Dr. Bob Langer is one of nine Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MIT’s highest faculty honor. His pioneering work, which has benefited millions worldwide, includes isolating the first angiogenesis inhibitors (with Dr. Judah Folkman) leading to new treatments for cancer and blindness. He also created the first nanoparticles and microparticles for delivering large molecules, including nucleic acids, and helped establish the field of tissue engineering which enabled artificial skin for burn victims and organ-on-a-chip technology. Despite initial skepticism—his first nine grants were rejected, and no engineering department would hire him—Langer has authored more than 1,600 papers, cited more than 444,000 times. With an h-index of 331, Langer is the most cited engineer in history. His patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies, and he has co-founded more than 40 ventures, including Moderna.
Langer chaired the FDA’s Science Board from 1999–2002 and has received over 220 awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (one of only three living individuals to receive both). His accolades include the Draper Prize (considered engineering’s Nobel Prize), Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Albany Medical Center Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Kyoto Prize, Wolf Prize in Chemistry, Millennium Technology Prize, and the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. He holds 44 honorary doctorates from institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Oxford, and has been elected to the National Academies of Medicine, Engineering, and Sciences, as well as the National Academy of Inventors.