Agilent Technologies announced the winner of the company's third annual Agilent Early Career Professor Award. Dr. Michael Jewett, assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, will receive the prize, which provides an unrestricted research award of $50,000 per year for two years to Northwestern in Dr. Jewett's name.
Having joined the faculty of engineering at Northwestern in 2009, Dr. Jewett engineers biological systems for compelling applications in medicine and biotechnology. His many significant contributions prior to joining Northwestern include research in cell-free biology during his doctoral studies at Stanford University; systems biology research at the Technical University of Denmark; and investigation into synthetic biology as a post-doctoral researcher at the Harvard Medical School.
The Agilent Early Career Professor Award, under the auspices of Agilent's University Relations program, is awarded annually to recognize and encourage excellence in measurement research. It seeks to establish strong collaborative relationships between Agilent researchers and leading professors early in their careers, as well as to underscore Agilent's role as a sponsor of university research.
This year’s award focused on the field of systems biology. Dr. Jewett was among five finalists whose research builds on understanding by relating different views of biological systems while contributing to the understanding of life. To qualify for the award, a professor must also make significant original research contributions that enable measurements of importance to Agilent and the world.
“We were very fortunate to have a group of outstanding candidates this year,” said Jack Wenstrand, director of University Relations at Agilent. “Our award winner, Professor Michael Jewett, has demonstrated a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills in applied biological research, as well as an innovative approach to his work. We look forward to following his scientific pursuits.”
Jay Walsh, vice president for Research at Northwestern, said, “We are grateful to Agilent for having the vision to choose Mike Jewett to receive this award. Mike is a pioneer in the exciting new field of synthetic biology – a new technology that seeks to create biological parts and devices that can be assembled to harness the living world and meet societal needs.”
Source: Agilent Technologies