Karen Gleason

Professor Emerita

Department
Department of Chemical Engineering
Technology Areas
Chemicals & Materials: Nanotechnology & Nanomaterials, Fabrics & Textiles, Polymers, Catalysis & Synthesis, Composites, Metals / Electronics & Photonics: Photonics, Semiconductors / Environmental Engineering: Sustainability & Recycling, Water Treatment / Energy & Distribution: Energy Storage, Photovoltaics, Electrochemical Devices / Industrial Engineering & Automation: Manufacturing & Equipment / Biotechnology: Biomanufacturing, Sensors & Monitoring, Synthetic Biology, Tissue Engineering / Biomaterials & Bioelectronics: Medical Device Coatings / Sensing & Imaging: Chemical & Radiation Sensing / Diagnostics: Assays / Drug Discovery and Research Tools: Cell Culture / Therapeutics: Regenerative Medicine

Background and Education

Karen K. Gleason is the Alexander and I. Michael Kasser Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE). During her faculty career at MIT, Prof. Gleason served as Executive Officer of the Chemical Engineering Department, Associate Director for the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies; Associate Dean of Engineering for Research; and as Associate Provost. In the later role, she had primary responsibility for space allocation, planning, and management across the MIT campus. Additionally, she provided oversight for the Technology Licensing Office (TLO), the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP), and successfully led negotiations to establish significant new industry-sponsored alliances. Prof. Gleason has authored more than 300 publications, holds >35 issued US patents, and is sole editor of the book CVD Polymers Fabrication of Organic Surfaces and Devices, published by Wiley in 2015. She currently serves as a Deputy Editor for American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal, Science Advances. Prof. Gleason’s honors include the Charles M.A. Stine Award from the AIChE, the Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering Award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the Donders Visiting Professorship Chair at Utrecht University, Netherlands, the AIChE Process Development Research Award, and Young Investigator Awards from both the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.  She has delivered the Van Ness Award Lecture at the Rensselaer Polytechnic University, the Tis Lahiri Lecture at Vanderbuilt University, and the Adel Sarofilm Distinguished Lecture, University of Utah. Prof. Gleason is a co-founder of GVD Corporation and DropWise Technology Corporation. Her PhD is from the University of California at Berkeley and her BS and MS degrees are from MIT, where she also won All-American honors in swimming.

Awards and Honors

  • AIChE's Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer | 2021
  • John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer Award | 2019
  • Charles M.A. Stine Award | 2015
  • Elected Member of the National Academy of Engineering | 2015
  • Elected AIChE Fellow | 2013
  • AIChE Process Development Research Award | 2012
  • Printed Electronics Europe Best Materials Award | 2011
  • Keynote Speaker, 23rd International Conference on Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Semiconductors | 2009
  • Chair, 5th International Conference on Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition | 2008
  • Donders Visiting Professor, Utrecht University, Netherlands | 2006
  • Excellence Award, SEMATECH | 2000
  • Tenth Annual Van Ness Award Lecturer, RPI | 2000
  • Chair, Gordon Conference on Diamond Synthesis, Oxford, UK | 1998
  • Presidential Young Investigator, National Science Foundation | 1990
  • Young Investigator Award, Office of Naval Research | 1990
  • Amoco Foundation Fellow | 1982-85
  • NCAA Post-graduate Fellow | 1982
  • All-American NCAA Division III Swimming | 1978-82

 

Technologies

A Conductive Polymer Film Grafted on Organic Substrate

Technology / Case number: #12444
Sung Im / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

3-D Photoresist via Functionalization of Polymer Thin Films Fabricated by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD)

Technology / Case number: #15496
Christy Petruczok / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials / Industrial Engineering & Automation
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

Cathode Layers for Photovoltaics Based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

Technology / Case number: #15433J
Miles Barr / Chiara Carbonera / Riccardo Po / Karen Gleason / Vladimir Bulovic
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials / Energy & Distribution / Sensing & Imaging
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

Grafted Polymer Surfaces for Dropwise Condensation

Technology / Case number: #16114
Adam Paxson / Jose Yague Marron / Andong Liu / Karen Gleason / Kripa K Varanasi
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

Initiated Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Technology / Case number: #14827
Anna Coclite / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Biomaterials & Bioelectronics / Chemicals & Materials
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

High Surface Area Flexible Chemiresistive Biosensor by Oxidative Chemical Vapor Deposition

Technology / Case number: #15037
Dhiman Bhattacharyya / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Biotechnology / Chemicals & Materials
Impact Areas: Healthy Living
License

Development of New Zwitterionic Chemistry for Ultralow Biofouling of Commercial RO Membranes

Technology / Case number: #16765J
Rong Yang / Zafarullah Khan / Hafiz Zahid Shafi / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials
Impact Areas: Sustainable Future
License

Chemical Micro-Sensor

Technology / Case number: #13196
William Arora / Wyatt Tenhaeff / Karen Gleason / George Barbastathis
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials / Energy & Distribution / Sensing & Imaging
Impact Areas: Advanced Materials
License

Covalently Functionalized Hydrogels on Oxygen Permeable Membranes for Stable, Scalable, and Xeno Free Growth of Undifferentiated Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Technology / Case number: #16162
Anna Coclite / Amanda Diienno / Karen Gleason / Clark Colton
Technology Areas: Biotechnology / Diagnostics / Drug Discovery and Research Tools / Therapeutics
Impact Areas: Healthy Living
License

The Design and Synthesis of Antifouling and Chlorine-Resistant Ultrathin Coatings on Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Technology / Case number: #16133
Rong Yang / Karen Gleason
Technology Areas: Chemicals & Materials / Environmental Engineering
Impact Areas: Sustainable Future
License

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