Background
Belcher grew up in San Antonio, Texas.
Belcher grew up in San Antonio, Texas.
She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received her Bachelor"s degree from the College of Creative Studies in 1991 and her Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry in 1997.
She is director of the Biomolecular Materials Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 2004 MacArthur Fellow. After studying abalone shells, she worked with several colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and engineered a virus, known as the M13 bacteriophage whose target is usually Escherichia coli. M13 can be made to latch onto and coat itself with inorganic materials including gold and cobalt oxide.
The long tubular virus (coated in cobalt oxide) now acts as a minuscule length of wire called a nanowire.
Belcher"s group coaxed many of these nanowires together and found that they resemble the basic components of a potentially very powerful and compact battery. In 2002 she founded Cambrios with Evelyn L. Hu of (at the time) University of California, Santa Barbara.
Their vision relied upon the use of nanostructured inorganic materials, fabricated and shaped by biological molecules to create novel materials and processes for a variety of industries. In 2009 Belcher and her team demonstrated the feasibility of using genetically modified viruses to build both anode and cathode of a lithium-ion battery.
These new batteries have the same energy capacity and power as cutting-edge rechargeable batteries earmarked for use in hybrid cars, as well as powering a range of electronic devices.
The batteries could be manufactured using a cheap and environmentally friendly process, as the synthesis can be done near room temperature, using no harmful solvents or toxic materials. A Time article featured her work on viral batteries and Scientific American named her research leader of the year in 2006 for her current project In 2002, she was named to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Technology Review TR100 as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
