“Most innovations are not obvious to other people at the time. You have to believe in yourself. If you’ve got a good idea, follow it even when others say it’s not.” – Frances H. Arnold
Dr. Frances H. Arnold is an American chemical engineer who earned a BS in mechanical and aerospace engineering and a PhD in chemical engineering. She pioneered the use of directed evolution by introducing mutations in enzymes to improve certain protein functions. For this work, she became the fifth woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018. Additionally, she has also co-invented over 40 U.S. patents and co-founded Gevo, Inc., a company that produces chemicals and fuels from renewable resources. Arnold was also the first woman to be accepted into all three of the United States National Academies: the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. Currently, she serves as an external co-chair of PCAST.