Robert S. Langer, chairman of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) science board, the federal agency's highest advisory panel, will deliver the 2001 Julian C. Smith Lectures in the School of Chemical Engineering at Cornell Monday, April 23, and Tuesday, April 24.

Langer also is the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

On April 23, Langer will speak on "Controlled Release Systems for Macromolecules." His topic for April 24 will be "Biomaterials and How They Will Change Our Lives." Both lectures will start at 4 p.m. in Room 165 of Olin Hall and are free and open to the public.

Langer's research interests focus on biomedical applications of polymers. He has written 650 articles and 400 abstracts and holds 370 patents, one of which was the outstanding patent in Massachusetts in 1988 and one of 20 outstanding patents that year in the United States. Langer has received more than 80 major awards and is the only engineer to receive the Gairdner Foundation International Award. He received the 1998 Lemelson-MIT prize of $500,000 for American invention and innovation, the largest single prize of its kind, in honor of his achievements as an inventor, academician and scientist.

Langer received his B.S. from Cornell (chemical engineering '70) and earned his Sc.D. from MIT (chemical engineering '74). In 1989, Langer was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and in 1992 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and to the NAS.

The Julian C. Smith Lectureship in Chemical Engineering was established in 1988 by members of the Cornell chemical engineering class of 1962 and other friends, colleagues and former students to honor "an inspiring teacher, respected author and influential consultant." Each year the fund brings a leader in the field of chemical engineering to Cornell to lecture and interact with students and faculty members.