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Professors Fréchet and Hauser elected NAI Fellows

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Charlotte A. E. Hauser, KAUST professor of bioscience, and Jean M. J. Fréchet, KAUST distinguished professor of chemical science and the University's vice president for research, have been elected to the rank of NAI Fellows by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Hauser and Fréchet join an impressive list of Nobel laureates, presidents and senior leadership of research universities, inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Science, Lemelson-MIT prize recipients, AAAS Fellows and IEEE Fellows who have received the awards.

Hauser and Fréchet attended the NAI Fellows Induction Ceremony on April 15 at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia. The ceremony was part of the NAI Fifth Annual Conference held on April 14 and 15 in Washington, D.C. The conference is held each spring and includes networking opportunities with and presentations by some of the world's most renowned inventors and leadership from over 150 international research institutions. The theme for this year's conference was "Building on Foundations of Innovation." Hauser and Fréchet were also featured in the 2015 NAI Fellows Book produced prior to the conference.

Professor Charlotte Hauser

The 2015 NAI Fellows Selection Committee officially recognized Hauser for her “highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.”

Hauser’s research interests lie at the interfaces of chemistry, biomedicine, bioengineering and nanotechnology. Her focus is on the development of platform technologies using smart nanomaterials for regenerative biomedical and environmental applications.

Charlotte Hauser, KAUST professor of bioscience and a 2015 inductee in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), receives her NAI medal on April 15 in Washington, D.C., with the President of NAI Paul Sandberg (left) and the U.S. Commissioner of Patents Andrew Hirshfeld (right). The ceremony was held at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia.


Hauser is currently working on the rational molecular design, synthesis and mechanistic understanding of novel supramolecular structures. She investigates peptide-based nanostructures with an innate propensity to self-assemble as well as biomimetic architectures applicable for biomedical applications such as cell substrates, sensors and 3-D tissue scaffolds for regenerative medicine.

She seeks to use 3-D bioprinting with supramolecular organotypic constructs to fabricate high-throughput platforms for drug screening, pathogen detection and other diagnostic purposes and synthetic biology approaches for the generation of functional biomaterials.

Professor Jean Fréchet

Fréchet, an accomplished chemist and researcher, joined KAUST after 14 years at University of California, Berkeley, where he was the Henry Rapoport chair of organic chemistry and professor of chemical engineering. While at Berkeley, he also served as a principal investigator in the Materials Science Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as the scientific director of the Organic and Macromolecular Facility for the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Jean Frechet, KAUST distinguished professor of chemical science, vice president for research and a 2015 inductee in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), receives his NAI medal on April 15 in Washington, D.C., with the President of NAI Paul Sandberg (left) and the U.S. Commissioner of Patents Andrew Hirshfeld (right). The ceremony was held at the US Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia.


In his role at KAUST, Fréchet is a leader in developing strategies and managing resources to support interdisciplinary and collaborative research bridging science and engineering. In this position, he is tasked to facilitate scientific achievements and technological innovations for KAUST to realize its vision of becoming a globally renowned research university with an entrepreneurial culture.


Fréchet is well-known for his contributions in a wide range of fields, including modern electronics and biotechnology, and has authored 800 scientific papers with about 85,000 citations and has an H-index of 148 (Google Scholar). Among his many accomplishments, Fréchet developed chemically amplified photoresists, which are used in the fabrication of the microprocessors and memory chips that are ubiquitous in today's consumer goods. Other notable achievements include the design of novel separation media and polymers for therapeutic uses. He also has 100 patents.


Fréchet's numerous awards and honors include the Japan Prize and multiple recognitions from the American Chemical Society, including the Arthur C. Cope Award, and awards in polymer chemistry and applied polymer science. Fréchet is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Science and the Academy of Europe.