molecular engineering & sciences...

Molecular Engineering & Sciences

SYMPOSIUMSeptember 18, 2012

Greetings, and welcome to the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Symposium.

We are thrilled to launch the Molecular Engineering & Sciences (MolES) Institute and Building with this research symposium exploring the Institute’s two focus areas: Biotechnology and Clean Technology. In the future, molecular engineering and science will have a profound impact in these two areas, reshaping the economy, education, and our very relationship with the physical world. The UW is positioned at the leading edge of this revolution with the new MolES Institute.

The MolES Symposium brings together a remarkable group of researchers from academia and industry who are leading the field of molecular engineering and sciences. From nano-sized semiconductor wires for photovoltaic devices to personalized drug therapies that target tumors; from high-tech surface coatings for lithium ion batteries to designer proteins – their work is at the forefront of molecular design and engineering. Together, we have a great opportunity to discuss the challenges, weigh the opportunities, and envision the future of this emerging field.

This symposium is also a chance to showcase our new building. The state-of-the-art, 90,300-square-foot structure in the center of campus is at the heart of our interdisciplinary approach. Innovative shared research spaces encourage new connections and collaborative approaches. And just like the clean technologies being developed in its labs, the building has cutting-edge green features that reduce energy consumption and maximize natural resources.

The MolES Institute is one of the first programs of its kind in the country, and is at the forefront of the next revolution in engineering. Not only does molecular engineering provide new ways to address some of our greatest environmental and medical challenges, it also offers a profoundly new approach to science and engineering that is poised to transform the way we perform research and teaching.

We hope you will discover something new and exciting about the field of molecular engineering and its promise for solving some of the most pressing problems we face today.

Patrick S. Stayton Director, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute

WELCOME to the MOLECULAR ENGINEERING & SCIENCES SYMPOSIUM

www.MolES.washington.edu/symposium | 1

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MOLECULAR ENGINEERING & SCIENCES SYMPOSIUM Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Session 1: Clean Technology | Johnson Hall - Room 102 Moderator: Daniel Gamelin, Harry and Catherine Jaynne Boand Endowed Professor of Chemistry

9:00 - 9:15am Welcome & Introduction Pat Stayton, Director, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, University of Washington

9:15 - 10:00am Nanowire Building Blocks: From Flux Line Pinning to Artificial Photosynthesis Peidong Yang, S.K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Professor of Energy, University of California, Berkeley

10:00 - 10:30am Engineering New Molecules for Photovoltaic Applications Christine Luscombe, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, University of Washington

10:30 - 10:45am Break

10:45 - 11:30am Electrified Vehicles for Personal Transportation, the Role of Surface Coatings, and the Use of Thin Films for Electrode Characterization Mark Verbrugge, Research & Development, General Motors

11:30 - 12:00pm Picturing Solar Cells David Ginger, Professor and Raymon E. and Rosellen M. Lawton Distinguished Scholar in Chemistry, University of Washington

Panel Session and Lunch | Mary Gates Commons - Room 135

12:00 - 1:30pm MolES & Industry Panel Session & Lunch Welcome by Michael Young, President, University of Washington Chaired by Matt O’Donnell, Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering, University of Washington

With panelists Eric Dobmeier, Seattle Genetics Hugh Hillhouse, Chemical Engineering, University of Washington Eric “Rick” Luebbe, EnerG2 Suzie Pun, Bioengineering, University of Washington Mark Verbrugge, General Motors Research & Development

Session 2: Biotechnology | Johnson Hall - Room 102 Moderator: François Baneyx, Charles W.H. Matthaei Professor of Chemical Engineering

1:45 - 2:30pm Harnessing Molecular Engineering and Sciences for Impact Carol Dahl, Executive Director,The Lemelson Foundation

2:30 - 3:00pm SPEEDy Delivery: Engineering Materials that Provide Specific, Programmable, Efficient, and Effective Drug Delivery Suzie Pun, Robert F. Rushmer Associate Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington

3:00 - 3:15pm Break

3:15 - 4:00pm Advanced Fuels from Advanced Plants Jay Keasling, The Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

4:00 - 4:30pm Protein Design David Baker, Professor, Biochemistry, University of Washington

4:30pm Concluding Remarks

Open House | MolES Building

4:30 - 6:00pm Reception and Building Tour

www.MolES.washington.edu/symposium | 2 Molecular Engineering & Sciences Symposium | 3

David BakerProfessor of Biochemistry, University of Washington

David Baker received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He received young investigator awards from the National Science Foundation, the Beckman Foundation, and the Packard Foundation. His other honors include the Irving Sigal Award from the Protein Society and the Overton Prize from the International Society of Computational Biology. He is a recipient of the Feynman Prize from the Foresight Institute,

the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Sackler Prize in Biophysics, and the 2012 Centenary Award from the Biochemical Society. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences.

David’s research is focused on determining the structures of naturally occurring proteins and designing new proteins with new structures and functions. His group has designed potent influenza virus inhibitors and HIV vaccine candidates, and is broadly interested in the design of new therapeutics. His group is also exploring new routes to involving the public in biomedical discovery and therapeutic design through the Rosetta@home distributed computing project and the Foldit online protein folding and design game.

SPEAkER BIOGRAPHIES

Carol DahlExecutive Director, The Lemelson Foundation

Carol Dahl has led The Lemelson Foundation in its support of inventors and invention-based enterprises to improve lives, both in the U.S. and in developing countries, since 2011. Prior to joining the foundation, Carol worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in various roles, including founding director of the Global Health Discovery Program. Previously, Carol served as vice president for Strategic Partnerships at Biospect Inc. (now

Pathworks Diagnostics). From 1990 to 2001, Carol worked at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in several capacities, including founding director of the Office of Technology and Industrial Relations at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and program director at the National Center for Human Genome Research. During that time she also supported the development of the biotechnology portfolio of the Advanced Technology Program of NIST and partnerships with NASA and DARPA. Carol received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received postdoctoral training at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the Immunobiology Research Center at the University of Minnesota, and served on the faculty of the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the University of Pittsburgh.

Eric DobmeierChief Operating Officer, Seattle Genetics

Eric Dobmeier joined Seattle Genetics in March 2002. He manages the company’s business development, legal, corporate communications, process sciences, technical operations and project management groups. While at Seattle Genetics, he has led negotiation and completion of multiple corporate alliances, including the ex-U.S./Canada development and commercialization agreement with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company

for brentuximab vedotin and ten ADC collaborations with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He has also participated in raising more than $600 million in equity financing for Seattle Genetics. Prior to joining the company, Eric was with the law firms of Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, where he represented technology companies in connection with public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions and corporate partnering transactions.

Eric received a law degree from University of California, Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.


David S. GingerProfessor and Raymon E. and Rosellen M. Lawton Distinguished Scholar in Chemistry, University of Washington

David Ginger earned his Ph.D. in physics in the optoelectronics group at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2001. After a joint NIH and DuPont postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University, he joined the faculty at the University of Washington where he is currently professor and Lawton Distinguished Scholar in Chemistry and adjunct professor of physics. His research centers on the physical chemistry of conjugated polymers and

nanostructured materials with applications in optoelectronics - especially thin film solar cells - and sensing.

David has been named a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, and has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 2008 ACS Unilever Award in Colloid and Surfactant Science, and a Research Corporation Scialog Fellowship in solar energy conversion. He is the 2012 winner of the Burton Medal of the Microscopy Society of America.

Hugh HillhouseRehnberg Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington

Hugh Hillhouse started his faculty career in the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University in 2002 after completing an NSF postdoctoral fellowship at the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience in the Netherlands. His research program focused on nanostructured thin films, semiconductor nanocrystals, and thin film solar cells. After promotion, he spent a sabbatical at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory working with Art Nozik and Matt Beard on

quantum dot solar cells. Hugh joined the University of Washington in 2010 as the Rehnberg Chair Professor. He has received the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, the Early Career Research Excellence Award from Purdue, the Shreve Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Sharma Medal from the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Research Corporation Scialog Fellowship, and was honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Clemson University. He is on the editorial advisory board for Chemistry of Materials and the scientific advisory board for a thin film solar cell company.

Hugh’s research lies at the nexus of nanomaterials and solar energy conversion. Currently, he and his group are focused on developing novel device architectures and solution-processed solar cells from Earth-abundant resources.

Jay D KeaslingThe Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering, University of California, BerkeleyAssociate Laboratory Director for Biosciences, Lawrence Berkeley National LabCEO, Joint BioEnergy Institute

Jay Keasling joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor in 1992, where he is currently the Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering. Jay is also a professor of bioengineering at Berkeley, a senior faculty scientist and associate laboratory director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute.

He is considered one of the foremost authorities in synthetic biology, especially in the field of metabolic engineering, and his research focuses on engineering microorganisms for environmentally friendly synthesis of small molecules or degradation of environmental contaminants. Jay’s laboratory has engineered bacteria and yeast to produce polymers, a precursor to the anti-malarial drug artemisinin, advanced biofuels, and soil microorganisms to accumulate uranium and to degrade nerve agents. Jay studied chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, where he received his M.S. and Ph.D.

Eric “Rick” LuebbeChief Executive Officer, EnerG2

With extensive direct leadership, executive management and enterprise sales experience, Rick Luebbe leads EnerG2 as CEO and co-founder. Rick brings start-up experience to the team as the co-founder and CEO of Hubspan, one of the Web’s lasting business-to-business integrators where he raised the company’s first two rounds of funding and developed and closed its flagship customer. As a management consultant with Booz Allen,

Rick specialized in manufacturing efficiency developing and implementing lean manufacturing practices for commercial aircraft production. Beginning his career as an Army aviation officer, he led an aeroscout platoon in Desert Storm where he was awarded the Bronze Star and Air Medal (2nd award) in recognition for performance in combat operations against the Iraqi Republican Guard. Rick later flew Apaches as commander of an Attack Helicopter Company. Rick earned a B.A. in biology from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.


Christine LuscombeAssociate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Washington

Christine Luscombe was born and grew up in Kobe, Japan. After receiving her first degree in natural sciences (chemistry) at Trinity College, University of Cambridge in the UK, she joined Professor Andrew Holmes’ and Dr. Wilhelm Huck’s groups in the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis at the University of Cambridge. In 2004, she became a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory for Jean M. J. Fréchet at the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley.

Christine joined the University of Washington as an assistant professor of materials science and engineering in 2006. Her research ranges from small molecule to polymer synthesis and is directed towards the design, synthesis, and applications of functional macromolecules. Current topics of research include semiconductor polymer synthesis for photovoltaic applications.

She has received the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, DARPA Young Faculty Award, UW CoE Junior Faculty Innovator Award, as well as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. She was recently named the Sigma-Aldrich Lecturer by IUPAC and is on the editorial board for Macromolecules and ACS Macro Letters.

Suzie H. PunRobert F. Rushmer Associate Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington

Suzie Pun received her chemical engineering Ph.D. degree in 2000 from the California Institute of Technology. She then worked as a senior scientist at Insert Therapeutics for 3 years before joining the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. She is currently the Robert F. Rushmer Associate Professor of Bioengineering and a member of the Center for Intracellular Delivery of Biologics at UW.

Suzie’s research focuses on drug and gene delivery systems by developing materials that overcome transport limitations in tissues and within cells. Her lab integrates techniques from engineering, chemistry, and cell biology to achieve this goal. For this work, she was recognized with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2006. Other awards include the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award, MIT Technology Review’s TR100 “Top 100 Young Innovators,” and the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Young Investigator Award.

Mark VerbruggeDirector, Chemical & Materials Systems Laboratory, General Motors Research & Development

Mark Verbrugge joined GM Research Labs in 1986 after receiving a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Mark has published and patented work in electroanalytical methods, polymer electrolytes, advanced batteries and supercapacitors, fuel cells, high-temperature air-to-fuel-ratio sensors, surface coatings, compound semiconductors, and various manufacturing processes related to automotive

applications of structural materials. Mark’s research efforts resulted in his receiving the Norman Hackerman Young Author Award, the Energy Technology Award from the Electrochemical Society, and several GM internal awards. In 2006, Mark received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Council for Automotive Research. After receiving his M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined GM’s Advanced Technology Vehicles (ATV) as chief engineer for Energy Management Systems. In 2002, Mark was named director of the GM Research, Materials and Processes Lab. Mark is a board member of the United States Automotive Materials Partnership and the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, and he serves as the GM technical director for HRL Laboratories, LLC, owned by GM, Boeing, and Raytheon.

Peidong YangProfessor of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Peidong Yang received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1997, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He began his faculty appointment in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 where he is the S. K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Chair Professor in Energy. He was recently elected as MRS Fellow, and the member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to his faculty appointments, Peidong is the deputy director for the Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems, Berkeley, and faculty scientist in the Materials Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Peidong is the first chairperson for the nanoscience division of the American Chemical Society, and serves as associate editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society. His research focuses on the synthesis of new classes of materials and nanostructures, with an emphasis on developing new synthetic approaches and to enable control of material composition, micro/nano-structure, property and functionality.

His honors include an Alfred P. Sloan research fellowship, MIT Technology Review’s TR100, a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, the ExxonMobil Solid State Chemistry fellowship, Dupont Young Professorship, MRS Outstanding Young Investigator Award, Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics, MRS Medal, Baekeland Medal and A.T. Waterman Award.


www.MolES.washington.edu/symposium

Special thanks to the departments & colleges at the University of Washington that made this event possible:

COLLEGE Of EnGInEERInG

COLLEGE Of ARTS & SCIEnCES

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

DEPARTMEnT Of CHEMISTRy

DEPARTMEnT Of MATERIALS SCIEnCE & EnGInEERInG

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