In a new direction

For James Cahoon, his arrival in Chapel Hill in 2011 meant the opportunity to explore work — focused on semiconductor nanowires and nanomaterials — that could take Carolina in a new direction.

Semiconductors are used in a range of technologies, from solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity to microprocessors that drive computers. Cahoon’s group uses a multidisciplinary approach involving chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering to advance their research — and to take Carolina new places for the benefit of the world.

Read the complete Carolina Story from the UNC College of Arts & Sciences…

This is story number 209 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.

In 2016 Cahoon received an NSF CAREER Award. In 2017, the University awarded him a Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty. Those honors followed Sloan and Packard fellowships. Cahoon also serves as the UNC site director of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network.

The Department of Chemistry in the UNC College of Arts & Sciences celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2018.

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