News

Erez Lieberman-Aiden recognized as among world's top young innovators

Technology Review honors graduate student whose interests span everything from the evolution of language to molecular biology

SEAS Contact:
Michael Patrick Rutter
617-496-3185
mrutter@seas.harvard.edu

Technology Review Contact:
Sarah Mees
978-208-1499
press@technologyreview.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - August 18, 2009 - In addition to building a three-dimensional map of the human genome and demonstrating that natural selection applies to the evolution of language, Erez Lieberman-Aiden squeezed in enough time to invent a computerized shoe insert that predicts the wearer’s risk of falling.

For these and other accomplishments, Lieberman-Aiden has been recognized by the editors of Technology Review magazine as among the top innovators under the age of 35.

Lieberman-Aiden, enrolled at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), is a Ph.D. degree candidate in the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program, which is part of the collaborative Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST).

In particular, the magazine cited the graduate student’s role developing breakthrough techniques in molecular biology; pioneering theoretical work that laid the foundations of the emerging field of evolutionary graph theory; and his application of evolutionary principles to understand the way language changes over time.

The latter work, developed with Jean-Baptiste Michel and Martin Nowak, Professor of Biology and of Mathematics at Harvard and Director of Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, appeared as a cover story in Nature and was named one of the best papers of 2007.

The judges also noted Lieberman-Aiden’s “other life” as a consummate inventor, writer, and artistic collaborator. His creation of the iShoe in 2008, a product using artificial intelligence to help improve balance in older adults, generated international media attention and led to a start-up company. He has also co-authored two books of fiction, City of Salt and The Apollo Prophecies.

Before pursuing graduate work at Harvard, Lieberman-Aiden earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Princeton University and a master’s in history from Yeshiva University. He was named a Hertz Foundation Fellow in 2008.

In addition To Liberman-Aiden, two Harvard alumni (both with connections to SEAS) were among the young innovators:

  • James Carey, 32, SiOnyx, for using “black silicon” to build inexpensive, super-sensitive light detectors. Carey worked in the lab of Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics.
  • Kurt Zenz House, 31, C12 Energy, Capturing carbon dioxide through cement production. House worked closely with Michael Aziz, Gordon McKay Professor of Materials Science.

Lieberman-Aiden and the other TR35 winners for 2009 will be featured in the September issue of Technology Review magazine and honored at EmTech 09 Conference to be held at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. September 22-24, 2009.

Additional information about past and present TR35 winners and judges is available at http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35. For more information about Em Tech Conference please visit http://www.technologyreview.com/emtech/09/.