Steven Benner

Steven A. Benner is a chemist, synthetic biologist, paleogenetist, and astrobiologist whose work began at Harvard University and developed at the ETH Zurich and the University of Florida before success in inventing medical and biotechnology products allowed him to found The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution. Throughout, he has helped reshape the modern definition of life and the search for it beyond Earth. In 2023 he was awarded the Harold Urey Medal from the International Astrobiology Society for the study of the origin of life.