Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli is the Paul M. Cook Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He leads the Learning Matter Lab, focusing on computational materials design. His research integrates atomistic simulations with machine learning to accelerate the discovery of materials for energy, sustainability, and healthcare. Key areas include zeolite synthesis, photoswitchable drugs, and polymer electrolytes. Education: BSc, MSc, and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Salamanca (Spain). Postdoctoral research at Heriot-Watt University (Scotland), Harvard University (Aspuru-Guzik Lab), and industry experience at Kyulux (Japan). Research interests span materials design rules linking atomic-scale properties to macroscopic performance. Recent breakthroughs include custom-designed zeolites for decarbonization and machine learning approaches for photoswitchable drugs. Awards include the Sloan Research Fellowship (2023) and Dreyfus Award (2021). He co-founded Calculario, a materials discovery startup applying quantum chemistry and ML. Active in bridging academia and industry, his work has been featured in MIT Technology Review and Wall Street Journal. Grants and collaborations include Google Faculty Award funding. His lab emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches combining physics-based models with AI, addressing challenges in energy storage, catalysis, and sustainable polymers.











