Robert Langer is the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at MIT. Author of over 600 article, 350 patents, and 12 books, he has received numerous awards for his inventions of novel polymers and medical applications which include the use of polymers as a scaffolding for growing tissue. He is the only active member of all three U.S. National academies: the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

In addition to Langer's revolutionary contributions to materials science, medical science and chemical engineering, he is also a highly successful businessman having founded or co-founded over 15 biotechnology companies.

In addition to consulting for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, he is a member of the advisory boards of two federal agencies. Clearly Langer is able to both identify new technological and scientific opportunities and to communicate that vision to a broad spectrum of
engineers, businessmen and physicians.

The Arnold O. Beckman Lectures on Science and Innovation are designed to emphasize the benefits of basic research as reflected in the development of new technology for the general economic benefit to society. The first lecture in the series was given by Dr. Beckman in 1982. Subsequent lecturers were Zvi Griliches, Clement Markert, Edwin Land, Charles Townes, Gordon Moore, Ralph Gomery, Roy Vagelos, William Ouchi, Carver Mead, Mary Lowe Good, Edwin Stear, Pierre-Gille de Gennes, William T. Rutter, Peter C. Doherty, and Bert Sakmann.

Dr. Langer's visit is supported by the departments of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Veterinary Biosciences, the Materials
Chemistry Program, Materials Research Laboratory, Medical Scholars Program, Center for Advanced Study, Graduate College and Research Board.

Robert Langer received his training in the early 1970's at the outset of the biotechnology revolution. In the laboratory of Dr. Judah Folkman at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston, Langer pioneered the encapsulation of protein therapeutics in polymer matrices for controlled-
release drug delivery. Not only did Dr. Langer prove the feasibility of this idea, but he went on to become the founder of an entire field of research based on controlled-release of drugs from devices made of biodegradable polymers.

Dr. Langer was one of the first researchers to apply engineering principles to medical problems. He has been a primary proponent of an engineering
design approach to generating new biomaterials in which a set of necessary properties are first defined for a particular biomedical application. Then a material (usually a polymer) that meets those criteria is envisioned, and the new material is synthesized and subsequently tested for the intended application.

Most recently Langer was part of a team which developed a new microchip for the controlled release of chemicals reported in the January 28, 1999 issue of Nature. This is the first device of its kind enabling the storage of one or more compounds inside a microchip in any form (solid, liquid or gel), with the release of the compounds achieved on demand, and with no moving parts.