Portrait.
Andrea Goldsmith

In their individual careers and collaborative work, the faculty associated with our new Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute have made pathbreaking discoveries, unlocking deep mysteries about the mechanisms of life and opening vistas toward new medicines, diagnostics, sustainable energy, and other life-improving technologies.

As Princeton University makes bold investments in engineering, the Omenn-Darling Institute exemplifies how we are accelerating the positive impacts of our work for society. Through the generosity of alumni Gil Omenn ’61 and Martha Darling *70, the new institute brings together expertise across engineering, computer science, and the natural sciences. A new building for bioengineering, due to open in 2025, will bring under one roof a community united in a desire to develop new knowledge and technologies at the intersection of biology and engineering that can significantly help humanity.

Beyond bioengineering, this combination of curiosity and urgency underlies all our areas of growth, such as robotics, quantum engineering, artificial intelligence, blockchain, next-generation wireless, and energy and the environment. In these and other areas we are adding faculty and graduate students and building an entirely new neighborhood to foster the community and collaboration needed for discovery and impact.

I hope that you will continue to follow our progress and share your own stories of curiosity, collaboration, and impact.

Andrea Goldsmith
Dean
Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this issue

  • Portrait of researcher in lab near microscope.

    The materials scientist who upended cell biology

  • Daniel Cohen (right) and research team

    Raising bioelectric sheepdogs to herd flocks of cells

  • Three researchers in lab coats examine a sample while one points at the material

    Transforming microbes into factories for the future

  • Ellen Zhong in a computer lab

    Using computer vision to see proteins

  • Two researchers looking at petri dish under miscroscope illuminated by blue light.

    Channeling the cell’s cytoskeleton into a nimble nanomachine

  • A group of six researchers sits around a table and discusses molecular models, which are visible on a screen behind them and in physical form on the table.

    Simulations reveal workings of droplets that underlie life’s functions

  • Microscope image of the brain's cerebellum, showing multiple folds and layers labeled in green and blue.

    Spatial data adds ‘great new dimension’ to studies on cancer and development

  • Linnea Lemma

    Bioengineering postdoc Linnea Lemma selected for prestigious fellowship

  • Four researchers in the laboratory.

    Probing bacterial persistence to battle superbugs

  • Smiling man with folded arms stands in front of researchers working at computers

    Bridging experiments and data to decode the genome

  • Researcher standing by equipment cabinet holding a setup of lasers and mirrors

    Advanced optics reveal how cells and molecules squirm, pulse and ooze

  • Group of researchers gathered around computer screen in a lab.

    At new institute, quest for better lives starts with curiosity