Caltech’s Resnick Sustainability Institute Principal Investigator Dr. Frances Arnold Receives Eni Award in Renewable & Non-Conventional Energy

A principal scientific investigator at the Caltech Resnick Sustainability Institute, Dr. Frances Arnold, has received this year’s Eni Award in Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy, it was announced today.

The Eni Award for Renewable and Non-Conventional energy is one of several annual awards presented by Eni, an integrated energy company based in Italy, according to a news statement.

Arnold leads a team that has combined chemistry and molecular biology to develop a new field of directed evolution. Directed evolution enables the discovery and optimization of biological catalysts – including those for making fuels and chemicals from renewable resources and for environmentally-friendly chemical processes.

Arnold is Caltech’s Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry and, in her role, oversees much of the biofuels research at the Resnick Institute.

The Resnick Institute is Caltech’s studio focused on the breakthroughs that will change the balance of the world’s sustainability. It marries bold creativity and deep scientific knowledge by encouraging original thinking and orthogonal ideas, according to a news statement.

In 2012, Dr. Harry A Atwater received the Eni award for developing new ultrathin, high-efficiency solar cells. Atwater is Caltech’s Howard Hughes Professor and professor of applied physics and materials science, as well as director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute.