Covestro Lecture

The Covestro Distinguished Lectureship (a continuation of the Bayer Distinguished Lectureship) is presented annually by the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and recognizes excellence in chemical education, outreach and research. The lecture is sponsored by Covestro LLC, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials.

2025 Covestro Distinguished Lecturer

Dr. Joseph M. DeSimone

Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professor of Translational Medicine and Chemical Engineering
Departments of Radiology and Chemical Engineering
Department of Chemistry (by Courtesy)
Department of Materials Science & Engineering (by Courtesy)
Graduate School of Business (by Courtesy)
Stanford University

Joseph M. DeSimone joined Stanford University in 2020 and is the Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professor of Translational Medicine and Chemical Engineering. He holds appointments in the Departments of Radiology and Chemical Engineering with courtesy appointments in the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Previously, Dr. DeSimone was a professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University. He is also Co-Founder, Board Member, and former CEO (2014 – 2019) of the additive manufacturing company, Carbon.

Event Details

102 Benedum Hall

Thursday April 24, 2025 - 5:00PM: Convergent Research to Address Societal Needs: Entrepreneurship, People, Innovation, Decision-Making, and Impact

Friday April 25, 2025 - 9:30AM: The Delicate Interplay Between Light, Interfaces and Design: The Complex Dance that Allows 3D Printing to Scale to Manufacturing

Previous Covestro Distinguished Lectures

2024	Dr. Emily Carter Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Princeton University
2022	Dr. Jennifer Sinclair Curtis Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering University of California, Davis
2019	Dr. Julio M. Ottino Distinguished R.R. McCormick Institute Professor, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Dean, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Northwestern University
2018	Dr. George Whitesides Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University
2017	Dr. Matthew Tirrell Dean and Founding Pritzker Director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory
2016	Dr. Gábor A. Somorjai Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley Faculty Senior Scientist Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
2015	Dr. Kristi S. Anseth Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Colorado-Boulder
2014	Dr. Jens K. Norskov Leland T. Edwards Professor of Chemical Engineering Stanford University
2013	Dr. Jay D. Keasling Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of California-Berkeley
2012	Dr. Arup Chakraborty Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2011	Dr. James A. Dumesic Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Wisconsin – Madison
2010	Dr. Jacob Israelachvili Professor of Chemical Engineering University of California, Santa Barbara
2009	Dr. Robert E. Cohen St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2008	Dr. Douglas C. Cameron Chief Scientific Officer, Khosla Ventures Menlo Park, California
2007	Dr. Paul T. Anastas Professor in the Practice of Green Chemistry, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Yale University
2005	Ms. Linda J. Fisher Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer DuPont
2003	Dr. Buddy D. Ratner Washington Research Foundation Endowed Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering Director University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB)
2002	Dr. David A. Weitz Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics Harvard University
2001	Dr. Mildred S. Dresselhaus Institute Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2000	Dr. Nicholas Peppas Showalter Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Purdue University
1999	Dr. John Deutch Institute Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1998	Dr. Mary L. Good Managing Member Venture Capital Investors, LLC
1997	Dr. L. E. Scriven Regents' Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science University of Minnesota
1996	Dr. David Tirrell Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering University of Massachusetts
1995	Dr. Keith E. Gubbins Professor of Chemical Engineering Cornell University
1994	Dr. John H. Seinfeld Louis E. Nohl Professor California Institute of Technology
1993	Dr. Mark E. Davis Professor of Chemical Engineering California Institute of Technology
1992	Dr. Robert S. Langer Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology