History
University of Chicago scientist Rafael Jaramillo and Argonne National Laboratory scientist Yejun Feng examine the element chromium at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source.
History Leading the Future
After three years of discussion and review, the University established the Institute for Molecular Engineering. President Zimmer and Provost Thomas F. Rosenbaum charged two ad hoc committees, one in 2007 and one in 2009, with assessing the possibility of establishing a formal molecular engineering program at the University. The committees' considerations followed recent molecular research developments as basic sciences, including physics, chemistry, and biology, began new collaborations with once-distinct engineering disciplines.
Enthusiastic Endorsement
These committees, including faculty members from the University's Physical and Biological Sciences divisions, saw "tremendous possibilities to position the University as an intellectual leader in this emerging engineering discipline, bringing to bear its tradition of intellectual rigor and cross-disciplinary scholarship on questions of scientific importance and societal urgency," they reported in their formal proposal. The committees enthusiastically endorsed the creation of a molecular engineering program, as did an external committee chaired by Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The faculty Council of the Senate's vote to create the institute was followed by endorsement of the University's board of trustees in March 2010.
Defining the Field
Not long after the endorsement, another ad hoc committee was established to find the director who would develop and implement the scientific vision of the institute. The committee looked for a director with an internationally recognized track record in the field, visionary leadership skills, and experience managing collaborations in complex environments, according to the committee's position specification for the role.
They found the ideal candidate in Matthew Tirrell, and he was named the founding Pritzker Director in March 2011. As his first order of business, he will recruit faculty members to help him define the institute's research themes. As the institute grows, it will lead this emerging field into the future, building expertise through faculty and student researchers and academic programming that will train the next generation of innovators.