Jennifer Lewis

Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Wyss Institute, Harvard University

DATE: Monday, November 3, 2025
TIME: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET, reception to follow
LOCATION: MIT Building 10 Room 250

ABOUT THE LECTURE

The ability to pattern soft and living matter in three dimensions is of critical importance for several emerging applications. In this talk, Lewis will begin by describing the design of printable materials for direct and embedded 3D printing. She will then introduce representative functional, structural, and biological inks as well as sophisticated printhead designs for fabricating soft materials ranging from soft electronics to robotic matter. Finally, Lewis will highlight our efforts to create vascularized human tissues via a tight integration of stem cell biology, organoid building blocks, and bioprinting.

ABOUT JENNIFER LEWIS

Jennifer Lewis is the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Her research focuses on the digital manufacturing of functional, structural, and biological materials. Multiple startups are commercializing technology from her lab ranging from 3D printed electronics to kidney therapeutics. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lewis has received numerous awards for her work, including the NAS James Prize for Science and Technology Integration.

ABOUT MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS

Mildred "Millie" Dresselhaus was a beloved MIT professor whose research helped unlock the mysteries of carbon, the most fundamental of organic elements—earning her the nickname “queen of carbon science.” She is well-known for her work with graphene, fullerenes (also known as "buckyballs"), bismuth nanowires, and low dimensional thermoelectricity. She developed the concept of the "nanotube," a single-layer sheet of carbon atoms that is incredibly thin and yet incredibly strong.

With appointments in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Dresselhaus was a member of the MIT faculty for 50 years. In 1985 she was honored with the title of Institute Professor, an esteemed position held by no more than 12 MIT professors at one time. A winner of numerous awards, Dresselhaus was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. She was inducted into the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.

Dresselhaus led MIT and her field not only through her research and teaching, but with her longstanding commitment to promoting gender equity in science and engineering and a dedication to mentorship and teaching. She received a Carnegie Foundation grant in 1973 to support her efforts to encourage women to enter traditionally male dominated fields of science and engineering.

In honor of Millie, MIT.nano hosts the Mildred S. Dresselhaus Lecture annually in November, the month of Millie's birthday. The event recognizes a significant figure in science and engineering from anywhere in the world whose leadership and impact echo Millie’s life, accomplishments, and values.