Natalie Fardian-Melamed

2026 Regional Award Winner — Post-Doc

Natalie Fardian-Melamed

Current Position:
Associate Research Scientist

Institution:
Columbia University

Discipline:
Materials Science & Nanotechnology

Recognized for: Discovering and engineering ultra-sensitive light-based nanosensors that remotely detect a broad range of mechanical forces, laying the groundwork for breakthroughs in biomedicine, robotics, and next-generation quantum technologies.


Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Nanomaterials, Nanospectroscopy, Light-Matter Interactions

Previous Positions:

Bachelor’s, Jerusalem College of Technology, Israel
Master’s, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (Advisor: Aharon J. Agranat)
Ph.D., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (Advisor: Danny Porath)
Postdoctoral (Fulbright; Marie Skłodowska-Curie) Fellow, Columbia University (Advisor: P. James Schuck)

Research Summary:

Mechanical forces shape processes ranging from embryonic development to the function of advanced materials, yet they have been difficult to measure at the smallest scales. Natalie Fardian-Melamed, PhD, has pioneered a new class of nanoscale optical sensors – minute light-emitting particles that can be monitored remotely using infrared light and respond dramatically to tiny mechanical forces, enabling detection with unprecedented sensitivity across a remarkably broad dynamic range. Fardian-Melamed’s discoveries and innovations enable researchers to visualize previously inaccessible signals, opening new opportunities in biology, medicine, robotics, energy technologies, and quantum science.

“I work with tiny crystals that speak through light, responding dramatically to the fields around them. By expanding their vocabulary, we uncover new ways to sense, illuminate, and understand our world. Honored and grateful to join the Blavatnik family.”

Key Publications:

  1. N. Fardian‐Melamed, A. Skripka, C. Lee, B. Ursprung, T.P. Darlington, X. Qi, M. Wang, A. Teitelboim, J.M. Gerton, B.E. Cohen, E.M. Chan, P.J. Schuck. Infrared Nanosensors of PicoNewton to MicroNewton Forces. Nature, 2025.
  2. C. Lee, E.Z. Xu, K.W.C. Kwock, A. Teitelboim, Y. Liu, H.S. Park, B. Ursprung, M.E. Ziffer, Y. Karube, N. Fardian-Melamed, C.C.S. Pedroso, J. Kim, S.D. Pritzl, S.H. Nam, T. Lohmueller, P. Ercius, Y.D. Suh, B.E. Cohen, E.M. Chan, P.J. Schuck. Indefinite and Bidirectional Near-Infrared Nanocrystal Photoswitching. Nature, 2023.
  3. E. Meirzadeh, A.M. Evans, M. Rezaee, M. Milich, C. Dionne, T.P. Darlington, S.T. Bao, A.K. Bartholomew, T. Handa, D. Rizzo, R.A. Wiscons, M. Reza, A. Zangiabadi, N. Fardian-Melamed, A.C. Crowther, P.J. Schuck, D. Basov, X. Zhu, A. Giri, P. Hopkins, P. Kim, M.L. Steigerwald, J. Yang, C. Nuckolls, X. Roy. A Few- Layer Covalent Network of Fullerenes. Nature, 2023.
  4. N. Fardian-Melamed, L. Katrivas, D. Rotem, A. Kotlyar, D. Porath. Electronic Level Structure of Novel Guanine Octuplex DNA Single Molecules. Nano Letters, 2021.

Other Honors:

2025 2025 Rising Star of Light, Light: Science & Applications (Springer Nature)
2025 Falling Walls Lab Winner (ScienceAbroad), Falling Walls Foundation
2024 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Physics – Young Scientist, Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings
2021-2026 ISEF de Gunzburg International Science Fellowship, Israel Scholarship Education Foundation (ISEF)
2021-2024 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Global Fellowship, European Commission
2022-2024 Postdoctoral Career Development in Science Award, Weizmann Institute of Science
2022 APS Forum for Early Career Scientists (FECS) Mini-Grant, American Physical Society
2020-2022 Zuckerman CHE STEM Leadership Scholarship, Mortimer B. Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program
2020-2021 Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship, U.S. Department of State

In the Media:

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