{ SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY }

An Engine of Disruptive Innovation

An extraordinary fourth gift from Hansjörg Wyss MBA ’65 further amplifies the Wyss Institute’s efforts to develop revolutionary technologies to transform health care and the environment

Close ups of cells, organ chips, and 3-D printed materials
THE WYSS INSTITUTE DEVELOPS INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT MIMIC NATURE, INCLUDING 3D-PRINTED HUMAN KIDNEY TISSUES DESIGNED FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION; ORGAN CHIPS THAT HELP TO ACCELERATE DRUG DEVELOPMENT; SCAFFOLDS FOR THE GENERATION OF T-CELLS; AND PHONOGRAFT, A SOLUTION TO REPAIR EARDRUM PERFORATIONS.

CREDIT: WYSS INSTITUTE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

An Engine of Disruptive Innovation

{ SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY }
December 15, 2022

Powerful gel adhesives that can heal a wound in almost any part of the body. Eco-friendly air conditioners that work without the use of synthetic refrigerants. Lightweight, wearable robotic devices that help people regain lost mobility. These are just a few of the numerous life-changing technologies that have been developed by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.  

The vision of Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss MBA ’65, the interdisciplinary Wyss Institute brings together researchers from diverse fields who work alongside industry professionals to create innovative solutions—inspired by nature—to address major challenges in health care and sustainability.  

Wyss’s recent $350 million gift is his fourth to the Wyss Institute, building on a founding gift of $125 million in 2009 and subsequent gifts of $125 million in 2013 and $131 million in 2019. His continued support has helped enable almost 4,000 patent filings, more than 100  licensing agreements, and 55 startups, as well as numerous industry collaborations. 

“Since its founding thirteen years ago, the Wyss Institute has been devoted to breaking down silos within and between academia and industry,” says Lawrence S. Bacow JD ’76, MPP  ’76, PhD  ’78, president of Harvard University. “That aspiration, expressed passionately and persistently by Hansjörg Wyss, has yielded a unique model of collaborative and cross-disciplinary research, as well as disruptive innovations that are improving and saving lives.” 

Devoted to preserving the natural world, helping society’s most vulnerable people, and facilitating medical and scientific discoveries through his philanthropy, Wyss is one of Harvard’s most generous supporters and a longtime contributor to many other corners of the University, including Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard Art Museums.  

“I have been tremendously proud to watch the Wyss Institute grow into the remarkable engine for innovation and entrepreneurship that it has become today,” says Wyss. “I hope others will join me in helping to build this incredible enterprise and expand its impact even further in the years to come.” 

Inspired by Nature, Built by Harvard

Researchers at the Wyss Institute apply insights into the way living systems form and function to engineer innovations in health care, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing.

Image of SLIPS coatings and the slippery pitcher plant
Modeled after the slippery pitcher plant, SLIPS coatings create slick, self-cleaning surfaces that repel almost every type of contaminant, with a range of applications from architecture to medical devices to consumer products.
Image of nano-bots and a virus cell
Inspired by viruses, nano-bots are tiny vessels protected by a lipid membrane that could one day facilitate the delivery of drugs and diagnostics in the human body.
Image of synthetic RNA and a computer circuit
“Ribocomputing” devices are made of synthetic RNA and act similarly to computer circuit boards, which can be programmed to respond to biological inputs. These can enable a variety of complex synthetic biology diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Image of organs-on-chips and lungs
Organs-on-Chips, microdevices that replicate the function of several human organs in the laboratory, have the potential to eliminate animal testing, accelerate the development of drugs and diagnostics, and advance personalized medicine.
Image of digital code and DNA coding
Research at the Wyss Institute aims to develop new ways to translate digital information into DNA sequence information. DNA stores vast amounts of biological data in its four-letter code, which makes it ideal as an extremely efficient and robust storage device for digital data.
Image of Kilobots and a school of fish
Inspired by collective behaviors in animals, Kilobots are a low-cost, easy-to-use robotic system for advancing the development of robot “swarms,” which can enable robots to work collaboratively towards a common goal.
Image of cancer cell
Implantable cancer vaccines mimic the body’s lymph nodes by recruiting and programming a patient’s own immune cells to mobilize an attack against cancer cells.
Image of hydrogel adhesive and a common slug
Strong, stretchy hydrogel adhesives inspired by the mucus secreted by a common slug can stick to wet and moving tissues inside and outside the body to help with wound healing and surgeries.
Image of RoboBee and real bee
With sensors and control electronics that mimic a bee’s eyes and antennae, the RoboBee could be used for crop pollination, search-and-rescue missions, and surveillance, as well as high-resolution weather, climate, and environmental monitoring.

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