2020, National Academy of Engineering Simon Ramo Founders Award
2017, National Inventors Hall of Fame
2012, Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Professional, awarded by President Barack H. Obama
2005, National Academy of Engineering, Bioengineering Section, Councillor 2014–2020
2003, Presidential Rank of Distinguished Senior Professional, awarded by President George W. Bush
2003, Christopher Columbus Foundation Homeland Security Award (Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Field)
Frances S. Ligler (born June 11, 1951) is a biochemist and bioengineer who was a 2017 inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Ligler's research dramatically improved the effectiveness of biosensors while at the same time reducing their size and increasing automation. Her work on biosensors made it easier to detect toxins and pathogens in food, water, or when airborne.
In a 2017 interview, Ligler summarized her work: "Optical biosensors is a whole field where biological molecules are being used for recognition and transduce an optical signal to a small device. My teams and I demonstrated the use of optical biosensors for detection of pathogens in food, infectious diseases in people, biological warfare agents, environmental pollutants, explosives and drugs of abuse — things that can kill you." Ligler's interests include microfluidics, tissue on chips, optical analytical devices, biosensors and nanotechnology. Ligler holds 37 patents and has authored over 400 scientific papers.
In 2013, she left the US Naval Research Laboratory to become the Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received honorary doctorates from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece in 2014 and from Furman University in 2018. In 2022, she became Professor and Eppright Chair in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
Awards and honors
1992, Office of National Drug Control Policy Technology Transfer Award for Drug Enforcement
1993, Hillebrand Prize, Chemical Society of Washington, D.C.
1997, U.S. Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Scientific Achievement Award
2000, Fellow, SPIE
2000, Navy Superior Civilian Service Award
2003, Christopher Columbus Foundation Homeland Security Award (Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Field)
2003, Presidential Rank of Distinguished Senior Professional, awarded by President George W. Bush
2023, Power List - Innovators and Trailblazers, the Analytical Scientist
2024, Power List - Instrumental Innovators, the Analytical Scientist
Further reading
Busch-Vishniac, Ilene; Busch, Lauren; Tietjen, Jill (2024). "Chapter 34. Frances Ligler". Women in the National Inventors Hall of Fame: The First 50 Years. Springer Nature. ISBN9783031755255.
References
12Ligler, Frances S.; Macuare, Kimberly A. (2018). "The NAI Fellow Profile: An Interview with Dr. Frances Ligler". Technology & Innovation. 19 (3): 645–651. doi:10.21300/19.3.2018.645.