Jewett named to National Academy of Inventors

SQI faculty member Michael Jewett has been named to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors. The program recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a “spirit of innovation” by creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and social welfare.

Jewett is among 175 new fellows in the 2020 class who will officially be inducted during the NAI’s national meeting in June.

He is distinguished for his contributions to the field of engineering, particularly for his use of synthetic biology and cell-free systems to enable new applications that could potentially transform the bioeconomy. His work has implications in point-of-care manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics, sustainability, functional materials, development of equitable K-12 experiential learning kits and detection of water contaminants for global health.

“I am humbled and honored to be named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors,” Jewett said in a Northwestern Now news release. “This celebrates numerous advances, creative innovations and inventions from my team. This acknowledgment also recognizes how new synthetic biology tools are maturing the bioeconomy to address societal needs in manufacturing, diagnostics and education."

Jewett is the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the director of the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern.