Megan T. Valentine received the B.S degree from Lehigh University, the M.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and the Ph.D. degree from Harvard University, all in physics. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in biological sciences at Stanford University, with the support of a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellowship and a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award. She is currently a Professor of mechanical engineering with the University of California at Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) and an Associate Director of the California NanoSystems Institute, where she develops new tools for analysis of molecular and cellular mechanics and applies biological design principles to develop high-performance materials. Her major awards include the NSF CAREER Award and the Fulbright Scholar Award to ESPCI-ParisTech, France, to support her work on neuron mechanics and adhesion, respectively. Dr. Valentine is a fellow of the American Physical Society.