I am interested in the interface between materials and living things and how material properties affect organisms’ growth, structure, and function at different scales. I teach courses at the intersection of engineering and the arts to explore biological inspiration as a generative influence in art and design.
Penelope Georges, a bioengineer, is dedicated to understanding the body as a material, particularly how tissues alter their flexibility in the transition from healthy to pathological conditions and how cells respond to these changes. Her research is instrumental in the development of biocompatible materials for medical devices and the advancement of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
A member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, Penelope’s publications have appeared in Nature Materials, Biophysical Journal, American Journal of Physiology, Soft Matter, Molecular Neurobiology, and Methods in Cell Biology, among other journals. Before joining the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University, Penelope was on the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a postdoctoral researcher in the Departments of Cell Biology and Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers University.
As the Associate Director of STEM Initiatives at Princeton, Penelope supports the Council’s mission to foster interdisciplinary courses and programming that instill science and engineering fundamentals throughout the Princeton community. She develops and teaches integrative courses that bridge the arts, humanities, social and life sciences, and engineering. Her commitment to promoting equity-minded initiatives is evident in her efforts to stimulate STEM interest and literacy among all of Princeton’s diverse constituents.
