Royal Society of Chemistry Awards Fellow Status to NJIT's Kevin Belfield
Kevin Belfield, dean of NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts, has been named fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
RSC is the world’s oldest professional society of chemists, founded in 1841, and has grown to over 54,000 members around the world. The society awards fellow status to distinguished chemists that have served a minimum of five years in a senior position and have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the chemical sciences.
“It’s humbling to even be considered for this recognition, yet alone receive it, particularly considering the distinguished chemists and Nobel Laureates that currently are fellows,” said Belfield. “These include David MacMillan, M. Stanley Whittingham and Sir Gregory Winter, winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2021, 2019 and 2018, respectively. … It’s a thrill to be in such company.”
Highlighting a decorated research career spanning more than 30 years, Belfield is perhaps most noted as a trailblazer in the field of photochemistry — specifically creating two-photon (light-activated) processes to nondestructively image and cause optical changes in three dimensions within materials. His pioneering work has led to breakthroughs in the development of rewritable 3D optical data storage, as well as two-photon absorbing materials that are now commonly used in microfabrication and 3D printing today.
Belfield is also widely recognized in his field for his research developing novel fluorescence contrast agents, useful in bioimaging for tracking cancer progression and wound healing. Such work is also now being harnessed to study processes associated with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Belfield has published over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings that have been cited over 7,500 times.
He holds 15 patents and leads the Belfield Research Group, which is currently developing everything from light-activated cancer-fighting drugs, to probes for labeling biological samples and for advanced bioimaging, to novel lightweight high-strength polymers and plastics that can be used as artificial joints and cardiovascular implants, among other medical applications.
Belfield arrived at NJIT as CSLA Dean and Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science in 2014, and has since assumed a leading role in student mentorship and education in chemistry, launching a number of vital initiatives and programs at the college including New Jersey’s first Forensic Science degree program and the Professional Science Masters in Cell and Gene Therapy Sciences within the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science since 2018.
The latest honor from RSC follows several significant career achievements and honors, including being inducted into the National Commission of Cooperative Education Co-op Hall of Fame (2010), being elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013) and being named Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2019).
Belfield is currently involved in research funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Education.
