’s Nature Communications paper featured in Northwestern Now!

Researchers have developed a brain-like computing device that is capable of learning by association. Similar to how famed physiologist Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to associate a bell with food, researchers at Northwestern...

Professor Rivnay was named an ACS PMSE Young Investigator!

The goal of this annual symposium is to highlight and provide a forum for ~15 early-career emerging leaders who have made significant contributions in their respective fields within polymer materials science and...

Congratulations to Rebecca for being selected for the Biotechnology Training Program at Northwestern!

The Northwestern Predoctoral Biotechnology Training Program is an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental program that provides select graduate students (Trainees and Cluster members) greater research and training opportunities than those available through the individual...

Anthony and Rebecca have published a new review paper in Chemistry of Materials!

Anthony Petty and Rebecca Keate published a review paper with the Ameer lab for ACS.

Bryan and Reem also have published an article in Advanced Materials!

Our new paper is out in Advanced Materials: “Energetic Control of Redox‐Active Polymers toward Safe Organic Bioelectronic Materials.” This work was led by Alex Giovannitti at Stanford, with contributions from our very...

Jonathan was selected as MRS’s Outstanding Early-Career Investigator!

The Materials Research Society has chosen Jonathan as an Outstanding Early-Career Investigator. He is the fifth Northwestern professor to receive this award. Jonathan is being honored for “innovative research on organic semiconductor...

Jonathan was recently chosen as one of ONR’s Best and Brightest Young Investigators!

The Office of Naval Research has recognized 26 awardees as part of the Young Investigator Program in 2020. Professor Rivnay will receive a share of $14 million in funding for research that...

The Rivnay Group moves into the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center

We have moved into the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center in downtown Chicago!

New JoVE video article led by the Shull Group and our own graduate student, Emily!

The quartz crystal microbalance can provide accurate mass and viscoelastic properties for films in the micron or submicron range, which is relevant for investigations in biomedical and environmental sensing, coatings, and polymer...

The Rivnay Group’s photo was chosen as the cover of Nature Materials’ January issue!

A photo by Jonathan Rivnay and Bryan Paulsen is the cover of the January 2020 issue of Nature Materials, which features a Review on mixed organic conductors.

Self-aligned, laser-cut organic electrochemical transistors in Flexible and Printed Electronics

Read our latest paper in Flexible and Printed Electronics by Reem Rashid, Robert Ciechowski and Jonathan Rivnay.

IEEE hosted the inaugural IEEE Brain Virtual Conference with Professor Rivnay as one of its speakers!

Professor Rivnay was one of the speakers at the inaugural IEEE Brain Virtual Conference on bioelectronics, held 26 November 2019.

Organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors review in Nature Materials

Read our latest review of organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors in Nature Materials with Klas Tybrandt (Linköping University), Eleni Stavrinidou (Linköping University), our own post-doc Bryan Paulsen (Northwestern University), and Dr. Jonathan Rivnay...

Rivnay, Katsaggelos, Parrish Collaborations receive inaugural Catalyst Award!

Northwestern Engineering faculty members Jonathan Rivnay, Aggelos K. Katsaggelos, and Todd Parrish are members of teams that were granted $55,000 in seed money through the Collaborative Research Catalyst Awards. Rivnay, assistant professor...

Welcome, Juliana Trujillo!

Our lab is excited to welcome Juliana Trujillo! She comes from Santa Clara University as a Bioengineering major. She’ll be spending her summer in the lab as an International Institute for Nanotechnology...

Prof. Rivnay invited to and presented at the inaugural Bioelectronics Gordon Research Conference (GRC)

The first conference on Bioelectronics seeks to establish an interdisciplinary community of scientists and engineers working on problems related to Bioelectronics. Challenges in the emerging field span length scales including the nanoscale...

Prof. Rivnay named Sloan Research Fellow

Jonathan Rivnay has been named a 2019 Sloan Fellow in Chemistry, awarded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This award will continue to fund our work developing and understanding organic mixed conductors,...

Welcome Yu, visiting from CUHK

Welcome to Yu Zhang, who will be visiting the lab for 6 months from Prof. Ni Zhao’s group at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Welcome Vishak, Reem, and Mayra

With new lab space and equipment, we welcome our post-doc, Vishak Venkatraman, and two new graduate students: Reem Rashid (BME) and Mayra Celene Cortez Alcaraz (BME). They all started in Summer/Fall 2017...

Paper on subthreshold OECT operation for low power EEG published in Advanced Science

Vishak’s paper “Subthreshold Operation of Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Biosignal Amplification” is now online at Advanced Science. Congratulations, Vishak! This work details the use of OECTs with sharp subthreshold slopes (60 mV/dec)...

Side-chain engineering for n-type bioelectronic polymers

A collaborative effort with Iain McCulloch (KAUST/Imperial) shows the importance of side-chain engineering for tuning the transistor operating regimes and electrochemical properties of promising electron-transporting polymers. Check out “The Role of the...

Review on OECT device physics out in Organic Electronics

A new review paper is out in Organic Electronics, “Device Physics of Organic Electrochemical Transistors” – an opus by Jacob Friedlein. Unlike other reviews on OECTs that focus on chemistry of materials,...

Prof. Rivnay named CMBE Rising Star

Prof. Jonathan Rivnay was honored on January 2-6, 2019, as a “Rising Star” of the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) special interest group of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), at the annual...

Prof. Rivnay receives 2018 NSF CAREER Award

Prof. Jonathan Rivnay was awarded an NSF CAREER award for “Understanding the Role of Structure on Ionic/Electronic Properties in Polymeric Mixed Conductors.”

OECT review in Nature Reviews Materials

Read our latest overview on Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) materials, devices, technology and applications, published in Nature Reviews Materials with Sahika Inal (KAUST), Alberto Salleo (Stanford), Róisín Owens (Cambridge), Magnus Berggren (Linköping),...

Mayra wins third place in image contest at SQI

Congrats to Mayra, who placed 3rd in the SQI image contest!

Paper on the effects of the electrolyte (anions) on structure and transport in organic mixed conductors published in Adv. Funct. Mater.

Our paper “Role of the Anion on the Transport and Structure of Organic Mixed Conductors” is published in Advanced Functional Materials. Congratulations to Camila and the entire team. This article highlights the...

Benchmarking bioelectronic materials, paper out in Nature Communications

Also out in 2017: Our new work on proper comparison and benchmarking of active materials for bioelectronic applications (in this case: electrochemical transistors) was published in Nature Communications: “Benchmarking organic mixed conductors...

Addressing the stability of new organic bioelectronic materials

New work in collaboration with Iain McCulloch (KAUST/Imperial) highlights design rules to address stability of BDT-based organic semiconductors for bioelectronic applications. Check out “Redox-Stability of Alkoxy-BDT Copolymers and their Use for Organic...

Review Paper in Science Advances

Highlight from 2017, in case you missed it: Jonathan published a review article with the Malliaras (Cambridge) and Deisseroth (Stanford) groups in Science Advances. “Next-generation probes, particles, and proteins for neural interfacing.”...

Rivnay Group arriving at Northwestern

Jonathan Rivnay is starting his group in the Biomedical Engineering Department on February 1st, 2017. Check back for updates and information as we get settled and build up the lab.