J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee
PO Box 220, Los Alamos, NM 87544

JROMC  is pleased to announce the resumption of its annual free memorial lecture series. The 50th J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture will feature Professor Jennifer Lewis, on Monday, June 19th, 2023 beginning at 7:30 pm at Duane Smith Auditorium, Los Alamos, NM. 

Title: 

Printing Soft Objects and Functional Tissues

Abstract: 

The ability to pattern soft and living matter in three dimensions is of critical importance for several emerging applications. In this talk, I will begin by describing the design of printable materials for direct and embedded 3D printing. I will then introduce representative functional and structural inks as well as sophisticated printhead designs for fabricating soft objects ranging from sensors and actuators to robotic matter. Finally, I will describe our recent efforts to create vascularized human tissues through the tight integration of stem cell biology, organoid building blocks, and bioprinting. Though broadly applicable, I will specifically highlight our efforts to engineer human kidney and cardiac tissues across multiple scales.

Speaker Biography:

Jennifer A. Lewis is the Jianming Yu Professor of Arts and Sciences, the Wyss Professor for Biologically Inspired Engineering in the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as well as a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. Her research focuses on creating functional, structural, and biological matter that emulates natural systems. She currently directs the Harvard Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and serves as the Bioengineering Area Chair in SEAS.

Lewis is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award, the American Chemical Society Langmuir Lecture Award, the Materials Research Society Medal Award, the American Ceramic Society Sosman and Roy Lecture Awards, and the Lush Science Prize.

Multiple companies are commercializing technology from her lab ranging from 3D printing to drug delivery and kidney therapeutics.