HOUSTON, Sept. 3, 2008 -- Rice University nanophotonics pioneer Naomi Halas has won one of nanotechnology's top academic honors, the Research Excellence Award from the University of Pennsylvania's Nano/Bio Interface Center (NBIC).

Halas is being honored for her numerous contributions in the innovative synthesis of nanostructures. She will accept the award and give a keynote address at NBIC's NanoDay@Penn ceremonies Oct. 29 in Philadelphia.

Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, professor of chemistry and the founder and director of Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP), an international research community focused on the development of light-matter interactions, tools and applications at nanoscale dimensions. Halas is best known for her invention of nanoshells, a new type of nanoparticle with tunable optical properties that are especially suited for biotechnology applications.

Halas's previous honors include four Hershel M. Rich Invention awards from the Rice Engineering Alumni, the National Science Foundation's Young Investigator Award and the 2003 Cancer Innovator Award from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs of the Department of Defense. She was also awarded "Best Discovery of 2003" by Nanotechnology Now and named to Esquire magazine's list of the "Best & Brightest of 2006."