Dr. Paula Hammond works at a scale so small it is almost abstract, yet the consequences of her research are unmistakably human. A chemical engineer by training, she has spent her life unraveling the behavior of nanomaterials, assembling them layer by layer to shape new possibilities in medicine, energy, and materials science. Her work is not simply about molecules, but about how careful design at the smallest scales can lead to profound change.
I photographed Hammond on October 5, 2023, in the Chemical Engineering building at MIT, a space as structured and thoughtfully designed as the research that happens inside it. At the time, she was chair of the department, guiding students and faculty through the complex terrain of discovery and mentorship. Since then, her role has expanded. She now serves as MIT’s executive vice provost, and in January 2026 she will become dean of the School of Engineering, the first woman to hold that position in the Institute’s history. It is a role that places her at the center of one of the most influential engineering communities in the world, shaping not only research priorities but the culture and future of the institution itself.
Precision defines Hammond’s scientific work. She is widely known for pioneering layer by layer assembly techniques for nanostructured polymers, methods that allow extraordinary control over how materials are built and how they behave. These advances have transformed targeted drug delivery, enabling therapies to be released with remarkable specificity inside the body. The same foundational ideas extend into regenerative medicine, imaging, and energy technologies, carrying her influence well beyond the laboratory.
Her career has unfolded with the same deliberateness as her research. Each step reflects a balance between depth and vision, between mastery of detail and an awareness of larger systems. That perspective has made her not only a leading scientist but a trusted institutional leader. She played a formative role in the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies and has long helped shape the culture of Chemical Engineering at MIT, a department known for rigor, creativity, and collaboration.
Recognition has followed. Hammond is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences, a rare distinction that speaks to the breadth of her impact. Yet in conversation, accolades recede quickly. What comes forward instead is a deep investment in people, in students finding their footing, in faculty building sustainable careers, and in institutions learning how to support excellence more equitably.
Mentorship and advocacy sit at the center of Hammond’s view of science. Diversity in STEM is not an abstract principle for her but a practical requirement for progress. She believes innovation depends on a wide range of perspectives, just as complex materials depend on the interplay of many components.
Science at its best is both exacting and expansive. Paula Hammond embodies that balance. She builds patiently, layer by layer, with the precision of an engineer and the intuition of a designer. As she steps into one of the most consequential leadership roles in engineering education, she continues to show that the future of science is shaped not only by discovery, but by how we choose to build communities that allow discovery to thrive.
