Manu Prakash

Endowed with broad interests, Dr. Prakash and his students have developed a computer that operates using water droplets. Their goal is to design a new class of computers that can precisely control and manipulate physical matter. Because of its universal nature, the droplet computer can theoretically perform any operation that a conventional electronic computer can crunch although at significantly slower rates. Dr. Prakash is best known for his pioneering work in inventing high-tech tools using inexpensive materials - an endeavor he calls 'frugal science'. His inventions may have been designed to address complicated problems, but their low cost and simple designs make them accessible to everyone. Humanitarian Award for Contributions in Science, Technology and Robotics, Rotary International (2020) Unilever Colworth Prize, Microbiology Society (2020) Recipient of Young Alumnus Award, 2019 by IIT Kanpur. The Creative Class of 2019, Newsweek (2019) Town & Country's 50, Town & Country Magazine (2018) Design of the Year Award (Paperfuge), Beazley (2018) 25 People Shaping the Future, Rolling Stone Magazine (2017) Chan Zuckerberg BioHub Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg BioHub (2017) INDEX Design Award, INDEX (2017) NSF "Vizzies" Experts' Choice Award, Popular Science (2017) Tau Beta Pi Teaching Award, Tau Beta Pi (2017) WIRED's Next List, WIRED (2017) HHMI-Gates Faculty Scholar, HHMI (2016-2021)