Ariel L. Furst

About

Ariel L. Furst is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on the development of new materials and methods for chemical and biological applications, emphasizing the understanding and control of molecular interactions at interfaces. She is involved in advancing knowledge in areas related to chemical engineering, with particular attention to the design and application of materials in biomedical and environmental contexts. Her work contributes to the broader field of chemical engineering by exploring innovative approaches to material science and interface phenomena, supporting the development of technologies with significant societal impact.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Materials science
• Microbiology
• Biochemical engineering
• Intensive care medicine
• Nanotechnology
• Business
• Internal medicine
• Engineering

Selected publications

• The silent pandemic: Emergent antibiotic resistances following the global response to SARS-CoV-2

  iScience · 2021 · 185 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the rapid development of vaccines and antivirals. However, the potential for the emergence of antibiotic resistances due to the increased use of antibacterial cleaning products and therapeutics presents an additional, underreported threat. Most antibacterial cleaners contain simple quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs); however, these compounds are steadily becoming less effective as antibacterial agents. QACs are extensively used…

  DOI

• Electrochemical Sensors to Detect Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens

  ACS Sensors · 2021 · 144 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Bacterial foodborne pathogens cause millions of illnesses each year and disproportionately impact those in developing countries. To combat these diseases and their spread, effective monitoring of foodborne pathogens is needed. Technologies to detect these microbes must be deployable at the point-of-contamination, often in nonideal environments. Electrochemical sensors are uniquely suited for field-deployable monitoring, as they are quantitative, rapid, and do not require expensive instrumentatio…

  DOI

• Lanmodulin‐Decorated Microbes for Efficient Lanthanide Recovery

  Advanced Materials · 2025-01-16 · 20 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for many clean energy technologies. Yet, they are a limited resource currently obtained through carbon‐intensive mining. Here, bio‐scaffolded proteins serve as simple, effective materials for the recovery of REEs. Surface expression of the protein lanmodulin (LanM) on E. coli , followed by freeze‐drying of the microbes, yields a displayed protein material for REE recovery. Four REE cations (Y 3+ , La 3+ , Gd 3+ , and Tb 3+ ) are captured efficien…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mixed Conducting Polymers Alter Electron Transfer Thermodynamics to Boost Current Generation from Electroactive Microbes

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024-07-13 · 18 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Electroactive microbes that can release or take up electrons are essential components of nearly every ecological niche and are powerful tools for the development of alternative energy technologies. Small-molecule mediators are critical for this electron transfer but remain difficult to study and engineer because they perform concerted two-electron transfer in native systems but only individual, one-electron transfers in electrochemical studies. Here, we report that electrode modification with io…

  PublisherDOI

• Secondary Structure in Enzyme‐Inspired Polymer Catalysts Impacts Water Oxidation Efficiency

  Advanced Science · 2024-04-17 · 14 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Protein structure plays an essential role on their stability, functionality, and catalytic activity. In this work, the interplay between the β-sheet structure and its catalytic implications to the design of enzyme-inspired materials is investigated. Here, inspiration is drawn from the active sites and β-sheet rich structure of the highly efficient multicopper oxidase (MCO) to engineer a bio-inspired electrocatalyst for water oxidation utilizing the abundant metal, copper. Copper ions are coordin…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Gang Fan

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  21 shared

• Matthew B. Francis

  University of California, Berkeley

  21 shared

• Marjon Zamani

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  17 shared

• Amruta Karbelkar

  Dartmouth College

  12 shared

• Michael G. Hill

  Occidental College

  10 shared

• Pris Wasuwanich

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  9 shared

• Jacqueline K. Barton

  California Institute of Technology

  9 shared

• Thomas Mark Gill

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  9 shared

Labs

• Ariel L. FurstPI

Education

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1990

• B.S., Chemical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1985

Awards & honors

• C&EN: Talented Twelve, 2025
• Jonathan L. Sessler Fellowship, 2025
• Sloan Research Fellowship, 2025
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2024
• AIChE, Women in Chemical Engineering (WIC) Rising Star, 2023

Similar researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Paula T. Hammondh-132
• Klavs F. Jensenh-131
• Martin Z. Bazanth-114