Frances H. Arnold
Frances Arnold's techniques of "directed evolution" have revolutionized the science of chemistry by creating new organisms and enzymes for use in medicine, agriculture, manufacturing and alternative energy. She came to her profoundly original research by an equally original career path, one that led her from undergraduate studies in aerospace engineering at PrincetonŮand an early career in alternative energy in the United States and BrazilŮto postdoctoral chemistry studies at Berkeley and an endowed chair at Caltech, where she directs the Rosen Bioengineering Center. A co-founder of the bio-fuel company GEVO, last year she founded a second firm, Provivi Labs, to develop green biocatalytic processes for agriculture and industry. The techniques she pioneered have already led to the development of a new treatment for diabetes and are now reducing industry's reliance on toxic chemicals in manufacturing. Proteins she has created for use in brain imaging may soon lead to improved testing and treatment for depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Her work has been honored with an array of awards, including the Charles Stark Draper Prize and the National Medal of Technology. This year she was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. In this podcast, recorded at the 2014 International Achievement Summit in San Francisco, Dr. Arnold recounts the unusual career path that led to her revolutionary breakthrough.