Pasadena : Caltech Researcher Honored

Frances Arnold of Pasadena, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Caltech, has received a $150,000 Young Investigator grant from the Office of Naval Research for 1988. Arnold, 31, is one of 15 chosen this year from 332 applicants across the country.

Adm. J. R. Nelson, chief of naval research, said the Young Investigator program is designed to reward young scientists and engineers “who show exceptional promise of doing creative research and teaching.”

Arnold said she will use the grant to apply molecular engineering techniques to the design of proteins that can be used as metal-binding agents. The aim of her research is to develop protein-based techniques for removing toxic metals from waste water.