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Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry;
Director, Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center
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CANCELED: THIS EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED
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The inaugural Subra Suresh Distinguished Lecture will be presented on April 30, 2025 by Dr. Frances Arnold, the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. The Subra Suresh Distinguished Lecture is given by leaders in the broad intellectual domain of multidisciplinary science and engineering, and Dr. Arnold’s work epitomizes the brilliance of what can be accomplished in this domain. Dr. Arnold’s contributions span engineering, chemistry, biology, and medicine, and she was chosen by the Selection Committee for her deep and broad contributions to the field of directed protein evolution. Arnold pioneered directed protein evolution and has used those methods for applications in alternative energy, chemicals, and medicine.
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Not satisfied with nature’s vast catalyst repertoire, we want to create new protein catalysts and expand the space of genetically encoded enzyme functions. I will describe how we can use the most powerful biological design process, evolution, to optimize existing enzymes and invent new ones, thereby circumventing our profound ignorance of how sequence encodes function. Extending the capabilities and uncovering the mechanisms of these newly-evolved enzymes provide a basis for discovering biocatalysts for increasingly challenging reactions. These capabilities increase the scope of molecules and materials we can build using synthetic biology and move us closer to a sustainable world where chemical synthesis can be fully programmed in DNA.
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Frances Arnold is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, where she has been on the faculty since 1986. She is the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2018). Arnold pioneered directed protein evolution and has used those methods for applications in alternative energy, chemicals, and medicine. Arnold received the Charles Stark Draper Prize of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2011, the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama in 2013, and the Millennium Technology Prize in 2016; she has been elected to all three US National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Engineering. Arnold was appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 2025 and recently received the Portrait of a Nation Award at the National Portrait Gallery. Arnold co-founded three companies in sustainable chemistry and renewable energy (Gevo, Provivi, Aralez Bio) and serves on several public and private company boards. She earned a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
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The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Subra Suresh Distinguished Lecture. Dr. Subra Suresh is a globally recognized scholar and leader who has had a long history of scientific collaborations and interactions with the faculty and students at Caltech, as well as a distinguished research career that accompanies his achievements in service to the United States as Director of the National Science Foundation and as a world leader in higher education. In his honor, this biennial lecture series has been made possible through a permanent endowment provided by an anonymous donor.
The Subra Suresh Distinguished Lecture is given by leaders in the broad intellectual domain of multidisciplinary science and engineering. The lectureship is organized at least once every two years, with the inaugural lecture and prize event to be held in 2025. The lectureship is administered in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) on behalf of the entire Caltech community.
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Dr. Suresh’s role in higher education leadership is extensive. Suresh is currently the President of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he is also the inaugural Distinguished University Professor. He is the former Vannevar Bush Professor and former Dean of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as the former President of Carnegie Mellon University.
He was nominated by the President of the United States and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2010. During his tenure as NSF Director, Professor Suresh launched a number of new programs including the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps), Global Research Council, Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide, and Science Across Virtual Institutes.
Dr. Suresh has many longstanding ties to Caltech. He was the Clark B. Millikan Visiting Professor at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT) from 1999 to 2000, and the Gordon Moore Scholar in 2004. He has also delivered several named lectures at Caltech during the past decade.
Dr. Suresh has been elected to all three branches of the U.S. National Academies: of Sciences, of Engineering, and of Medicine; to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and to the National Academy of Inventors. He has also been elected a foreign member of science and engineering academies in China, France, Germany, India, Singapore, Spain and Sweden, and awarded 18 honorary doctorate degrees from institutions in China, Greece, India, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States. His many honors include the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honors, from the President of India; the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute; the European Materials Medal from the Federation of European Materials Societies; and a number of other prestigious medals and accolades from major professional societies and institutions from around the world.
Dr. Suresh is an independent director of the boards of HP Inc., Palo Alto, CA, and the Singapore Exchange. He also serves on the boards of Singapore’s National Research Foundation and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and as a member of the Future Economy Council chaired by the Finance Minister of Singapore.
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A call for nominations will occur in 2021.