Former Smart Materials Lab member Luca Catalano was awarded the W. H. and W. L. Bragg Prize by the International Union of Crystallography for his work on molecular crystals as dynamic entities.
The Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) launched the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi – NYU Abu Dhabi Research Impact Seminar Series, in collaboration with IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi, led by Dr. Panče Naumov. The inaugural lecture was delivered by Professor Mahmoud Rasras (NYUAD, CSEM).
Aaviskar Paudyal, a former research assistant with SML and CSEM, was admitted to the Erasmus Mundus META 4.0 Program with a full scholarship for a Master’s in advanced manufacturing across Europe.
March
Professor Panče Naumov co-organized the ACS Spring 2026 Digital Meeting Symposium Synergizing Crystallography and Spectroscopy: From Order to Dynamics (March 22–25, 2026).
A framework agreement was signed between NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), initiated by SML and CSEM in collaboration with TII’s Advanced Materials Research Center, enabling access to advanced research facilities.
Dr. Durga Prasad Karothu (SML, CSEM) was appointed to the Advisory Board of Crystal Growth & Design, published by the American Chemical Society.
February
Members of the Smart Materials Lab met with Professor Katherine Mirica (Dartmouth College, USA) during her visit as a Chemistry seminar speaker.
Professor Panče Naumov initiated a joint seminar series between NYU Abu Dhabi and IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi, with reciprocal lectures each semester to promote collaboration and joint research.
Professor Naumov delivered an invited lecture, “Dynamic Organic Crystals,” at the European Crystallographic Association (ECA) Lunch Webinar (February 12, 2026).
Annafew Biswas (SML) secured a summer internship with a battery company in Tulsa, USA.
SML and CSEM hosted Professor Edgar Dutra Zanotto (Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil), who delivered the lecture “Glass Myths and Marvels.”
January
Members of the Smart Materials Lab met with Professor Claudia Avalos (NYU) to discuss ongoing research and collaboration opportunities.
A press release on the article “Cryogenically Self-Healing Organic Crystals” (published in Nature Materials) was issued and widely featured across major scientific platforms.
Dr. Panče Naumov was elected Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, recognizing his contributions to science and technology.
Past News
December
Dr. Marieh Al-Handawi (SML) was named among MIT Technology Review Arabia’s Innovators Under 35 (MENA) 2025, recognizing her outstanding contributions and impact.
An article by the Naumov group (SML, CSEM) published in Nature Materials was featured in Chemical & Engineering News.
Professor Panče Naumov organized the symposium Mechanically Responsive Materials: Bridging the Gap Between Polymers and Crystals at Pacifichem 2025 (Honolulu, December 15–20) and delivered three invited talks.
The group’s work on low-temperature self-healing crystals was further highlighted by Nature Materials.
An article by SML and CSEM was featured on the cover of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
Professor Naumov delivered a keynote lecture, “Dynamic Organic Ordered Matter: Actuation, Shape-Memory, and Self-Healing” at IACBS-2025 (Dhanbad, India).
November
Dr. Marieh Al-Handawi received the THE Awards Arab World 2025 (STEM Research Project of the Year) for her bio-inspired work on water harvesting using Tamarix aphylla. The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and supported by CSEM.
SML and CSEM hosted Professor Masaoki Kawasumi (The Ohio State University College of Medicine) for research discussions.
Professor Panče Naumov met with representatives of the UAE–Croatia Business Club to explore collaboration opportunities.
Professor Feihe Huang (Zhejiang University) delivered a distinguished lecture on macro-scale responsive polymers.
October
The UAE Chapter of the American Chemical Society and CSEM co-organized a STEM Hackathon at NYU Abu Dhabi, bringing together students from multiple UAE universities to address real-world challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
SML and CSEM hosted Dr. Ivan Halasz (Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia), who delivered a lecture on mechanochemical transformations using advanced experimental and computational methods.
Professor Naumov delivered a plenary lecture, “Dynamic Organic Crystals” at the Pan-African Conference on Crystallography (PCCr4).
August
Visiting student Fatma Alzamel (King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals) completed her research assistantship with SML and CSEM.
Professor Panče Naumov delivered a plenary lecture at the ACS Fall Meeting 2025.
Dr. Patrick Commins presented an invited talk on ferroelastic self-healing crystals at the ACS Fall Meeting 2025.
July
SML and CSEM hosted a delegation from Zhejiang University, strengthening international collaboration in materials science.
Dr. Marieh Al-Handawi was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Arab World Award 2025 (Research Project of the Year: STEM), placing among the top finalists from nearly 700 submissions.
June
Professor Panče Naumov organized the 10th European Crystallography School (ECS10) in Ohrid, North Macedonia (June 22–27, 2025).
April
Professor Naumov delivered invited seminars at leading German institutions, including Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science, and BAM Berlin, as well as an online lecture for the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre.
Naumov also chaired the Advisory Board Meeting of the Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM).
March
Professor Naumov presented an invited talk at TMS 2025 in Las Vegas.
Members of SML engaged with industry representatives from Emerson to explore collaboration opportunities.
February
Professor Naumov delivered invited and keynote lectures at international meetings in the UAE and China, including the Gulf Workshop on Emerging Advanced Materials and Qilu University of Technology.
He co-hosted a seminar by Professor Christophe Copéret (ETH Zürich).
Professor Naumov delivered a keynote lecture at the UAEU–Italy Bilateral Conference on Advanced Materials.
January
Three SML members presented at the NYUAD Division of Science Annual Research Conference.
Emre Yöruk received the Best Presentation Award (Interdisciplinary Category).
November
Professor Naumov participated in the symposium “Crystal Reflections” (NYU, USA) honoring Professor Mike Ward.
The SML hosted Professor Paul Weiss (UCLA) for discussions and participation in XPANSE.
We hosted representatives from ExxonMobil for discussions on collaboration and facility visits.
CSEM and SML organized a workshop: “Basics and Applications of Powder X-Ray Diffraction Methods” in collaboration with ECS.
The SML hosted visiting scholars Professor Kamel Boukheddaden and Professor Ahmed Slimani for discussions on phase transitions.
The SML hosted Professor Stefan Wuttke for a lecture on reticular nanoscience and collaboration discussions.
October
SML and CSEM hosted Professor Christian Doonan (University of Adelaide) for a seminar on MOF biocomposites.
Our team secured a USD 405,000 research grant (AFOSR, USA) for the project on bio-inspired soft robots based on organic crystals (2025–2027).
Professor Naumov received a seed grant through the LMU–NYU Program for technomimetic crystalline materials.
September
SML and CSEM hosted Professor Travis Holman (Georgetown University) for a seminar on porous molecular solids.
Professor Naumov delivered an invited seminar at the Future Innovation Talk Series.
Multiple high-impact publications from the Naumov Group appeared in leading journals:
Angewandte Chemie
Nature Communications
Journal of the American Chemical Society
August
Our group members delivered plenary and invited lectures at major international conferences:
34th European Crystallographic Meeting
IUPAC CrystEng 2024 / Italian Chemical Society Congress (Milan, Italy)
ACS Fall Meeting (Denver, USA)
July
Professor Naumov was appointed Guest Editor for a themed issue of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C on molecular crystals.
June
Professor Naumov participated in the 2nd School of Supramolecular and Bio-Nanomaterials (Como, Italy), contributing lectures and teaching activities.
Delivered the invited lecture: “From (Dynamic) Organic Crystals to Devices” at the Telluride Science Research Center Workshop (USA).
Moderated an ACS webinar on advanced analytical chemistry, focusing on new insights into Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
Participated in the Gordon Research Conference on Crystal Engineering (Maine, USA).
Graduate student Ibrahim Tahir secured the opportunity to organize the 2026 Gordon Research Seminar on Crystal Engineering.
May
Professor Naumov initiated and facilitated the signing of an MoU between NYU Abu Dhabi and UAE University, strengthening long-term collaboration in materials science.
Professor Panče Naumov was promoted to Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
SML co-hosted Professor Kenneth Harris (Cardiff University, UK) for discussions on ongoing collaborations.
Professor Naumov presented CSEM at NYUAD's Research Institute Day (May 8, 2024).
Undergraduate researcher Pelin Demirci won 1st prize in Basic Sciences at the 11th Undergraduate Research and Innovation Competition (URIC), Abu Dhabi University.
Professor Naumov was appointed to the editorial board of the Proceedings of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
March
Professor Panče Naumov organized the ACS Spring 2024 Global Virtual Symposium on Dynamic Molecular Crystals: Mechanistic Insights and Applications as Smart Materials.
SML hosted visiting researcher Dr. Alexander Angeloski (ANSTO, Australia) to explore collaboration on deuterated dynamic materials.
Undergraduate researcher Pelin Demirci was awarded the prestigious Tamayyuz Research Fellowship.
February
The Smart Materials Lab (SML) and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) supported the organization of the 2024 MEA International Leadership Summit of the American Chemical Society in Abu Dhabi, bringing together 43 ACS members from 23 chapters across the Middle East and Africa for professional development workshops.
SML and CSEM hosted Dr. Nadrah Alawani (Aramco, KSA), who delivered a lecture on advanced characterization techniques for crude oils.
December
Completed an extensive lecture tour across China, delivering 19 lectures at 17 institutions.
Appointed to multiple editorial and advisory boards in materials science journals.
Organized and delivered additional lectures within the Molecular Science Frontier Lecture Series at ICCAS.
CSEM held its first annual workshop (December 15, 2023), bringing together members to present research backgrounds and explore collaborative opportunities.
November
Delivered the prestigious Molecular Science Frontier Lecture at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS): “The Dynamic Future of Molecular Crystals: A New Class of Engineering Materials.”
This lecture series represents one of the highest honors at ICCAS, featuring globally leading scientists.
October
Hosted Professor Hala El-Khozondar (Islamic University of Gaza) as part of the Global Perspectives in Science Lecture Series.
Engaged in discussions with BioMap on potential collaborations in enzyme design and energy-related applications.
Published a landmark paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS): “Harvesting of Aerial Humidity with Natural Hygroscopic Salt Excretions.”
The work provided fundamental insights into bio-inspired water harvesting mechanisms in arid environments.
September
Appointed to the International Advisory Board of Chemistry – An Asian Journal.
Contributed to strengthening international editorial and scientific collaborations across Asia, Europe, and North America.
August
Presented lecture “Dynamic Organic Crystals: A New Class of Engineering Materials” at the ACS Fall Meeting 2023 (San Francisco, USA).
Participated in the ACS International Panel: “ACS Around the World.”
Delivered keynote lecture “Crystal Adaptronics” at the 26th IUCr Congress and General Assembly (Melbourne, Australia).
Represented the Emirates Crystallographic Society and chaired a microsymposium at IUCr.
July
Profile of Dr. Durga Prasad Karothu featured in Angewandte Chemie.
Professor Naumov appointed Associate Editor of the journal Wearable Electronics.
Published research article in Crystal Growth & Design: “Voronoi–Dirichlet Analysis of Elastic and Plastic Molecular Crystals.”
June
Delivered invited lecture “Smart Organic Crystalline Materials” as part of ACS Science Talks (June 8, 2023).
Visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to explore research collaborations.
Presented at the Gordon Research Conference on Artificial Molecular Switches and Motors (June 18–23, 2023).
Participated in the Conference on Physical Organic Chemistry (Holderness School, USA).
Published a research article in Nature Communications: “Collective Motion of MXene–Polymer Hybrids with Organic Crystals Driven by Infrared Light.”
The article was selected among the top 50 materials science papers by Nature Communications editors.
May
SML supported an invited lecture by Professor Nikola Stikov (University of Montreal) on advanced imaging techniques.
Research featured in Interesting Engineering: “Researchers discover new method to collect water from humidity using organic crystals.”
Hosted Dr. Ali Al Aleeli (DEWA) for discussions on research and potential collaboration.
Participated in the 10th Undergraduate Research Competition, Abu Dhabi University.
Organized the First MASA Materials Science Conference (Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, May 25–27, 2023), featuring distinguished speakers including Nobel Laureate Professor Dan Shechtman.
March
Professor Panče Naumov was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), recognizing his contributions to the chemical sciences.
Hosted Professor Lia Addadi (Weizmann Institute of Science), who delivered lectures on crystallization in biological systems and functional organic crystals.
Hosted Professor Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), who presented on dynamic PCP/MOF chemistry.
Delivered the Hans and Marlies Zimmer Award Lecture at the University of Cincinnati: “Organic Crystals – A New Class of Engineering Materials.”
Officially recognized as a recipient of the Hans and Marlies Zimmer International Scholar Award (University of Cincinnati).
Research highlighted by Nature Middle East: “Channeling water along changing crystals.”
Selected among the top 10% of reviewers for Angewandte Chemie.
Appointed to the editorial team of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), representing the MENA region and solid-state chemistry community.
Research featured in Fast Company Middle East, highlighting applications in water harvesting using organic crystals.
Delivered keynote lecture “The Future of Crystals is Dynamic” at IIIC-2023 Conference, DAV University, India.
February
The Smart Materials Lab (SML) and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) supported and co-organized a lecture by Professor Yuri Gogotsi (Drexel University), a leading expert in nanomaterials.
Professor Panče Naumov (NYUAD) and Professor Stephanie Lee (NYU New York) were awarded the 19 Washington Square North Faculty Fellowship in 2023-2024, for the project “Animating Organic Electronics.”
Professor Naumov participated in the International Workshop on Advanced Materials (IWAM RAK), Ras Al Khaimah, UAE (February 19–21, 2023).
Met with representatives from ONR Global (Office of Naval Research) to present CSEM's research activities.
Hosted distinguished speakers Professor Angiolina Comotti and Professor Piero Sozzani (University of Milano-Bicocca), who delivered lectures on porous materials, gas dynamics, and light-driven molecular systems.
December
Professor Panče Naumov assumed the following editorial roles:
Associate Editor, Smart Molecules (2023–present)
Member, International Advisory Board, ChemNanoMat (2023–present)
Naumov delivered an invited online departmental seminar, “The Future of Molecular Crystals is Dynamic”, at the State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, China (December 9, 2022).
Professor Panče Naumov participated in the ACS Regional MENA Conference – International Chapter Leadership Summit (Marrakech, Morocco, December 12–13, 2022). Bottom of Form
November
Dr. Durga Prasad Karothu (Smart Materials Lab) received the Rising Star Award at the 17th Conference of the Asian Crystallographic Association for his work on dynamic molecular crystals.
Postdoctoral researcher Marieh Al-Handawi won the NYUAD Grad Slam Competition for her research on desert plants that harvest atmospheric water via salt excretion.
Professor Panče Naumov delivered two oral presentations at the First Gulf Chemistry Association International Conference (Manama, Bahrain, November 15–17, 2022):
“Direct Analysis of Formation of Asphaltene Scale in Oil Reservoirs”
“Smart Organic Crystals”
Professor Panče Naumov organized the Third Middle-Eastern Materials Science Conference at NYU Abu Dhabi (November 21–23, 2022):
46 invited speakers across 13 sessions
33 poster presentations
Participation from 18 countries, with ~74 percent of speakers based in the Middle East
October
Professor Panče Naumov delivered invited lectures in Italy:
“The Dynamic Future of Molecular Crystals”, University of Milano Bicocca (October 17, 2022)
“The Dynamic Future of Molecular Crystals”, University of Bologna (October 21, 2022)
August
Professor Panče Naumov organized a satellite meeting “Mechanical Properties and Phenomena in Crystals” as part of the 33rd European Crystallographic Meeting (Versailles, France, August 22, 2022, online).
Naumov also presented an oral talk “Dynamic, Adaptive and Self-Healing Crystals,” at the same conference (August 23–27, 2022).
July
Professor Panče Naumov and the Smart Materials Lab organized the 25th Conference on the Chemistry of the Organic Solid State (ICCOSS XXV) in Ohrid, Macedonia.
The conference gathered ~120 participants from 23 countries.
Marking nearly 50 years of the ICCOSS series (first held in 1968), the event included plenary lectures, invited and contributed talks, and two poster sessions.
A pre-conference workshop on powder and neutron diffraction methods was also organized.
Filmon Tsegay (HCT student) successfully completed an internship with the Smart Materials Lab, working with Dr. Ejaz Ahmed on organic ionic plastic crystals for lithium-ion batteries.
The paper “Enhancing Student Interest in a General Chemistry Course via Short, In-class Topical Presentations—A Qualitative Assessment” (Solntsev, Whelan, Naumov) was published in the Journal of Chemical Education (2022, 99, 2743–2746).
Professor Panče Naumov participated as a session leader at the Gordon Research Conference on Crystal Engineering (Newry, Maine, USA).
May
Professor Panče Naumov was appointed Global Network Professor of Chemistry at the Faculty of Arts and Science, New York University.
Professor Panče Naumov hosted a virtual lecture by Wolfgang Betz titled “Introduction and Applications of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)”.
Wegood Awad, a graduate student in the Smart Materials Lab, received both the Best Abstract Award and the Graduate Student Leadership Award for her showcase presentation.
A press release highlighting the work “Organic Crystals as Energy Converters for Emerging Technologies” (Smart Materials Lab) was widely covered in regional and international media, including Khaleej Times, Zawya, EurekAlert, Phys.org, and others.
Capstone student Seonyeong Cho (Smart Materials Lab) won third place in Basic Sciences at the 9th UAE Undergraduate Research Competition (Abu Dhabi University, virtual).
April
Professor Panče Naumov delivered an invited talk, “Opportunities for X-ray Diffraction Using Synchrotron Radiation for Materials Science Research”, at the SESAME UAE Workshop, NYU Abu Dhabi (April 13, 2022, online).
March
Professor Panče Naumov was appointed Associate Editor of the journal Smart Molecules (Wiley-VCH).
Professor Panče Naumov was elected a member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
January – February
Professor Panče Naumov was appointed a member of the editorial board of Chemistry – A European Journal, a leading publication representing chemical research across Europe and published by 16 European chemical societies.
Professor Panče Naumov was recognized among the top 10 percent of reviewers for Angewandte Chemie, based on the number of completed referee reports. The journal received over 18,000 reports from nearly 7,000 reviewers and published 3,278 articles in 2021.
Professor Panče Naumov delivered an invited lecture titled “Smart Organic Crystalline Materials” at the 13th Annual International Workshop on Advanced Materials (IWAM 2022), held at the Waldorf Astoria, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE (February 20–22, 2022). He presented in a session alongside Nobel Laureates Professor Ben Feringa and Professor Andre Geim.
The article “Relating Excited States to the Dynamics of Macroscopic Strain in Photoresponsive Crystals” by Ejaz Ahmed, Stanislav Chizhik, Anatoly Sidelnikov, Elena Boldyreva, and Panče Naumov was published in Inorganic Chemistry (2022, 61, 3573–3585) and featured on the journal cover.
