Materials scientist honored for contributions to 3D printing of multifunctional structures
By Leah Burrows
Jennifer A. Lewis, a Core Faculty member of the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Lewis’ research focuses on the design and fabrication of functional, structural and biological materials. Her pioneering work in the field of microscale 3D printing is advancing the development of electronics, soft robotics, lightweight structures, and vascularized human tissues.
Lewis is an inventor on more than 40 pending or issued patents and founded the startup company Voxel8, Inc., to commercialize the first multi-material 3D printing for the fabrication of embedded electronics.
She is among 84 new members elected to the NAE, chosen for their outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education and their pioneering work into new and developing fields of technology. Lewis is being honored for her “development of materials and processes for 3-dimensional direct fabrication of multifunctional structures.”
Lewis earned a Sc.D. in Ceramic Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her many honors include the NSF Presidential Faculty Fellow Award, the Brunauer and Sosman Awards from the American Ceramic Society, the Langmuir Lecture Award from the American Chemical Society and the Materials Research Society Medal. She is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2017.
1/5 Human proximal tubule cells adhere to the hollow channel, forming a functional, 3D renal architecture. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University 
2/5 This series of images shows the transformation of a 4D-printed hydrogel composite structure after its submersion in water. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University 
3/5 Hemispherical-Spiral- laser-assisted method developed by Wyss Core Faculty member Jennifer Lewis that allows metal to be 3D printed in midair. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University 
4/5 The octobot, an entirely soft robot, is powered without electronics; instead microfluidic channels containing chemical reactions automate its movements. Credit: Lori Sanders, Ryan Truby, Michael Wehner, Robert Wood, and Jennifer Lewis 
5/5 For the first time, a research team demonstrated the ability to 3D print a battery. This image shows the interlaced stack of electrodes that were printed layer by layer to create the working anode and cathode of a microbattery. Credit: Ke Sun, Teng-Sing Wei, Jennifer Lewis, Shen J. Dillon