Academics

Wong named one of world's top Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Tak-Sing Wong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and head of Penn State’s Laboratory for Nature-Inspired Engineering, has been selected as one of the world’s top Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review.

Each year since 1999, MIT Technology Review has named exceptionally talented young innovators under the age of 35 whose work has the greatest potential to transform the world.

Wong’s research interests cover a broad area of micro/nanoengineering, interfacial phenomena and biologically inspired engineering with applications in materials science, biomedicine and energy.

He focuses on ways to design and develop a new class of biologically inspired interfacial materials with multi-functional characteristics. These bio-inspired materials are based on the surface engineering principles of a number of plant, insect and animal species, with the latest example of pitcher plant-inspired super slippery surfaces.

Wong and the other young innovators will be profiled in the September/October issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is online at http://www.technologyreview.com and available on newsstands worldwide on Sept. 2. They will be honored in late September at the annual EmTech MIT conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Over the years, we’ve had success in choosing young innovators whose work has been profoundly influential on the direction of human affairs," said editor in chief and publisher Jason Pontin. “Previous winners include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook; Jonathan Ive, the chief designer of Apple; and David Karp, the creator of Tumblr. We’re proud of our selections and the variety of achievements they celebrate, and we’re proud to add Tak-Sing Wong to this prestigious list.”

Earlier this year, Wong was selected for an early CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, and he has been invited to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium this September.

His work on bio-inspired surfaces was recognized as one of the Best Inventions using Biomimicry in 2011 and the 2012 R&D 100 Award for the world’s top 100 technical innovations of the year.

A Penn State faculty member since 2013, Wong received his bachelor of engineering degree in automation and computer-aided engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, his doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed his postdoctoral research at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.

About MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review leads the global conversation about technologies that matter. An independent media company owned by MIT, it produces publications read by millions of business leaders, innovators, and thought leaders around the globe, in six languages and on a variety of platforms. The company publishes MIT Technology Review magazine, the most respected technology magazine; daily news features, analysis, and opinion; and Business Reports, which explain how technologies are transforming industries. It produces live events such as the annual EmTech MIT, international EmTech conferences, Summits, and Salons. The company’s entrepreneurial community organization, MIT Enterprise Forum, informs, connects, and coaches early-stage technology entrepreneurs so they may succeed faster.

Additional information about past and present Innovators Under 35 honorees and judges is available at http://www.technologyreview.com/lists/innovators-under-35.

Last Updated January 9, 2015