Michael C. Jewett

  • Mike-Jewett
  • Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University

    Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

    Director of the Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University

    Institute Fellow at the Northwestern Argonne Institute for Science & Engineering

    B.S., University of California, Los Angeles, 1999
    M.S., Stanford University, 2001
    Ph.D., Stanford University, 2005
    Postdoctoral Fellow, Technical University of Denmark, 2007
    Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, 2009

    m-jewett(at)northwestern(dot)edu




  • Michael Jewett is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Director of the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern University. Dr. Jewett received his PhD in 2005 from Stanford University, completed postdoctoral studies at the Center for Microbial Biotechnology in Denmark and the Harvard University Medical School, and was a guest professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). He is the recipient of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award, David and Lucille Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, Camille-Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, and a Finalist for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, among others. He is the co-founder of SwiftScale Biologics, Stemloop Inc., Pearl Bio, Induro Therapeutics, and Design Pharmaceuticals. Jewett is a Fellow of AIMBE, AAAS, and NAI.

    Professional Experience
    Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2020-present
    Gastprofessor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) 2018-2019
    Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2018-present
    Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2015-2018
    Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2009-2015
    NIH K99 Pathway to Independence Fellow, Harvard Medical School, 2007-2009
    NSF International Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Microbial Biotechnology, 2007-2009

    Awards
    2021 Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
    2021 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Division 15C Plenary Award
    2020 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
    2020 Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
    2019 Fredrickson Lecture, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
    2019 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, Life Sciences Category, Finalist
    2018 Biochemical Engineering Young Investigator Award
    2017 Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University
    2017 Fellow of the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, Northwestern University
    2017 American Chemical Society Biological Technologies Division Young Investigator Award
    2016 Suzanne C and Duncan A Mellichamp Distinguished Lecturer, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
    2015 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
    2014 Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Teaching, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University
    2012 3M Non-tenured Faculty Grant
    2011 David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering
    2011 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award
    2011 Agilent Early Career Professor Award
    2008-2012 NIH Pathway to Independence Award
    2006 Otto Mønsteds Fond Award, Technical University of Denmark
    2005-2007 NSF International Research Fellow, Technical University of Denmark
    2005 NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship (awarded and declined)
    2001 Centennial T.A. Award, Stanford University
    2001 Teaching Assistant of the Year, Stanford University
    2000-2002 NIH Biotechnology Training Grant Fellow, Stanford University
    2000-2001 Merck Technology Fellow, Stanford University
    1999 Phi Beta Kappa
    1995-1999 Regents Scholar, University of California, Los Angeles

    Honors
    2018 Co-Chair, Genome Engineering for Materials Synthesis, DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research
    2018 Co-Chair, Future Directions Workshop on Synthetic Biology for Energy/Power, Office of Secretary of Defense’s Basic Research Office in partnership with the UK Ministry of Defense
    2017 Invited Speaker, National Academies Committee on Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology
    2017 Associated Student Government Faculty and Administration Honor Roll, Northwestern University
    2016 Inaugural Academic Research Member, Engineering Biology Research Consortium
    2016 Invited Speaker and Synthetic Biology Technical Expert, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Strategic Foresight Analysis Workshop
    2015 Invited Speaker, National Academy of Sciences & The Royal Society – Forum on Synthetic Biology and Gain of Function, and Implications for Regulation
    2012 Invited Participant, National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
    2012 Invited Participant and Speaker, NSF/DFG Emerging Frontiers in Synthetic Biology
    2011 Searle Junior Faculty Teaching Fellow, Northwestern University
    2011 Invited Participant and Speaker, Royal Society International Meeting on Construction of Biological Systems
    2009 Invited Participant, National Academies Keck Futures Initiative: Building on Nature’s Inspiration
    2009 Invited Participant, NSF/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Sandpit

    Teaching
    Chemical Engineering 210, Analysis of Chemical Process Systems
    Chemical Engineering 375, Biochemical Engineering
    Chemical Engineering 376, Principles in Synthetic Biology
    Engineering 106-1, Engineering Design and Communication
    IBIS 455, Current Topics in Synthetic Biology