On Mar. 27, 2012, the American Chemical Society awarded the Priestley Medal to Robert S. Langer “to recognize distinguished services to chemistry,” the American Chemical Society’s most prestigious award.

Dr. Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs one of the largest academic laboratories in the world, with nearly 100 members. He has authored more than 1,100 research papers; has approximately 800 issued and pending patents worldwide that have been licensed or sublicensed to more than 220 companies; and has had a hand in creating some 25 companies.

Langer’s work is at the interface of biotechnology and materials science. A major focus is the study and development of polymers to deliver drugs, particularly genetically engineered proteins, DNA and RNAi. In particular, he investigates the mechanism of release from polymeric delivery systems, applications of these systems including the development of effective long-term delivery systems for insulin, anti-cancer drugs, growth factors, gene therapy agents and vaccines, and developing controlled release systems that can be magnetically, ultrasonically, or enzymatically triggered to increase release rates.