Angela M. Belcher, who will join MIT this fall as associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering, won a 2002 individual World Technology Award in the materials field from the World Technology Network, an organization of 430 leading technologists. The awards, which went to corporate or individual winners in 20 categories, were announced in New York on July 22.
"I felt very honored to be nominated for the award; to actually receive the award was quite unexpected," Belcher said. "I'm very excited with the direction our work is going right now, with increasing biologically interactions with inorganic materials and having biological molecules assemble nanomaterials into increasingly complex materials and structures."
In May 2002, Belcher and her colleagues at the University of Texas reported that they had used genetically engineered viruses that are noninfectious to humans to mass produce tiny materials for next-generation optical, electronic and magnetic devices.
In its fourth year, the World Technology Network brings together individuals and corporations from 20 technology-related disciplines to share knowledge, explore new avenues and develop new relationships. WTN's areas of interest range from IT and communications to biotech, energy, materials, space, as well as finance, marketing, policy, law, design, and ethics.
In addition to being admitted into the World Technology Network and having access to its resources, Belcher was also presented with a trophy.
The 2002 World Technology Awards were held in association with Nasdaq, Intel, Cisco Systems, Novartis, Time, Red Herring, Science and the International Herald Tribune. For more information, see the World Technology Network's web site.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on August 14, 2002.
