The Institute of Molecular Engineering has hired four new senior faculty members, including a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” fellow, a National Academy of Engineering member, and Science magazine’s 2010 Breakthrough of the Year awardee.

Giulia Galli, Melody Swartz, and Jeffrey Hubbell will join the Institute in July, while Andrew Cleland will join next November, according to a University press release. The addition of these professors will double the current size of the Institute’s faculty. Galli and Cleland will also work as senior scientists at Argonne National Laboratory.

Commenting on the qualifications of the new faculty, Institute Director Matthew Tirrell said in the press release that “Giulia, Andrew, Melody and Jeff are all creative leaders in their respective fields.”

Launched in 2011, the Institute will welcome its first class of Ph.D. students next fall, with an undergraduate program in the works.