A UC Santa Barbara alumna and a postdoc at UC Berkeley are among MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35 for 2014. The annual list recognizes young talent, often in academia, solving societal problems through technology and influencing their fields.
Credit: Carnegie Mellon University
Kathryn Whitehead, currently an assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara. There, she created small experimental patches that, when swallowed, adhere to the intestine to deliver insulin. It is a promising alternative to the frequent painful insulin shots that people with diabetes typically need. More recently, Whitehead has focused on small interfering RNA (siRNA), which can be used to target and shut off gene expression. She is analyzing the next batch of nanoparticles and siRNA she’d like to test for various treatments, including some that target lymphoma tumors.
Credit: Winni Wintermeyer
Kurtis Heimerl left Microsoft Research to join UC Berkeley’s Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions program, where he encountered programming code that bridges Internet telephony and cellular phone networks. This led to his Village Base Station, produced by his company, Endaga; the device brings cellular coverage to remote areas. Heimerl still is at Berkeley as a postdoc.
An international panel of 19 judges selected the 35 honorees from among 80 finalists (from an initial pool of 500).
