Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering is a cross-disciplinary research institute at Harvard University which focuses on developing new bioinspired materials and devices for applications in healthcare, manufacturing, robotics, energy, and sustainable architecture. The Institute has two sites: one in the Center for Life Sciences Boston building in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and one on Harvard's main campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Wyss Institute was launched in January 2009 with a $125 million gift to Harvard—at the time, the largest single philanthropic gift in its history—from Hansjörg Wyss. In 2013, Hansjorg Wyss doubled his gift to $250 million.The Institute works as an alliance among Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Children’s Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Tufts University, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Translating technological discoveries into commercial products and therapies is an important part of the organization's mission.