Paula Hammond

Background and Education

Professor Paula T. Hammond is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Professor Paula Hammond was elected into the National Academy of Science in 2019, the National Academy of Engineering in 2017, the National Academy of Medicine in 2016, and the 2013 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  She is also a member of the National Academy of Inventors.  She received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer in 2019 and gave the Materials Research Society (MRS) David Turnbull Lectureship, 2019.  In 2021, Professor Hammond was selected to become a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).  She has received the 2023-2024 MIT Killian Faculty Achievement Award. Prof. Hammond received her BS in Chemical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech, PhD from MIT.   She held the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, and on completing her PhD, was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Chemistry Department before returning to MIT as a faculty member.

Hammond is a board member and co-founder of LayerBio, Inc., a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Moderna Therapeutics, Inc., the scientific advisory board of Camden Partners LLC,  a member of the Board of Alector, Inc. and member of the boards of Focal Medical and Senda Biosciences. She also serves on non-profit boards, including the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund and the MIT Engine. She is an advising partner in Catalio Nexus Ventures.

Awards and Honors

• National Medal of Technology and Innovation | 2024
• Othmer Gold Medal | 2024
• Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry | 2024
• James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award | 2023-24
• President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) | 2021
• Inaugural Black in Cancer Distinguished Investigator Award | 2021
• MIT Institute Professor | 2021
• MRS Turnbull Lectureship Award, Materials Research Society | 2019
• AIChE’s Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award | 2019
• Elected to the National Academy of Sciences | 2019
• ACS National Award in Applied Polymer Science | 2018
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering | 2017
• Elected to the National Academy of Medicine | 2016
• Elected AIChE Fellow | 2016
• Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research | 2014
• Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | 2013
• Charles M.A. Stine Award | 2013
• Ovarian Cancer Research Program Teal Innovator Award | 2013
• Elected Fellow, ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry (POLY) | 2012
• Distinguished Scientist Award, The Harvard Foundation | 2010
• Elected AIMBE Fellow | 2010
• Bayer Distinguished Lecturer | 2004
• Georgia Tech Outstanding Young Alumni Award | 2004
• Radcliffe Institute Fellow, Harvard University | 2003
• Henry Hill Lecturer Award | 2002
• Junior Bose Faculty Award | 2000
• GenCorp Signature University Award | 2000
• Lloyd Ferguson Young Scientist Award | 2000
• NSF Career Award | 1997
• EPA Early Career Award | 1996
• DuPont Young Faculty Award | 1996
• 3M Innovation Fund Award | 1995
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemistry, Harvard University | 1994
• Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow | 1992
• MIT Karl Taylor Compton Prize | 1992
• Eastman Kodak Theophilus Sorrel Fellow | 1990