Our research is aimed at understanding and controlling the structure and chemistry of nanoscale surfaces. Under some circumstances, simple chemical reactions can be much more precise and more controlled than the most advanced nanofabrication tools, selectively carving out near-atomically-perfect surfaces. Using a combination of scanned probe and electron microscopies, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and spectroscopic investigations, we are trying to understand the atomistic processes that govern these transformations. We have also shown that surface chemistry affects the mechanical properties of nanoscale materials, in some cases leading to extreme strength. The chemical origins of these effects are also under investigation.

I. T. Clark, B. S. Aldinger, A. Gupta, and M. A. Hines, "Aqueous etching produces Si(100) surfaces of near-atomic flatness: Strain minimization does not predict morphology," J. Phys. Chem. C 114, 423 (2010).

A. Gupta, B. S. Aldinger, M. F. Faggin, and M. A. Hines, "Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of anisotropic Si(100) etching: Modeling the chemical origins of characteristic etch morphologies," J. Chem. Phys. 133, 044710 (2010).

M. F. Faggin, S. K. Green, I. T. Clark, K. T. Queeney, and M. A. Hines, "Production of Highly Homogeneous Si(100) Surfaces by H2O Etching: Surface Morphology and the Role of Strain," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 11455 (2006).

S. P. Garcia, H. Bao, and M. A. Hines, "Etchant anisotropy controls the step bunching instability in KOH etching of silicon," Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 166102 (2004).

M. A. Hines, "In search of perfection: Understanding the highly defect selective chemistry of anisotropic etching," Ann. Rev. of Phys. Chem. 54, 29 (2003).

• PhD, Stanford University, 1991

• SB, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984