Hal Alper

by | Oct 17, 2024

Hal Alper
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
2024

Hal Alper is the Kenneth A. Kobe Professor in Chemical Engineering and Executive Director of the Center for Biomedical Research Support at The University of Texas at Austin.  He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 and was a postdoctoral research associate at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research from 2006-2008, and at Shire Human Genetic Therapies from 2007-2008.  Dr. Alper also serves on the Graduate Studies Committee for the Cell and Molecular Biology Department and the Biochemistry Department.

Dr. Alper is currently the Principal Investigator of the Laboratory for Cellular and Metabolic Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin where his lab focuses on metabolic and cellular engineering in the context of biofuel, biochemical, and biopharmaceutical production in an array of model host organisms.  His research focuses on applying and extending the approaches of synthetic biology, systems biology, and protein engineering.  He has published over 160 articles and 8 book chapters.

Dr. Alper is the recipient of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (2008), Texas Exes Teaching Award (2009), DuPont Young Investigator Award (2010), Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (2011), UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (2012), Biotechnology and Bioengineering Daniel I.C. Wang Award (2013), Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award (2014), Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2014), Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Young Investigator Award (2015), ACS BIOT Young Investigator Award (2016), UT-Austin Emerging Inventor of the Year Award (2016) and AIChE Allan P. Colburn Award (2018), Biochemical Engineering Journal Young Investigator Award (2019), Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering (2019), and the AIChE Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress in Chemical Engineering (2023). He was elected as a Fellow to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2018, to the National Academy of Inventors in 2019, and to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024.