Joanna Aizenberg
Joanna Aizenberg pursues a broad range of research interests that include biomineralization, biomimetics, self-assembly, crystal engineering, surface chemistry, nanofabrication, biomaterials, biomechanics and biooptics.
She received the B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1981, the M.S. degree in Physical Chemistry in 1984 from Moscow State University, and the Ph.D. degree in Structural Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1996. She then went to Harvard University where she did postdoctoral research with George Whitesides on micro/nanofabrication and near-field optics.
In 1998 Aizenberg joined Bell Labs as a member of the Technical Staff where she has made several pioneering contributions including developing new biomimetic approaches for the synthesis of ordered mineral films with highly controlled shapes and orientations, and discovering unique optical systems formed by organisms (microlenses and optical fibers) that outshine technological analogs, and characterized the associated organic molecules. In 2007 Aizenberg joined the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Professor Aizenberg's research is aimed at understanding some of the basic principles of biomineralization and the economy with which biology solves complex problems in the design of functional inorganic materials. She then uses biological principles as guidance in developing new, bio-inspired synthetic routes and nanofabrication strategies that would lead to advanced materials and devices. Aizenberg is one of the pioneers of this rapidly developing field of biomimetic inorganic materials synthesis.
"In the course of evolution, Nature has developed strategies that endow biological processes with exquisite selectivity and specificity, and produce superior materials and structures," says Aizenberg. "This is wonderfully exemplified in the realm of inorganic materials formation by organisms, so-called 'biomineralization'. Learning from and mastering Nature's concepts not only satisfies humankind's insatiable curiosity for understanding the world around us, but also promises to drive a paradigm shift in modern materials science and technology."
Awards
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2019 | Elected to the National Academy of Engineering | |
2019 | Elected to the National Academy of Sciences | |
2019 | Named Lectureships: William Mong Distinguished Lectureship, University of Hong Kong; 41st Two Genes Memorial Lectureship, Northwestern University; Douglas G. Hill Memorial Lectureship, Duke University; Sukant Tripathy Endowed Lectureship, UMass, Lowell | |
2018 | Debye Visiting Chair 2018, Utrecht University, The Netherlands | |
2018 | The Seidman Family Lectureship, Tel-Aviv University, Israel | |
2017 | Elected External Member of the Max Planck Society | |
2017 | MRS Medal | |
2017 | Kavli Innovations in Chemistry Leader Award, ACS | |
2017 | Hinshelwood Lecturer 2017, University of Oxford, UK | |
2017 | Havinga Medal, Havinga Foundation of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry of Leiden University, The Netherlands | |
2016 | Distinguished Professor Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands | |
2016 | Elected into the American Philosophical Society | |
2016 | Honorary Doctorate and Professorship, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands | |
2016 | Named Lectureships: Arthur Newell Talbot Distinguished Lectureship, UIUC; Marple Schweitzer Lectureship, Northwestern University; Closs Lectureship, University of Chicago | |
2015 | George Ledlie Prize for most valuable contribution to science, Harvard University | |
2014 | Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, April 2014 | |
2014 | Materials Research Society Fellow, February 2014 | |
2014 | Alexander M. Cruickshank Award Lectureship, Biointerface Science Gordon Research Conference, June 2014 | |
2013 | R&D 100 Award for Top Technology and Innovation in 2013 | |
2013 | Fellow of the American Physical Society, March 2013 | |
2013 | Hood Fellowship, University of Auckland, NZ, February 2013 | |
2012 | R&D 100 Award for Top Technology and Innovation in 2012 | |
2012 | Karcher & Barton distinguished lectureship, U Oklahoma, November 2012 | |
2012 | Franklin Award Lectureship, RiceUniversity, January 2012 | |
2011 | Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award Lectureship, University of Zurich, October 2011 | |
2011 | The 2011 Sproull Lecturer, Cornell University | |
2011 | Dow Foundation Distinguished Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara | |
2011 | WISEST Visiting Scholar, University of Illinois - Chicago | |
2011 | Etter Memorial Lectureship in Chemistry, University of Minnesota, | |
2011 | The Woodward Lecturer in the Chemical Sciences, Harvard University | |
2011 | Distinguished Herbert Morawetz Lectureship, NYU-Poly | |
2010 | W. J. Chute Distinguished Lectureship in Chemistry, Dalhousie University | |
2010 | Molecular Foundry Distinguished Lectureship, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Berkeley | |
2010 | The Eastman Chemical Company Award Lectureship, Goodyear Polymer Center, University of Akron | |
2010 | Distinguished Lectureship at the Bio-X "Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences" series at Stanford University | |
2010 | Jerome B. Cohen Distinguished Lectureship, Northwestern University | |
2010 | Distinguished Naff Lectureship, University of Kentucky | |
2008 | Ronald Breslow Award for the Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry, ACS | |
2007 | Industrial Innovation Award, American Chemical Society | |
2006 | Outstanding Women Scientists Award, Indiana University | |
2005 | Lucent Chairman’s Award | |
2005 | Pedersen Award Lecture, DuPont | |
2004 | ACS PROGRESS Lectureship Award, University of Wisconsin at Madison | |
2003 | Distinguished Women Scientists Lectureship, University of Texas at Austin | |
2001 | New Investigator Award in Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues | |
1999 | Arthur K. Doolittle Award of the American Chemical Society (ACS) | |
1995 | Award of the Max-Planck Society in Biology and Materials Science, Germany |
Affiliations
- Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science in the
School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- Faculty Associate, Harvard University Center for the Environment
- Participant, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
- Participant, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
- Faculty Affiliate, BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard
CV
Positions & Employment
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
- 2007-Present: Faculty Member
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
- 1998-2007: Researcher, Nanotechnology Research Department
Harvard University, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- 1996-1998: Postdoctoral Associate with Professor George M. Whitesides
Brookhaven National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source
- 1993-1995: Visiting Scientist
Moscow Institute of Geology, Moscow, USSR
- 1986-1991: Researcher
Institute of Mining and Raw Materials, Moscow, USSR
- 1984-1985: Chemist
Education
- B.S., 1981, Chemistry, Moscow State University
- M.S., 1984, Physical Chemistry, Moscow State University
- Ph.D., 1996, Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science
Other Experience
- Director of Science Programs, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 2010-2013
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Materials
Research Society (MRS)
- Member of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the
National Academies - Member of the Advisory Board of Langmuir