Nicholas A. Peppas is the Cockrell Family Regents Chaired Professor in the Departments of Chemical, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy, Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Institute of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine of the University of Texas at Austin.  

His work in biomaterials, polymer physics, drug delivery and bionanotechnology follows a multidisciplinary approach by blending modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering principles to design the next-generation of medical systems and devices for patient treatment. Over the past 40 years he has set the fundamentals and rational design of drug delivery systems  and developed models of drug and protein diffusion in controlled release devices and biological tissues.

Peppas is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE, Founders Award, 2012), Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, National Academy of Inventors, the National Academy of France, the Royal Academy of Spain, the Academy of Athens and the Academy of Texas.  He has been recognized with awards from AIChE (Founders Award, William Walker Award, Institute Lecture, Jay Bailey Award, Bioengineering Award, Materials Award), the Biomedical Engineering Society (Distinguished Scientist Award), the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (Galletti Award), the Society for Biomaterials (Founders, Clemson and Hall Awards), the Controlled Release Society (Founders, Heller and Eurand Awards) and other societies. In 2008, AIChE named him on of the One Hundred Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era. 

He is President of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Chair of the Engineering Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Past-Chair of the Council of BME Chairs. Previously, he served as President of SFB and the Controlled Release Society.  He is a fellow of AAAS, AIChE, APS, ACS, MRS, SFB, BMES, AIMBE, CRS, AAPS, and ASEE. He has supervised the research of 101 PhDs and about 180 postdocs and visiting scientists. Peppas holds a Dipl. Eng. from the NTU of  Athens (1971), a Sc.D. from MIT (1973), honorary doctorates from the Universities of Ghent, Parma, Athens, Ljubljana and Patras, and an honorary professorship from the Sichuan University.