Dr. Karen L. Wooley, distinguished professor, director of the Texas A&M Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions and the W.T. Doherty-Welch Chair in Chemistry at Texas A&M University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has become one of only two Texas A&M professors to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Class of 2026 this year.
This prestigious academic honor, awarded to Wooley for a career of incredible research in chemistry, makes her this year’s only inductee from Texas A&M’s College of Arts and Sciences. She will be recognized alongside Dr. Thomas Blasingame, holder of the Robert L. Whiting Professorship and head of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M.
“It is an honor to congratulate Dr. Karen Wooley on her well-deserved election to the National Academy of Engineering," said Dr. Simon North, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Having had the privilege of working with Dr. Wooley for many years, I have seen firsthand the impact of her innovative research and leadership in polymer chemistry. Her election, in addition to her membership in the National Academy of Sciences, is a testament to her remarkable contributions to science and engineering. The College of Arts and Sciences joins me in celebrating this outstanding achievement.”
The NAE is one branch of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a private, independent and nonprofit institution created by the federal government in 1863, with the mission to “investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art.” While the NAE itself was created in 1964, it still shares the goal of improving welfare and prosperity within the United States by providing independent, objective advice to the government and promoting engineering to professionals and the public.
“Personally and professionally, election to the NAE is a great achievement,” Wooley said. “It represents recognition of interdisciplinary innovations that my research team and I have been developing during what is becoming a long career. It also symbolizes our efforts to advance scientific knowledge and technologies through chemistry, but also beyond traditional chemistry to include interfaces with engineering disciplines.”
Even in Wooley’s earliest scholarly work, she collaborated with scientists, engineers and clinicians to actualize her findings and push past technological limitations. She focused on stabilizing polymers into shell cross-linked knedel-like (SCK) nanoparticle assemblies to be applied in nanomedicine or environmental cleanup. For instance, she engaged in various collaborations in academia and industry to accomplish imaging and therapeutic delivery for cancer and infectious diseases. She also applied her synthetic polymer research through industrial collaborations toward advanced fabrication of microelectronic devices.
In her most recent findings, she continues to collaborate with engineers to ensure her fundamental research is applied to technology and translated for positive societal impacts. Wooley’s collaborative research with Teysha Technologies to transform agricultural waste into safe and degradable plastics and chemicals has been making waves in the scientific community, earning her the prestigious Hill Prize for Physical Sciences earlier this year.
In addition to her newfound membership with the NAE, Wooley has also been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2020, making her the second Texas A&M professor to hold membership in both organizations, and the first woman. Dr. Vanderlei S. Bagnato, a professor of biomedical engineering at Texas A&M, is an international member of both NAE and NAS.
“Election to membership in the NAS is an honor that I had wanted for many years, and expected that I could achieve,” Wooley said. “The NAE felt out of reach, which is another reason that I am so thrilled. Being part of both academies underscores how closely intertwined those efforts have been over the course of my over 30-year career, and how important it is to bridge science and engineering to create lasting impact.”
She is also a member of the following organizations: American Academy of Arts and Sciences; New York Academy of Sciences, Texas Academy of Medicine Engineering, Science and Technology; American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; and the National Academy of Inventors. In 2021 Wooley was named the Southeastern Conference Professor of the Year.
Wooley’s made Texas A&M her home for the past 16 years, collaborating with dozens of fellow academics across a variety of disciplines, upholding Texas A&M’s legacy of excellence. With her induction into the NAE, she joins the ranks of more than 30 Texas A&M faculty members, adding to the contributions of her colleagues that have already established the university as a staple in advancing science and engineering.
“When I relocated to Texas A&M, I immediately sensed a vibrant energy, enthusiasm and commitment to excellence by faculty and students alike — not only in transferring or gaining existing knowledge, but in advancing knowledge, capabilities and technologies,” Wooley said. “Election to the NAE allows me to show that the outcomes from research at this outstanding institution are important to the public. “It’s an absolute thrill!”
Passion and love for chemistry have pushed Wooley to continue contributing to Texas A&M as an innovator for research and application. With her election into the NAE, she will stand on an even greater platform to continue fostering collaboration between chemists, engineers and other STEM disciplines.