2026 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Iris Seitz
The 2026 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Iris Seitz for her work on nucleic acid origami for capsid templating, enzyme modulation, and [...]
Dirks Prize: Past Recipients
2025 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Constantine Evans
The 2025 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Constantine Evans for his work on pattern recognition via nucleation kinetics of multifarious [...]
2024 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Fan Hong
The 2024 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Fan Hong for his work on simulation-based engineering of nuanced regulation and imaging concepts. Fan [...]
2023 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Qi Shen
The 2023 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Qi Shen for his work engineering synthetic nuclear pore mimics to elucidate nuclear pore transport. Qi [...]
2022 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Kasturi Chakraborty
The 2022 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Kasturi Chakraborty for her work on multimodal DNA-based ion reporters and tissue-specific targeting of [...]
2021 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Samuel Schaffter
The 2021 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Samuel Schaffter for his work on modular in vitro regulatory networks and feedback control of [...]
2020 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Zibo Chen
The 2020 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Zibo Chen for his work in rational protein design, inspired by the modularity and programmability of DNA [...]
2019 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Grigory Tikhomirov
The 2019 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Grigory Tikhomirov for his work engineering hierarchical, disordered, and reconfigurable programmable [...]
2018 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Fei Zhang
The 2018 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Fei Zhang for her work engineering molecular wireframes with defined vertex angles and edge curvatures [...]
2017 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize – Dr. Ashwin Gopinath
The 2017 Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize was awarded to Dr. Ashwin Gopinath for his work developing scalable and programmable nanophotonic devices. Combining the [...]