A native of
Sheridan Montana, Swager earned his BS in Chemistry from
Montana State University, received a PhD from the
California Institute of Technology working with
Robert H. Grubbs, and performed postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under
Mark S. Wrighton. He began as an assistant professor at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and returned to MIT in 1996 as a Full Professor. Swager is best known for advancing new chemical sensing concepts based on
molecular electronic principles. He introduced the concepts of charge and energy transport through
molecular and
nanowires as a method to create amplified signals to chemical events. These methods gave rise to the sensitive explosive sensors that have been commercialized under the trade name Fido. He demonstrated the integration of
molecular recognition into
chemiresistive sensors, first with conducting polymers and later with carbon nanotubes, and these methods were first commercialized by CSense. He is also the cofounder of PolyJoule Inc. that produces organic batteries for stationary energy storage, and founded Xibus Systems that is developing improved methods for pathogenic bacteria detection in food production. Swager also has pioneering contributions to the areas of
liquid crystals demonstrating how novel molecular shapes can be used to introduce
intermolecular correlations in structures and alignment. In the area of high strength materials, by creating interlocking structures with enhanced ductility and strength. In carbon nanomaterials he has developed methods for functionalizing and/or dispersing
graphenes and
carbon nanotubes. Also he has designed novel
radical materials in collaboration with
Robert G. Griffin (MIT) for
dynamic nuclear polarization to enhance the signal to noise ratio in
NMR experiments. A number of these enhancement agents are commercially available from DyNuPol Corp. Swager has published more than 500 peer reviewed manuscripts and has more than 100 issued patents. As of January 2024, he has a Hirsch index of 120. == Notable awards ==