The Royal Society of Chemistry has awarded the 2025 de Gennes Prize to Samson Jenekhe, professor of chemistry and chemical engineering and Frank and Julie Jungers Endowed Chair of Engineering. This prize in materials chemistry recognizes Jenekhe’s outstanding contributions to synthetic chemistry, physics, and applications of conjugated polymers.
As part of the honor, Jenekhe will be invited to deliver a series of lectures at universities across the UK and Ireland in 2026.
The Jenekhe research group focuses on basic and applied studies in the chemistry, physics, and engineering applications of organic/polymer semiconductors. They combine the synthesis of well-defined semiconducting polymers and small-molecule organic semiconductors with detailed investigation of their charge transport, photophysics, electroluminescence, and photovoltaic properties toward a deeper understanding of structure-property-morphology relationships. Jenekhe and his team explore applications of organic/polymer semiconductors in organic photovoltaics, organic/flexible electronics, energy conversion and storage systems, light-emitting diodes for displays and lighting, and nanotechnology.
“A career in chemistry, or more generally the chemical sciences, provides many opportunities for addressing many of the challenges society faces in the coming decades, from diseases to climate change,” says Jenekhe, who as an undergraduate decided “that chemistry was more powerful than physics because the universe of things a chemist can study is infinite.”
A Q&A with Jenekhe is published along with the complete award announcement at “Winner: 2025 Materials Chemistry open prize: de Gennes Prize.”
In addition to being an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2015), Jenekhe is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society (2003) and American Association for the Advancement of Science (2003), and an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (2022) and Washington State Academy of Sciences (2013).
To learn more about the Professor Jenekhe and his research, please visit his faculty page in the Department of Chemical Engineering.