Paula Hammond Professor and HeadMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyDavid H. Koch Professor in Engineering, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Hammond is is a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the MIT Energy Initiative, and a founding member of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology. Her laboratory focuses on the molecular design and synthesis of self-assembling polymeric systems for a range of electro-optical, electro-mechanical and biological applications. In cancer research, Hammond’s work focuses on the generation of polymer-based films and nanoparticles for drug delivery. She was recently named the new head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT, the first woman and the first person of color appointed to the post.