Each year the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) hosts the Frontiers of Engineering symposium for "the nation's top engineers, ages 30 to 45 years who have demonstrated recognizable contributions to advancing the frontiers of engineering."

This year, the academy selected Anna Skaja Robinson, biochemistry, to attend the three-day event, held Sept. 14-16 in Irvine, Calif.

The symposium was created by the NAE to respond to the growing interdisciplinary nature of engineering and to give "top-notch engineers, early in their careers" the opportunity to learn about pioneering scientific applications and cutting-edge research.

Robinson's degrees in chemical engineering and postdoctoral fellowship in biology have lead to her research into the cause and cure of misfolded protein at both the atomic and molecular levels. The use of chemical engineering techniques to investigate methods of dealing with a problem affecting human biology prompted NAE's invitation to participate in the meeting.