Rebecca Richards-Kortum (B.S. 1985) was recently announced a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. Richards-Kortum is a bioengineer who focuses on research integrating advances in nanotechnology and molecular imaging with microfabrication technologies. The result: medical imaging systems that are inexpensive, portable, and provide point-of-care diagnosis.
Richards-Kortum works directly with communities in Malawi, Rwanda, El Salvador, Brazil, and elsewhere to develop new technologies. She also co-founded Beyond Traditional Borders, a multi-discipline undergraduate program that seeks to take classroom concepts and turn them into novel solutions for global health issues.
After graduating with a B.S. degree from Nebraska, Richards-Kortum received her M.S. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked for several years at the University of Texas at Austin before joining the Rice University Department of Bioengineering in 2005.
Read more about her research and career in the MacArthur Foundation press release. NPR and the Chicago Tribune also provided coverage of the awards. Richards-Kortum was also recently featured in an issue of the Department alumni newsletter, Spectrum.
Photo: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
