Associate Professor of Chemistry

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences

BS   Texas A&M University C. C.      2005

PhD Northwestern University            2010

(PhD Advisor: J. Fraser Stoddart, 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)

RESEARCHER ID: C-1083-2008         

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0398-5063

Mark Anthony Olson was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Mark earned his B.S. degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), graduating Cum Laude in 2005 where he was supported by both a University Honors and a Citgo Refining Math/Science Challenge scholarship. During this time at TAMUCC Mark conducted research in the labs of Eugene and Fereshteh Billiot as an NSF Louis Stokes A.M.P. and Welch fellow. Here Mark’s research focused on the characterization of amino acid-based surfactants to be used as pseudo-stationary phases for micellar electro-kinetic chromatography. During the summer of 2004, Mark experienced a brief stay at the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) in Pasadena, California as a Howard Hughes Institute Fellow developing fluorescent chemical sensors for chiral gas phase analytes in the labs of Jack Beauchamp. Mark then made the move to the west coast where he began his graduate career at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) under the the tutelage of Sir J. Fraser Stoddart where he was affiliated with the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI). Mark then made the move to the Midwest, arriving in Chicago, Illinois following a group move to Northwestern University (NU) from UCLA in 2008 to complete his graduate studies. Graduating in 2010 from NU with a PhD in Chemistry under J. Fraser Stoddart, Mark accepted an offer from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi joining their faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Chemistry. In 2014 Mark was then awarded the 1000 Young Talents Foreign Expert designation by the Chinese government and joined Tianjin University's School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology as a National 1000 Plan Young Professor where he is affiliated with the Institute for Molecular Design and Synthesis. In 2020, Mark left his full time position at Tianjin University and joined Northwestern University, his alma mater, as a Research Associate Professor of Chemistry. In fall of 2021 Mark returned to his former undergraduate alma mater, TAMUCC, as an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemistry Program Coordinator. 

RESEARCH INTERESTS SUMMARIZED BY KEY WORDS

SUPRAMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY, SOFT MATTER AND NANOSCIENCE: molecular recognition processes • molecular switches • self-assembly processes • template-directed self-assembly • concept transfer from the life sciences into materials science • programmed detergency • polymer blends • electrostatics • interfacial molecular interactions • chemical sensors • molecular electronics • aerogels • thin film processing • thermochromics • 3D printing

RECENT AWARDS & ACTIVITIES  

General Chemistry Course Awarded China National First Class Course Designation by the China Ministry of Education (2020)

General Chemistry Course Awarded Tianjin First Class Course Designation by Tianjin Province Government (2020)

China Recruitment Program of Global Experts National Youth 1000 Plan Scholar (2015–2020)

Advisory Board Member for Molecular Systems Design and Engineering (MSDE) a Royal Society of Chemistry Journal  (2017–Present)

Associate Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry (Surpramolecular Chemistry Section) (2018–Present)

Top Ten Supervisor of Tianjin University (2017)

Distinguished Youth Faculty Model for Teaching and Education of Tianjin University (2017)

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

1.      Olson, M.A. “Charge Transfer-Dependent Applications of Pyridinium-Based Soft Matter Assembled in Water” Chemistry Seminar Series, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sept. 2020. INVITED

2.      Olson, M. A. “Supramolecular Soft Matter Material Science – Developing Supramolecular Functional Materials” Stoddart Alumni Symposium, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, Aug. 2020. INVITED

3.      Olson, M. A. “Exploring the Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Hydrates and Anhydrates of Donor-Acceptor Charge Transfer Salts” Singapore International Chemistry Conference (SICC2018), National University of Singapore, Singapore, Dec. 2018. INVITED

4.      Olson, M. A. “Exploring the Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Hydrates and Anhydrates of Donor-Acceptor Charge Transfer Salts” 6th Thailand International Nanotechnology Conference (ThaiNano 2018), Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 2018. INVITED

5.      Olson, M. A. “Exploring the Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Hydrates and Anhydrates of Donor-Acceptor Charge Transfer Salts” Global Young Talents Forum, Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT), Beijing, China, Oct. 2018. INVITED

6.      Olson, M. A. “Exploring the Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Hydrates and Anhydrates of Donor-Acceptor Charge Transfer Salts” Conference on Promoting New Chemistry, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), Beijing, China, Sept. 2018. INVITED

7.      Olson, M. A. “Exploiting Tunable Hydrochromism of Multifunctional Charge Transfer-Based Supramolecular Materials Assembled in Water” International Conference on Molecular Sensors and Molecular Logic Gates (MSMLG), Dalian, China, June 2018. INVITED

8.      Olson, M. A. “Thermochromic Supramolecular Materials Based on Competing Charge Transfer Interactions” OCDS Colloquium Seminar Series, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA, Apr. 2018. INVITED

9.      Olson, M. A. “Thermochromic Supramolecular Materials Based on Competing Charge Transfer Interactions” EEWS & Department of Chemistry Seminar Series, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Mar. 2018. INVITED

10.      Olson, M. A. “Thermochromic Supramolecular Materials Based on Competing Charge Transfer Interactions” Workshop on Supramolecular Chemistry & Materials, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China, Dec. 2017. INVITED

11.      Olson, M. A. “Thermochromic Supramolecular Materials Based on Competing Charge Transfer Interactions” The 7th International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: ChinaNANO 2017, Beijing, China, Aug. 2017.

12.      Olson, M. A. “Thermochromic Supramolecular Materials Based on Competing Charge Transfer Interactions” 14th International Conference on Calixarenes: Calix2017, Nankai University, Tianjin, China, Aug. 2017. INVITED

13.      Olson, M. A. “Chemistry While You Were Sleeping” A Golden Age for Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, June 2017. INVITED