Philippe Buhlmann promoted to professor

Philippe Buhlmann joined the Department of Chemistry faculty of the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor in September 2000. He received tenure in 2006 and was promoted to associate professor. He was promoted to full professor in May 2013. He currently is the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Chemistry.

Buhlmann completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Professor Wilhelm Simon's group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in Switzerland. He earned his doctorate in 1993. Subsequently, he did postdoctoral studies at the University of Tokyo with Professor Yoshio Umezawa, as a postdoctoral fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. From 1994 to 2000, Buhlmann was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, School of Science, at the University of Tokyo. Since 1993, he has published more than 100 scientific articles.

The common theme of the research activities in the Buhlmann group is the application of molecular recognition and, in particular, the use of synthetic receptors for chemical sensing in complex real-life environments. One goal of his research is the development of chemical sensors that put receptors to their most effective use, permitting the selectivities and detection limits required for real applications, and providing maximum input for the rational development of new receptors. A second goal is the development of new strategies that permit the use of robust chemical sensors that excel not only in the laboratory but withstand the harsh conditions of long term monitoring, e.g., in the environment, in industrial process control, or upon implantation into the human body. In pursuit of these goals, the Buhlmann group has been pushing the limits of fluorous chemistry, explored new applications of carbon nanomaterials, developed plasticized perfluoropolymer membranes, and demonstrated the application of novel receptors that provide for unprecedented selectivities, detection limits, and long term signal stability.

In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Buhlmann also coordinates the Chemists-in-the-Library outreach program for the Minnesota Local Section of the American Chemical Society.