December 30, 2008: A nanotechnology researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has been named “Tar Heel of the Year” by the Raleigh News & Observer, an annual honor given by the newspaper to recognize achievement at the university.
Joseph DeSimone is working on a new class of nanoparticles that can take any shape with the goal of making chemotherapy easier for cancer patients.
“To say he is extraordinary would be an understatement,” UNC President Erskine Bowles told the newspaper.
“The potential power is quite significant,” added Anna Barker of the National Cancer Institute, which has chipped in $5 million a year for five years to help support DeSimone’s research.
UNC’s Joseph DeSimone. (Photo courtesy of UNC-Chapel Hill)