Biomolecular materials researcher Angela Belcher looks to nature for inspiration; her observations have helped her to devise materials for clean fuels and efficient batteries. In June, Belcher, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, was named the recipient of a US$500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize honouring mid-career scientists who make an impact on society.

You had an unusual undergraduate path. How did it influence your career?

I did my bachelor's degree in creative studies, which allowed me to design my own major at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I could take risks, and it allowed me to put different topics together. I worked in plant molecular biology, physics and chemistry labs and did ecology research. Later, as a doctoral student, I worked with a physicist, a molecular biologist and an inorganic chemist. It was like a playground for multidisciplinary science.

Credit: MIT

How did you explore your multidisciplinary interests after graduating?

I isolated proteins involved in growing abalone shell and became fascinated that a soluble protein made by an animal could generate this material. I wanted to apply these concepts to electronics, but I didn't have the background. I did a postdoc with Evelyn Hu, then head of an electrical-engineering lab at UCSB. It was life-changing because I was able to start developing an interface between biological materials, genetics and semiconductor materials.

How did you find your feet in academia?

I explored multiple opportunities: I applied for industry jobs and a postdoc fellowship in entrepreneurship. I also started applying for faculty positions for practice, and got an offer at the University of Texas at Austin. I took the job and started working on selecting evolving organisms, such as viruses, to assemble new materials. My grant applications were not well received — until the first paper out of my lab was in Nature (S. R. Whaley et al. Nature 405, 665–668; 2000), showing it could work. That led to the patents and the venture capital to start my first company, Cambrios Technologies in Sunnyvale, California, which develops electronic materials for touch screens.

You were recruited by two MIT departments jointly. Do you recommend that approach?

I don't advise people to pursue dual appointments as young faculty, because you have commitments in both. It worked out well for me because it fit my research needs and teaching interests, and I had great faculty support. But I suggest that young people choose one department to join and be affiliated with others. That said, a couple of years ago I added a third faculty-level commitment, at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. I was worried that I would not have enough to contribute, but that has not been the case. I discuss topics with a mixture of engineers and cancer biologists.

How has being at MIT helped to foster your entrepreneurial goals?

I have had a lot of mentorship from faculty members to learn how to develop a product, and I have started a second company, Siluria Technologies in San Francisco, California, focused on converting methane to liquid transportation fuel. I tell young faculty members that to find a good academic home, they should decide what they want in terms of lab size, entrepreneurship and lifestyle, and should see if people at the institutions they are interested in are accomplishing those things.

What are the parallels between forming a company and nurturing a productive lab?

Both are founded on ideas. You just have to translate those ideas for a different purpose in business. The hard part is figuring out how to run a business, which scientists do not get much training in. Getting that on-the-job training — for example, learning how to interact with customers — is a humbling experience. One parallel is that hiring really smart people is key. I hire people who are passionate, smart and creative, and aren't afraid to admit they don't know everything.