The Distinguished Leaders Lecture in Materials Science and Engineering

John Rogers, director of the Querrey-Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University, will give a Distinguished Leaders Lecture in Materials Science and Engineering titled "Bioelectronics&\#8212;From Exploratory Research to Medical Translation." Advanced electronic/optoelectronic technologies designed to allow stable, intimate integration with living organisms will accelerate progress in biomedical research; they will also serve as the foundations for new approaches in monitoring and treating diseases. Specifically, capabilities for injecting miniaturized, biocompatible electronic systems, and other components into soft tissues or for softly laminating them onto the surfaces of vital organs will create unique and important opportunities in tracking and manipulating biological activity. This presentation describes the core concepts in electrical engineering, materials science, and system design that underpin these types of technologies, including bioresorbable, or "transient," devices engineered to disappear into the body on timescales matched to natural processes. The content also includes examples of successful translation out of an academic setting and into medical deployments with regulatory approval-at a global scale, including resource-constrained locat ions in lower- and middle-income countries. Examples range from skin-like devices for health monitoring to bioelectronic "medicines" for neuroregeneration and temporary cardiac pacing. John A. Rogers joined the faculty at Northwestern University in fall 2016, where he is a professor of materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering, and neurological surgery \(and by courtesy electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry and dermatology\). His research has been recognized by many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship \(2009\), the Lemelson-MIT Prize \(2011\), the Smithsonian Award \(2013\), the Benjamin Franklin Medal \(2019\), a Guggenheim Fellowship \(2021\), the James Prize of the NAS \(2022\), the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award \(2024\), and the Bakerian Medal of the Royal Society \(2025\). He is a member of the U.S. National Academies of Engineering, of Sciences, of Medicine, and of Inventors as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society.