Three Garner $1 Million Prizes for Materials Science

Robert S. Langer, Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; C. N. R. Rao, Linus Pauling Research Professor and honorary president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, in Banglaore, India; and George M. Whitesides, a professor in the department of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, will each receive a $1 million Dan David Prize for the Future Time Dimension. These awards recognize achievements in materials science and will be officially given out at ceremonies on May 23 at Tel Aviv University, in Israel.

Langer is a pioneer in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering. He has created numerous novel biomaterials, such as shape-memory polymers and materials with switchable surfaces, aerosols, and microchips. His work has also led to the development of synthetic polymers to deliver cells to form specific tissue structures.

Rao's work on transition-metal oxides has led to a basic understanding of the relationship between the properties of materials and their structural chemistry. In addition to his positions at the Nehru Centre, Rao is a distinguished visiting professor of materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Purdue University.

Whitesides' exploration of the intersection between molecular-scale synthesis and surface science has led to work on self-assembly monolayers. This research has also prompted developments in soft lithography, microfluidics, and the fabrication of microanalytical systems.