Paula T. Hammond

Paula T. Hammond
Born (1963-09-03) September 3, 1963
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
AwardsFellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2021), Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (2019), Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering (2017), Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine (2016), Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2016), Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2013)
Scientific career
FieldsBiomaterials, Drug Delivery, Cancer immunology
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisThe Synthesis, Characterization and Optical Properties of Novel Diacetylene-Containing Aromatic Liquid Crystalline Polymers (1993)
Doctoral advisorMichael Rubner
Other academic advisorsGeorge M. Whitesides
Doctoral studentsJodie Lutkenhaus
LaShanda Korley
Websitehttps://hammondlab.mit.edu/

Paula Therese Hammond (born September 3, 1963) is an Institute Professor and the Dean of the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2015, she became the first woman and person of color appointed as head of the Chemical Engineering department. Her laboratory designs polymers and nanoparticles for drug delivery and energy-related applications including batteries and fuel cells.

Hammond has been the recipient of numerous awards and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (2016), the National Academy of Engineering (2017, “for contributions to self-assembly of polyelectrolytes, colloids, and block copolymers at surfaces and interfaces for energy and healthcare applications”), the National Academy of Sciences (2019), and the National Academy of Inventors (2021).

She is an intramural faculty member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and an associate editor of ACS Nano.