Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng (born August 29, 1948) is an American scientist, engineer, and inventor. He is one of nine Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He was the Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and continues to work in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT. He is also a teacher at the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

Langer has over 1,400 patents that have been approved or are still being considered. He is one of the world’s most frequently cited researchers, with an h-index of 336 (according to Google Scholar, 2026-3-8) and over 472,000 citations. His work is widely recognized in biotechnology, especially in drug delivery systems and tissue engineering.

He is the engineer with the most citations in history and one of the 10 most cited individuals in any field. He has written over 1,600 scientific papers. Langer is also a successful businessman, having helped start more than 40 biotechnology companies, including the well-known pharmaceutical company Moderna.

Langer’s research laboratory at MIT is the biggest biomedical engineering lab in the world. It receives over $10 million each year in grants and employs more than 100 researchers. He has received many awards for his work.

Background and personal life

Langer was born on August 29, 1948, in Albany, New York. He graduated from The Milne School and earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University. He received his Doctor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974. His dissertation was called "Enzymatic regeneration of ATP" and was completed under the guidance of Clark K. Colton. From 1974 to 1977, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Children's Hospital in Boston and at Harvard Medical School under Judah Folkman.

Contributions to medicine and biotechnology

Langer is widely known for his work in medicine and biotechnology. He is recognized as a pioneer in creating new technologies, such as controlled release systems and transdermal delivery systems. These systems allow drugs to be delivered through the skin or analytes to be removed from the body without using needles or other invasive methods.

Langer collaborated with Judah Folkman at Boston Children's Hospital to isolate the first angiogenesis inhibitor, a large molecule that prevents the growth of blood vessels in tumors. Large molecules are often broken down by the body or blocked by tissues when injected or inhaled, making their delivery challenging. Langer’s solution was to enclose the inhibitor in a synthetic polymer that would not cause inflammation and could be implanted in tumors to control the release of the inhibitor. He later developed effective polymer systems, which became the basis for modern drug delivery technology.

Langer also partnered with Henry Brem of Johns Hopkins University Medical School to create a drug-delivery system for treating brain cancer. This system delivers chemotherapy directly to tumor sites. The wafer implants he and his team designed have become more advanced over time, capable of delivering multiple drugs and responding to environmental changes. In 2019, he and his team developed a technique using microneedle tattoo patches to store medical information under the skin with invisible ink. This method was described as helpful for developing nations, where poor infrastructure often leads to missing medical records. The technology uses a quantum dot dye, which is delivered with a vaccine through a microneedle patch.

Langer is considered the founder of tissue engineering in regenerative medicine. He and his lab have made progress in creating engineered blood vessels and muscle tissue. Synthetic polymers act as a framework for growing new skin, muscle, bone, and even entire organs. These materials are biocompatible and can break down naturally in the body, helping people with serious injuries or birth defects grow missing tissue.

Langer is involved in research related to diabetes. With Daniel G. Anderson, he has worked on a project with teams from MIT, Harvard University, and other institutions to develop an implantable device for treating type 1 diabetes. This device protects insulin-producing beta cells from immune system attacks. He is also part of a team at MIT that created a drug capsule capable of delivering oral insulin to people with type 1 diabetes.

Awards and honors

At age 43, Langer became the youngest person ever to be elected to all three American science academies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. He was also chosen as a charter member of the National Academy of Inventors. In 2010, he was elected as an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Langer has received more than 220 major awards. He is one of three living people who have received both the U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

• 1996: Gairdner Foundation International Award
• 1998: Lemelson-MIT Prize for invention and innovation
• 2002: Othmer Gold Medal
• 2002: Dickson Prize in Science
• 2002: Charles Stark Draper Prize (seen as the Nobel Prize for engineers)
• 2003: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
• 2003: Harvey Prize in Science & Technology and Human Health
• 2005: Dan David Prize
• 2005: Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research
• 2006: United States National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush
• 2008: Max Planck Research Award
• 2008: Prince of Asturias Award for Scientific Research
• 2008: Millennium Technology Prize for developing innovative biomaterials for controlled drug release
• 2010: Elected an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
• 2011: The Economist’s Innovation award in bioscience for drug-delivery and tissue engineering
• 2011: Warren Alpert Foundation Prize
• 2012: Perkin Medal (highest honor for applied chemistry in the U.S.)
• 2012: Wilhelm Exner Medal
• 2012: Priestley Medal (highest honor from the American Chemical Society for chemistry)
• 2013: United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama
• 2013: Wolf Prize in Chemistry for advances in polymer chemistry
• 2013: IEEE Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology
• 2014: Biotechnology Heritage Award for contributions to biotechnology
• 2014: Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
• 2014: Kyoto Prize
• 2015: Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
• 2015: Named Cornell University’s Entrepreneur of the Year
• 2015: Scheele Award
• 2015: Kazemi Prize (Royan Institute)
• 2015: Hoover Medal
• 2016: European Inventor Award
• 2016: Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science
• 2017: Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine
• 2017: Named 1# Translational Researcher in the World by Nature Biotechnology
• 2018: Named 1# Translational Researcher in the World by Nature Biotechnology
• 2018: Leadership Award for Historic Scientific Advancement, American Chemical Society
• 2018: Inducted into Advanced Materials Hall of Fame
• 2019: Hope Funds for Cancer Award of Excellence in Basic Sciences
• 2019: National Library of Medicine (Friends) Distinguished Medical Science Award
• 2019: Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences
• 2020: Maurice Marie–Janot Award
• 2020: Medalha da Ciência (highest honor for scientists in Portugal)
• 2021: Elected Foreign Associate, Chinese Academy of Engineering
• 2021: Biomaterials Global Impact Award
• 2021: Falch Lecture Prize, University of Bergen, Norway
• 2021: John P. Merrill Award
• 2021: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
• 2022: Balzan Prize
• 2023: Cornell Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award
• 2023: Genome Valley Excellence Award (India)
• 2023: Hamilton Medal (Queen’s University Belfast)
• 2023/2024: Paul Janssen Award
• 2024: Kavli Prize in Nanoscience
• 2025: Ellis Island Medal of Honor
• 2025: Lipid Science Prize (Camurus Lipid Research Foundation, Sweden)
• 2025: Double Helix Medal with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
• 2025: Elected to Plastics Hall of Fame
• 2026: Named number 39 of the Forbes 250 America’s Greatest Innovators (number 1 of all academic scientists)

He has also received other awards, including the 10th Annual Heinz Award in Technology, Economy, and Employment (2003). In 2013, he was awarded the IRI Medal with George M. Whitesides for technological innovation. He also received the Rusnano Prize that year.

Langer has honorary degrees from 44 universities worldwide, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Oxford, and others. He has also received the UCSF medal.

In November 2024, Chiba Institute of Technology awarded Langer an honorary doctorate.

Business ventures

Langer has helped start more than twenty companies in partnership with the investment company Polaris Partners. The Harvard Business Review has written about the success of these companies and Langer's role in them.

Langer is a member of the Advisory Board of Patient Innovation, a nonprofit organization that helps patients and caregivers from around the world share their ideas in many languages, without cost. He is also part of the Xconomists, a group of experts who advise on editorial content for the tech news and media company Xconomy.

Additionally, Langer works as a Scientific Advisor to Helus Pharma and Lindus Health.