Darren Hardy
Success Mentor to CEOs & High-Achievers | NYT Bestselling Author of The Compound Effect | Former Publisher, SUCCESS Magazine | Founder, DarrenDaily
Frances Arnold
2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry | Linus Pauling Professor, Caltech | Pioneer of Directed Evolution | Board Member, Alphabet & Illumina
Frances Arnold won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing directed evolution — the method that taught enzymes to do chemistry nature never imagined. Linus Pauling Professor at Caltech, co-founder of three biotech companies, and board member of Alphabet, she shows leaders how biological design and AI are unlocking the next era of medicine, energy, and sustainability.
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Frances Arnold biography
Keynote speaker Frances Arnold is the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and the architect of one of the most consequential revolutions in modern science — directed evolution. As the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and director of the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center, she has spent four decades teaching biology to do what took nature billions of years: create powerful new enzymes on demand.
Nobel Prize speaker Frances Arnold is best known for pioneering directed evolution — a method that applies the principles of genetic mutation and natural selection to engineer enzymes with entirely new capabilities. Her landmark 1993 publication, which introduced the technique to the world, transformed enzyme engineering from a largely theoretical pursuit into a practical tool now used in laboratories and manufacturing facilities across the globe. The applications are sweeping: directed evolution underlies the development of Merck’s diabetes drug Januvia, greener pharmaceutical synthesis processes, new generations of biofuels, and non-toxic agricultural pest control. Arnold holds over 60 U.S. patents and has co-founded three companies — Gevo (renewable fuels), Provivi (crop protection), and Aralez Bio (sustainable specialty chemicals) — translating her lab’s breakthroughs into real-world industry.
Her institutional recognition is without parallel. Arnold is elected to all three U.S. National Academies — Science, Medicine, and Engineering — a distinction held by fewer than 25 people in history. She has also received the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the Millennium Technology Prize, and the 2025 Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society’s highest honor. In 2019, she was appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Francis and joined the board of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. She served as external co-chair of President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 2021 to 2025.
Science, Engineering, and the Power of Evolution
Arnold’s career trajectory is itself a testament to the power of unconventional thinking. She arrived at biochemistry via mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton and a doctorate in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley — a background that gave her a builder’s instinct for problems that pure biologists might have approached differently. That engineering mindset is what led her to recognize, in the early 1990s, that rational design of enzymes was failing, and that evolution itself — accelerated and directed in the lab — was the superior strategy.
As a speaker, Frances Arnold brings to senior audiences a rare combination of Nobel-caliber scientific authority and the grounded pragmatism of a three-time company founder. Her talks explore how nature’s most powerful algorithm — evolution — can be harnessed to solve humanity’s hardest problems in medicine, energy, and sustainability. Audiences leave with a deepened appreciation for biological design as a platform technology, and a compelling vision of how the convergence of AI and directed evolution is opening yet another frontier in what life can be made to do.
Frances Arnold Speaking Videos
Frances H. Arnold: Nobel Lecture in Chemistry 2018
2024 Welch Conference Keynote Address - Frances H. Arnold
Frances Arnold Keynote Topics
For billions of years, evolution shaped life through random mutation and brutal selection. Frances Arnold borrowed that playbook and radically accelerated it in the lab. This keynote traces the journey from her 1993 breakthrough to today's AI-powered enzyme design, showing how harnessing evolution's logic is producing drugs that save lives, fuels that don't destroy the planet, and chemicals made without toxic waste. Audiences leave understanding why biological design is becoming the defining engineering discipline of the 21st century.
Machine learning is transforming how scientists search the vast universe of possible proteins — a space so large that evolution has only sampled a tiny fraction of it. Arnold explores how her lab is combining directed evolution with AI to find enzymes with capabilities that natural selection never reached: catalyzing reactions unknown in biology, degrading pollutants, and producing medicines with precision impossible by conventional chemistry. This talk is essential for technology, pharma, and investment audiences navigating the next wave of life sciences innovation.
What if the most powerful innovation process ever invented is not a management framework or a startup methodology, but evolution itself? Arnold draws on three decades of scientific breakthroughs and company-building to offer a fresh perspective on how complex problems get solved — by variation, selection, and iteration at scale. Equal parts scientific revelation and strategic insight, this keynote resonates with leaders in any sector who are rethinking how their organizations approach creativity, failure, and long-term impact.
The chemical industry is one of the world's largest sources of pollution and carbon emissions — and enzyme engineering may be its most promising solution. Arnold explores how directed evolution is already replacing toxic chemical processes in pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturing, enabling biofuels, and pioneering non-toxic crop protection. She makes the case that sustainable chemistry is not a constraint on growth but an engine of it, and offers a vision of manufacturing that works with biology rather than against it.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Frances Arnold
Why Frances Arnold?
Booking Frances Arnold for your event means bringing the world's foremost authority on directed evolution — and one of the most decorated scientists alive — to your stage. As the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, recipient of the 2025 Priestley Medal, and a board member of Alphabet Inc., Arnold commands the kind of credibility that resonates across scientific, business, and policy audiences alike. She is not only a brilliant researcher but a proven entrepreneur who has co-founded three companies that are actively transforming renewable energy, agriculture, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Her ability to translate frontier science into urgent, accessible narratives makes her an exceptional keynote for events focused on innovation, sustainability, biotechnology, women in leadership, and the future of AI-driven science. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check Frances Arnold's availability and bring one of the most important scientific voices of our era to your next event.
What did Frances Arnold win the Nobel Prize for?
Frances Arnold was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the directed evolution of enzymes. In 1993, she published a seminal method for engineering enzymes by introducing targeted genetic mutations and then selecting the variants that best perform a desired function — mimicking, in accelerated form, the process of natural selection. This technique transformed enzyme engineering and is now widely used in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and energy industries. Arnold shared the prize with George Smith and Gregory Winter, who applied similar evolutionary principles to bacteriophage display.
What is directed evolution and why does it matter?
Directed evolution is a method of protein engineering that uses iterative cycles of genetic mutation and artificial selection to develop enzymes with new or improved properties — properties that either don't exist in nature or would take millions of years to evolve naturally. Frances Arnold pioneered this approach in the early 1990s, and it has since become one of the most widely used techniques in biotechnology. Its applications include the development of life-saving drugs, more sustainable industrial chemical processes, biofuels, biodegradable materials, and novel crop protection solutions. The technique is now being supercharged by AI and machine learning, opening a new era of enzyme discovery that Arnold's lab continues to lead.
What topics does Nobel Prize speaker Frances Arnold cover at events?
Frances Arnold speaks on directed evolution and the future of biological design, the convergence of AI and life sciences, green chemistry and sustainable manufacturing, biotech entrepreneurship, women in STEM and scientific leadership, and the role of science in shaping public policy. Her talks are especially compelling for audiences in pharmaceuticals, energy, agriculture, technology, and corporate innovation — and for any organization seeking a speaker who can articulate both the science and the strategic opportunity behind the biotechnology revolution. To book Frances Arnold for your event, reach out to Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Frances Arnold as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Frances Arnold as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Frances Arnold's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Frances Arnold or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Frances Arnold speaking fee?
Frances Arnold speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Frances Arnold to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Frances Arnold.
How can I contact Frances Arnold?
We only work with Frances Arnold on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Frances Arnold and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Frances Arnold speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Frances Arnold for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Frances Arnold for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Frances Arnold is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Frances Arnold for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
