Frances Arnold

Frances Hamilton Arnold was born on July 25, 1956, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. She grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Her father, William Howard Arnold, was a nuclear physicist and her mother was a housewife. Frances Arnold’s early life in Pittsburgh set the stage for her future career in science and engineering, where she would go on to make significant contributions to the field of protein engineering.

Frances Arnold graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. Her education at Princeton University provided her with a solid foundation in engineering, which would be instrumental in her later research work. At Princeton, she exhibited exceptional academic capabilities and an aptitude for problem-solving, which foreshadowed her future success as a scientist and innovator.

Frances Arnold completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1985. Her doctoral research focused on the application of solar energy for the conversion of biomass to useful fuels and chemicals, which laid the groundwork for her future explorations in biochemical engineering. Her time at UC Berkeley was marked by a deepening interest in the intersection of chemistry and engineering.

In 1993, Frances Arnold pioneered the method of directed evolution to engineer proteins with desirable properties. Through this innovative approach, Arnold's work enabled the development of biological structures with immense potential in various applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to biofuels. Directed evolution allows scientists to mimic the process of natural selection to evolve proteins or nucleic acids in the lab, selecting for those variants with superior characteristics.

In June 1997, Frances Arnold was elected to the United States National Academy of Engineering for her pioneering advances in protein engineering and the development of biocatalysts critical for clean energy. This honor recognized her as a leader in the field of chemical engineering, underscoring her significant contributions to environmental sustainability and her innovative approaches in the application of engineering principles to biological systems.

Frances Arnold was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in March 2011. This prestigious membership is one of the highest honors that a scientist in the United States can receive and acknowledges her outstanding contributions to the field of chemistry and biochemistry, especially in the area of protein engineering and directed evolution techniques. This election highlights her ongoing impact and the significance of her research.

In June 2013, Frances Arnold was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining an esteemed group of individuals comprising prominent leaders and innovators across diverse disciplines. Her election to this distinguished academy acknowledged her interdisciplinary approach, coupling engineering principles with molecular biology, and the transformative impact of her work in bioengineering and renewable energy processes.

In December 2016, Frances Arnold received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of the highest honors bestowed by the United States Government upon scientists, engineers, and inventors. This was awarded in recognition of her pioneering work in the 'directed evolution' of enzymes, which has had profound impacts on the fields of chemistry and the development of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.

On October 3, 2018, Frances Arnold was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She received one-half of the prize for her work on 'the directed evolution of enzymes.' Her research revolutionized the way new enzymes are created, enabling them to be used in a wide range of industrial applications including cleaner manufacturing processes for chemical substances. This award catapulted her to global recognition and underscored the importance of her contributions to science.

In April 2019, Frances Arnold was elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious scientific societies. This accolade recognized her extraordinary contributions to the field of engineering science, particularly her fundamental achievements in the development of enzymatic and biomolecular treatments that have applications in multiple industrial processes.