Institute Professor Robert Langer has been chosen as one of two winners of the 2008 Max Planck Research Award, a 1.5 million-euro science prize funded by the German government.
Langer was recognized for his research on the development of biomimetic materials (materials fabricated based on natural processes found in biological systems). Such materials can be used for drug delivery and tissue engineering, among other applications.
Langer shares the award with Peter Fratzl of the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces, a pioneer in the field of biological and biomimetic materials. Each winner will receive 750,000 euros.
The Max Planck Research Award is given annually by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Max Planck Society to one German scientists and one foreign scientist. The award is given to researchers who have already achieved international recognition and who are expected to continue to make outstanding academic achievements.
"I'm incredibily thrilled to receive this award," said Langer. "First, it's an honor to receive such recognition, and second, it will give us the opportunity to pursue new kinds of research that we would never be able to pursue otherwise."
The awards ceremony took place June 26 as part of the 59th annual meeting of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Dresden, Germany.
