image: Jin Kim Montclare, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering view more
Credit: NYU Tandon
BROOKLYN, New York, Wednesday, December 9, 2020 – Jin Kim Montclare, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, and director of the Montclare Lab, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Montclare was cited by the NAI for “Her prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.”
Joining Montclare in being named Fellow of the NAI is Daniel Sodickson, a professor of biomedical engineering at NYU Tandon; and of radiology, and of neuroscience and physiology at NYU Langone Health.
Montclare joins a growing list of NYU Tandon faculty members who have earned the prestigious honor, a testament to the school’s reputation in such fields as telecommunications, electrical and computer engineering, plasma physics and computer science. Past winners include Kurt Becker, Vice Dean for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; H. Jonathan Chao, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Bud Mishra, professor and director of bioinformatics; and Theodore (Ted) S. Rappaport, the David Lee/Ernst Weber Professor of Electrical Engineering and Founding Director of NYU WIRELESS.
Faculty from across NYU who have been elected NAI Fellows include NYU President Andy Hamilton, Jan T. Vilcek, Kenneth Perlin, Leslie Prichep and David Grier.
Montclare’s work centers on the possibilities of engineered proteins for a range of health and environmental applications, from targeting human disorders and drug delivery, to tissue regeneration, and fabrication of nanomaterials for electronics. Her research has led to new ways of removing pesticides from crops, ferrying chemotherapeutic agents to cancer cells in synthesized macromolecules, and , most recently, a novel at-home test for the Sars-CoV-2 virus that can screen for both the antibody to the virus that causes COVID-19 and for viral RNA.
She is also a leader in programs designed to encourage women and students from communities underrepresented in STEM fields to pursue science and engineering. She founded the Convergence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Institute at NYU Tandon to foster innovation through inclusion and diversity. As an AAAS Public Engagement Fellow, she has advocated for increasing the diversity of voices engaging in public discourse on science, medicine and engineering.
Said Jelena Kovačević, Dean of NYU Tandon, “Jin Montclare’s body of research speaks volumes about her prodigious talents as an innovator and inventor; she is also the rare scientist and engineer who has not only an strong dedication to her own projects, but an equal dedication to teaching and mentoring the next generation of engineers, particularly those underrepresented in STEM. As an NAI Fellow, Jin will be taking her rightful place in a select and impressive group. We consider her an enormous credit to our school.”
Among her many other honors are the American Chemical Society Rising Star Award, Agnes Faye Morgan Research Award from Iota Sigma Pi, Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering Fellowship, American Chemical Society PROGRESS /Dreyfus Lectureship, the Dreyfus Special Grants Program Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, and the Wechsler Award for Excellence.
Additionally, she holds several patents and is a member of the American Chemical Society, the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, the Biophysical Society, the Materials Research Society, the Biochemical Society, the Protein Society, American Association of Cancer Research, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Montclare and the other 2020 NAI Fellows will be inducted on June 7-9, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. A senior representative of the United States Patent and Trademark Office will provide the keynote address for the ceremony.
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About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences as part of a global university, with close connections to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. NYU Tandon is rooted in a vibrant tradition of entrepreneurship, intellectual curiosity, and innovative solutions to humanity’s most pressing global challenges. Research at Tandon focuses on vital intersections between communications/IT, cybersecurity, and data science/AI/robotics systems and tools and critical areas of society that they influence, including emerging media, health, sustainability, and urban living. We believe diversity is integral to excellence, and are creating a vibrant, inclusive, and equitable environment for all of our students, faculty and staff. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.