Robert Langer, ScD
(Co-founder) Institute Professor, MIT
Dr. Langer is one of 10 Institute professors at MIT. He has done pioneering work in the areas of biomaterials, drug delivery, and bioengineering, most recently applying nanotechnology to the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics. Dr. Langer has written more than 1,500 articles and has more than 1,400 issued or pending patents. His patents have been licensed or sublicensed to more than 400 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies.
Dr. Langer founded more than 40 successful companies, including Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), Frequency Therapeutics, Moderna, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, PureTech, Seer Bio, and Transform Pharmaceuticals.
He is one of very few people ever elected to all three US National Academies and the youngest (at age 43) to receive this distinction. In 2007, he was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest civilian honor the country bestows. In 2011, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, making him one of only 3 living people to have received both this and the National medal of science.
Dr. Langer received his BS from Cornell University and his ScD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in chemical engineering.