A professor at Northwestern University, USA, named Chad Mirkin has been honoured with the 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for his groundbreaking work on spherical nucleic acids. Mirkin’s work has advanced nanomedicine, diagnostics and biomedical research. He is well-known for the development of dip-pen nanolithography, which has been recognised as one of the world’s most significant discoveries. The Kavli Prize is a biennial award, which recognises the outstanding efforts and achievements of scientists in the fields of nanoscience, astrophysics and neuroscience. Mirkin, along with eight other awardees, will receive the award on September 3 at an event held in Norway. Mirkin has been honoured with numerous other awards for his research including the Perkin Medal and the William H Nichols Medal Award.