Prof. Michael Hecht Princeton University, USA

Michael Hecht grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He attended Cornell University, where he did undergraduate research with Harold Scheraga. He did graduate work at MIT, where he received the first PhD from the laboratory of Robert Sauer. In his post-doctoral research, Hecht worked with David and... read moreJane Richardson at Duke to design one of the first de novo proteins. In 1990, Hecht joined the faculty at Princeton, where is currently a Professor of Chemistry and holds an affiliated appointment in Molecular Biology. His research focuses on rational/combinatorial methods for protein design. He has also worked on the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease. Hecht teaches courses ranging from Introductory Chemistry to graduate seminars on Protein Folding and Design. In addition to teaching and research, Prof. Hecht is the Head of Forbes College, one of the six undergraduate colleges at Princeton University. When not in Frick Lab or Forbes College, he spends time traveling, skiing, inline skating, bicycling, and hiking.