CEMS alumnus Douglas Lauffenburger named Institute Professor at MIT

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (07/28/2026) — Congratulations to CEMS alumnus and former member of the CEMS Executive Advisory Board, Professor Douglas Lauffenburger, who has been named an Institute Professor at MIT, the university’s highest faculty honor.

Lauffenburger, a Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology at MIT, was the founding leader of MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, serving as its inaugural department head from 1998 to 2019. He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1979, where his graduate studies sparked a lifelong passion for integrating engineering and biology. Throughout his distinguished career, he has helped establish biological engineering as a discipline, advancing research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration while mentoring generations of students and researchers.

When invited to offer a comment for this article, Lauffenburger reflected on the lasting impact of his time at the University of Minnesota: “My interest in bringing engineering and cell biology together stemmed from my PhD thesis research in CEMS under joint supervision by Gus Aris and Ken Keller. What wonderfully inspiring mentors they were! And my time at UMN was tremendously influential for how I’ve thought about rigorous science-based engineering education ever since.”

Congratulations, Professor Lauffenburger! We are proud and grateful to have you in our community. Learn more about this honor at the MIT website.