May 11, 2015 (BOSTON and NEW YORK) — Materials scientist and 3D printing pioneer Jennifer Lewis, Sc.D., who is a Wyss Core Faculty member and the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is among Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People of 2015. Selected by Fast Company’s editors, the 100 Most Creative People are individuals changing the world and inspiring new ideas to move business into the future.
Lewis is shifting paradigms in the 3D printing industry with the development of new classes of printable materials and solid free–form fabrication techniques. She has pioneered the 3D printing of functional and biological inks at the microscale, opening new avenues for fabricating novel devices such as 3D antennas, electronic sensors, and rechargeable microbatteries as well as vascularized living tissues. To date, Lewis has authored over 130 papers and is an inventor on 26 issued and pending patents.
But it’s her entrepreneurial acumen that makes Lewis a standout on Fast Company’s list. The magazine is recognizing Lewis as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business for her new company Voxel8, Inc., a startup she founded in 2014 to commercialize the world’s first multi–material 3D printer for fabricating embedded electronics and other novel devices.
“Ultimately, our technology pipeline will enable the mass customization of electronics and other finished products,” said Lewis. “We’re bringing together designers and engineers to integrate form and function in 3D objects.”
Lewis and 2015’s cohort of 100 Most Creative People were honored in Los Angeles on May 6 and 7 at FC/LA, a Creativity Counter–Conference by Fast Company that was dubbed “a meeting of the most creative minds”. Keynote speakers included Jessica Alba, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Honest Company; LeVar Burton, Actor and Producer of Reading Rainbow; and Rainn Wilson, Actor and Co–Founder of SoulPancake. As part of the 2015 elite list, Lewis will join the Most Creative People 1000, a community of individuals that Fast Company calls the world’s most innovative and intriguing people.
“We’re proud to have a pioneer like Jennifer on our Wyss team – her materials expertise has allowed her to invent new ways of manufacturing electronics, sensors, and even living tissues using 3D printing,” said Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. “It’s tremendous to see the business community honoring her for the impact of her innovative work.”
Press Contacts
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Kat J. McAlpine
katherine.mcalpine@wyss.harvard.edu
+1 617-432-8266
Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Paul Karoff
karoff@seas.harvard.edu
+1 617-496-0450
The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University (http://wyss.harvard.edu) uses Nature’s design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing that are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and formation of new start–ups. The Wyss Institute creates transformative technological breakthroughs by engaging in high risk research, and crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers, working as an alliance that includes Harvard’s Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Arts & Sciences and Design, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard’s teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology. Through collaboration with researchers from all parts of Harvard, other universities, and corporate and foundational partners, we bring discovery and innovation directly to bear on improving human life and society. For more information, visit http://seas.harvard.edu.
