Dr. Thomas Thundat is a Canada Excellence Research Chair professor at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Until recently he was a UT-Battelle/ORNL  Corporate Fellow and the leader of the Nanoscale Science and Devices Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  He is also a Research Professor at the UT, Knoxville, a visiting professor at the University of Burgundy, France, a Distinguished Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and Centenary Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.  He received his Ph.D. in physics from State University of New York at Albany in 1987. He is the author of over 335 publications in refereed journals, 45 book chapters, and 40 patents.  Dr. Thundat is the recipient of many awards that include the U.S. Department of Energy’s Young Scientist Award, R&D 100 Awards, ASME Pioneer Award, Discover Magazine Award, FLC Awards, Scientific American 50 Award, Jesse Beams Award, Nano 50 Award, Battelle Distinguished Inventor, and many ORNL Awards for invention, publication, and Research and Development. Dr. Thundat is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the Electrochemical Society (ECS), the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the SPIE.  Dr. Thundat’s research is currently focused on novel physical, chemical, and biological detection using micro and nano mechanical sensors.  His expertise includes physics and chemistry of interfaces, biophysics, solid-liquid interface, scanning probes, nanoscale phenomena, and quantum confined atoms.