Erik Winfree is Professor of Computer Science, Computation and Neural Systems, and Bioengineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science and the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He received his B.S. from the University of Chicago in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Caltech in 1998. Following his doctoral studies, Winfree joined the Caltech faculty as Assistant Professor in 1999, advanced to Associate Professor in 2006, and was promoted to Professor in 2010. He leads the DNA and Natural Algorithms Group, focusing on biomolecular computation.

Winfree's research explores the theoretical and experimental dimensions of molecular programming. His interests include DNA computation, DNA nanotechnology, algorithmic self-assembly, in vitro biochemical circuits and systems, enzyme-free DNA strand displacement circuits, DNA-based molecular robotics, molecular self-replicating systems and evolution, multistranded DNA and RNA interaction kinetics, nucleic acid system specification and sequence design, and fault-tolerant molecular computing. He develops models of computation that incorporate molecular folding, self-assembly, biochemical circuits, and molecular robotics to assess their expressiveness for tasks such as decision-making, memory, behavior, and morphogenesis. Winfree also devises methods to compile abstract molecular programs into physical molecules, testing them experimentally. Among his seminal publications are "Design and self-assembly of two-dimensional DNA crystals" (Nature, 1998), "Enzyme-free nucleic acid logic circuits" (Science, 2006), "Engineering entropy-driven reactions and networks catalyzed by DNA" (Science, 2007), "Scaling up digital circuit computation with DNA strand displacement cascades" (Science, 2011), and "Neural network computation with DNA strand displacement cascades" (Nature, 2011). His contributions have earned him the MacArthur Fellowship in 2000, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2002, and election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015 for foundational contributions to biomolecular computing and molecular programming. Winfree's scholarship has profoundly shaped the fields of DNA nanotechnology and biomolecular computation.

Professional Email: winfree@caltech.edu