Faisal Alamgir

Faisal Alamgir

Faisal Alamgir

Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering
Initiative Lead, Advanced Real-time Materials Characterization

faisal.alamgir@mse.gatech.edu

404.385.3263

Office Location:
Love 373

Website

Google Scholar

Research Focus Areas:
  • Delivery & Storage
  • Fuels & Chemical Processing
  • Hydrogen Production
  • Hydrogen Utilization
  • Materials for Energy
Additional Research:
Energy Conversion, energy storage, nanomaterials, optical materials, photovoltaics, catalysis, electrical grid, energy storage

IRI Connections:

Andreas Bommarius

Andreas Bommarius

Andreas Bommarius

Professor
RBI Initiative Lead: A Renewables-based Economy from WOOD (ReWOOD)

Andreas (Andy) S. Bommarius is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as well of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.  He received his diploma in Chemistry in 1984 at the Technical University of Munich, Germany and his Chemical Engineering B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 1982 and 1989 at MIT, Cambridge, MA.

From 1990-2000, he led the Laboratory of Enzyme Catalysis at Degussa (now Evonik) in Wolfgang, Germany, where his work ranged from immobilizing homogenous catalysts in membrane reactors to large-scale cofactor-regenerated redox reactions to pharma intermediates.

At Georgia Tech since 2000, his research interests cover green chemistry and biomolecular engineering, specifically biocatalyst development and protein stability studies.  His lab applies data-driven protein engineering to improve protein properties on catalysts ranging from ene and nitro reductases to cellobiohydrolases.  Bommarius has guided the repositioning of the curriculum towards Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering by developing new courses in Process Design, Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, as well as Drug Design, Development, and Delivery (D4), an interdisciplinary course with Mark Prausnitz.

Andy Bommarius in 2008 became a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.  Since 2010, he is Director of the NSF-I/UCR Center for Pharmaceutical Development (CPD), a Center focusing on process development, drug substance and product stability, and novel analytical methods for the characterization of drug substances and excipients.

andreas.bommarius@chbe.gatech.edu

404-385-1334

Office Location:
EBB 5018

Website

  • Related Site
  • Google Scholar

    Research Focus Areas:
    • Biobased Materials
    • Biochemicals
    • Biorefining
    • Biotechnology
    • Drug Design, Development and Delivery
    • Molecular Evolution
    • Pulp Paper Packaging & Tissue
    • Renewable Energy
    • Sustainable Manufacturing
    Additional Research:
    Biomolecular engineering, especially biocatalysis, biotransformations, and biocatalyst stability. Biofuels. Enzymatic Processing; Biochemicals; Chip Activation.

    IRI Connections:

    Saad Bhamla

    Saad Bhamla

    Saad Bhamla

    Assistant Professor

    Saad Bhamla studies biomechanics across species to engineer knowledge and tools that inspire curiosity.

    Saad Bhamla is an assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at Georgia Tech. A self-proclaimed "tinkerer," his lab is a trove of discoveries and inventions that span biology, physics and engineering. His current projects include studying the hydrodynamics of insect urine, worm blob locomotion and ultra-low-cost devices for global health. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Economist, CNN, Wired, NPR, the Wall Street Journal and more.

    Saad is a prolific inventor and his most notable inventions includes a 20-cent paper centrifuge, a 23-cent electroporator, and the 96-cent hearing aid. Saad's work is recognised by numerous awards including a NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award, NSF CAREER Award, CTL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, and INDEX: Design to Improve Life Award. Saad is also a National Geographic Explorer and a TED speaker. Newsweek recognized Saad as 1 of 10 Innovators disrupting healthcare.

    Saad is a co-founder of Piezo Therapeutics.

    Outside of the lab, Saad loves to go hiking with his partner and two dogs (Ollie and Bella).

    saadb@chbe.gatech.edu

    404-894-2856

    Office Location:
    ES&T L1224

    Website

  • Related Site
  • Google Scholar

    Research Focus Areas:
    • Biobased Materials
    • Biochemicals
    • Biomaterials
    • Biorefining
    • Biotechnology
    • Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
    • Pulp Paper Packaging & Tissue
    • Sustainable Manufacturing
    Additional Research:

    Biotechnology; Complex Systems; Materials and Nanotechnology. The Bhamla Lab explores fundamental and applied research questions through the development of new experimental tools and techniques at the intersection of soft matter, organismic physics and global health. Ultra-fast Organismic Physics Biologists are just starting to systematically examine ultrafast motion across species (jellyfish, mantis shrimp, trap-jaw ants), some of which achieve accelerations exceeding a million g-forces in nanoseconds. At the single-cell level, the physical biology of ultra-fast motility remains poorly understood. What is the fastest motion a single cell can achieve? How do single-cell organisms amplify power and survive repeated high accelerations? These fundamental questions guide our exploration of several non-model unicellular and multicellular organisms to uncover the principles of extreme motility at cellular scales. Biological Soft Matter Our bodies are composed almost entirely of soft, wet, squishy materials. How do the fundamental principles of soft matter and complex fluids enable us to grasp dynamic processes, from the self-assembly of proteins to the stretching of a spider web? We study a spectrum of biological soft matter, from the tears on our eyes to biological foams from insects, with the goal of connecting the microscale structures (lipids, proteins) to their consequences for macroscale biological function (contact lens-eye interaction, microbiome health). As engineers, we leverage this understanding for human-health applications, ranging from diagnostics and monitoring to artificial therapeutic replacements and biomedical devices. Frugal Science and GlobalHealth Today, although information is free to anyone with internet, access to scientific tools and healthcare devices still has many barriers. How do we design and build tools that are scientifically rigorous, but cost a few cents on the dollar? Driven by the spirit of doing “frugal science”, we box ourselves in to find out of the box solutions for global challenges in science education, agriculture, and healthcare. Projects in this area include field-work, science outreach, and citizen-science initiatives. Disciplines: Biotechnology Complex Systems Materials and Nanotechnology


    IRI Connections:

    Stefan France

    Stefan France

    Stefan France

    Associate Professor

    Stefan France is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Professor France earned his B.S. in Chemistry (2000) from Duke University and a M.A. (2003) and Ph.D. (2005) in Organic Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. His research group focuses on experimental methodology development, natural product synthesis, and medicinal chemistry. Owing to Prof. France's avid interest in undergraduate research, his research group has mentored and trained more than 60 undergraduates (both Georgia Tech and non-Georgia Tech students). Professor France has been the recipient of several awards for his research, mentorship, and teaching including: the 2018 Georgia Tech-Georgia Power Professor of Excellence; the 2015 Georgia Tech Senior Faculty Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor Award; the 2014 Georgia Tech Faculty Award for Academic Outreach; the 2014 Georgia Tech Hesberg Teaching Award; the 2013 Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Young Faculty Award; the 2012 National Organization for the Professional Advancement for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award; and the 2011 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. He heads the Chemistry FAST Program, a NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site, and also serves as Chair of the NSF Chemistry REU Leadership Group.

    stefan.france@chemistry.gatech.edu

    404-385-1796

    Office Location:
    MoSE 2100K

    Website

  • Related Site
  • Google Scholar

    Research Focus Areas:
    • Cancer Biology
    • Drug Design, Development and Delivery
    Additional Research:
    Our group is interested in the design of efficient methodologies to accomplish the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds with the intent to apply the methodology toward the synthesis of complex natural and unnatural targets. Natural Product Synthesis. Approaches to natural products not only inspire the development of new synthetic strategies, but often unveil unexpected and often interesting reactivity. Targets are chosen for their interesting biological activity along with their sheer complexity. We are interested in exploring both modular and convergent approaches to complex targets that enable facile derivatization for the development of combinatorial libraries. Medicinal Chemistry. Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry lies at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy. Our group is interested in the design, synthesis and development of pharmaceutical drugs, or other chemical entities suitable for therapeutic use. We are further interested in the study of their biological properties and their quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). Given that medicinal chemistry is a highly interdisciplinary science, we aim to establish several collaborations with biologists, biochemists, and computational chemists to facilitate the design and development process. In particular, we aim to develop therapeutics toward the treatment of various forms of cancer, HIV, diabetes, and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

    IRI Connections:

    Yongsheng Chen

    Yongsheng Chen

    Yongsheng Chen

    Bonnie W. and Charles W. Moorman IV Professor

    Dr. Chen has an extensive research interests in environmental science and engineering. More specifically, he is a leading researcher in the environmental applications of nanomaterials and their potential fate, transport, transformation, bioaccumulation and toxicity in the environment. His interests in environmental nanomaterials dated back in his graduate research in 1992. He has also been active on algae based bio-renewable energy and sustainable urban development. Dr. Chen has been principle and co-principal investigators for 28 research projects (by June 2010) funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, Boeing and other organizations. The total funds are $7 million. He has also served as a review member or panel review member in the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy evaluation committee. He has also been invited to serve as an abroad review expert for the China Changjiang Scholars Program (which is to awarded to the top researchers in China). He has published more than 40 papers and two book chapters in this field.

    Dr. Chen received his Ph.D in Nankai University, China. He joined the Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering in May 2009. Till then, he was an Associate Professor Research at the Arizona State University.

    yongsheng.chen@ce.gatech.edu

    (404) 894-3089

    Office Location:
    Daniel Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Room 206

    Website

  • Civil Engineering Profile
  • University, College, and School/Department
    Research Focus Areas:
    • Clean Water
    • FEWS
    • Fuels & Chemical Processing
    • Hydrogen Production
    Additional Research:

    Biofuels; Separations Technology; Water


    IRI Connections:

    Valerie Thomas

    Valerie Thomas

    Valerie Thomas

    Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems
    Professor
    RBI Initiative Lead: Sustainability Analysis

    Valerie Thomas is the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems and Professor in the H. Milton School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. 

    Dr. Thomas's research interests are energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Current research projects include low carbon transportation fuels, carbon capture, building construction, and electricity system development. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Physical Society. She has been an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow, a Member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, and a Member of the USDA/DOE Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. 

    She has worked at Princeton University in the Princeton Environmental Institute and in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, and at Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

    Dr. Thomas received a B. A. in physics from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

    valerie.thomas@isye.gatech.edu

    (404) 894-0390

    ISyE Profile

  • Website
  • Research Focus Areas:
    • Biobased Materials
    • Biochemicals
    • Biorefining
    • Biotechnology
    • Gigatechnology
    • Hydrogen Storage & Transport
    • Hydrogen Utilization
    • Pulp Paper Packaging & Tissue
    • Renewable Energy
    • Social & Environmental Impacts
    • Sustainable Engineering
    • Sustainable Manufacturing
    • Use & Conservation
    Additional Research:

    Hydrogen Transport/Storage; Biofuels; ClIMaTe/Environment; Electric Vehicles; System Design & Optimization; Energy and Materials Efficiency; Sustainability; Industrial Ecology; Technology Assessment; Science and Technology Policy


    IRI Connections:

    Meisha Shofner

    Meisha Shofner

    Meisha Shofner

    Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering

    Meisha L. Shofner is a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, joining the faculty following post-doctoral training at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and her Ph.D. in Materials Science from Rice University. Prior to beginning graduate school, she was employed as a design engineer at FMC in the Subsea Engineering Division, working at two plant locations (Houston, Texas and the Republic of Singapore), and she is a registered Professional Engineer in Georgia.

    Shofner’s research area is processing-structure-property relationships of polymers and composites. Specifically, she designs processing strategies to attain hierarchical structures in these materials to improve properties and has discovered scalable processing methods to produce auxetic structures and tensegrity-inspired structures. Additionally, she works with bioderived materials to produce composites with reduced environmental impact.  

    meisha.shofner@mse.gatech.edu

    404.385.7216

    Office Location:
    MRDC 4409

    Shofner Lab

  • MSE Profile Page
  • Google Scholar

    Research Focus Areas:
    • Advanced Composites
    • Materials & Manufacturing
    • Materials and Nanotechnology
    • Renewable Energy
    Additional Research:

    Biomolecular-Solids; Biomaterials; Composites; Polymers; Nanomaterials; Biofuels; Structure-property relationships in polymer nanocomposite materials; producing structural hierarchy in these materials for structural and functional applications.


    IRI Connections:

    Guanghui (George) Lan

     Guanghui (George) Lan

    Guanghui (George) Lan

    Associate Professor

    George Lan is an A. Russell Chandler III Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.  His research and teaching interests lie in theory, algorithms and applications of stochastic optimization and nonlinear programming.  Most of his current research concerns the design of efficient algorithms for solving challenging optimization problems, especially those arising from data analytics, machine learning, and reinforcement learning. He is actively pursuing the applications of these methodologies in healthcare and sustainability areas. Dr. Lan serves as the associate editor for Computational Optimization and Applications (2014 – present), Mathematical Programming (2016 – present) and SIAM Journal on Optimization (2016  – present). Dr. Lan is an associate director for the center of machine learning at Georgia Tech.

    george.lan@isye.gatech.edu

    Website

    Additional Research:
    Chromatin; Epigenetics    

    IRI Connections:

    Vinayak Agarwal

    Vinayak Agarwal

    Vinayak Agarwal

    Assistant Professor

    Vinny is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech with joint appointments at the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and School of Biological Sciences.

    A majority of antibiotics and drugs that we use in the clinic are derived or inspired from small organic molecules called Natural Products that are produced by living organisms such as bacteria and plants. Natural Products are at the forefront of fighting the global epidemic of antibiotic resistant pathogens, and keeping the inventory of clinically applicable pharmaceuticals stocked up. Some Natural Products are also potent human toxins and pollutants, and we need to understand how these toxins are produced to minimize our and the environmental exposure to them.

    We as biochemists ask some simple questions- how and why are Natural Products produced in Nature, what we can learn from Natural Product biosynthetic processes, and how we can exploit Nature's synthetic capabilities for interesting applications?

    Broadly, we are interested in questions involving (meta)genomics, biochemistry, structural and mechanistic enzymology, mass spectrometry, analytical chemistry, and how natural product chemistry dictates biology.

    vagarwal@gatech.edu

    404-385-3798

    Office Location:
    Petit Biotechnology Building, Office 3315

    Website

  • Related Site
  • Research Focus Areas:
    • Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
    Additional Research:

    A majority of antibiotics and drugs that we use in the clinic are derived or inspired from small organic molecules called Natural Products that are produced by living organisms such as bacteria and plants. Natural Products are at the forefront of fighting the global epidemic of antibiotic resistant pathogens, and keeping the inventory of clinically applicable pharmaceuticals stocked up. Some Natural Products are also potent human toxins and pollutants, and we need to understand how these toxins are produced to minimize our and the environmental exposure to them. We as biochemists ask some simple questions- how and why are Natural Products produced in Nature, what we can learn from Natural Product biosynthetic processes, and how we can exploit Nature's synthetic capabilities for interesting applications? Broadly, we are interested in questions involving (meta)genomics, biochemistry, structural and mechanistic enzymology, mass spectrometry, analytical chemistry, and how natural product chemistry dictates biology.


    IRI Connections:

    Lily Cheung

    Lily Cheung

    Lily Cheung

    Assistant Professor

    Lily Cheung got her research start as a sophomore at Rutgers University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2008. She then earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 2013. Under the supervision of Stanislav Shvartsman, she characterized gene regulatory networks controlling the development of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, using a combination of molecular biology, genetics, and reaction-diffusion modeling.

    During her postdoctoral training with Wolf Frommer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, she designed biomolecular sensors to quantify sugar transport in plants. Her current interests include the use of high-throughput quantitative techniques and mathematical modeling to advance our understanding of how metabolic and gene regulatory networks interact to control plant growth.

    Lily is the recipient of a NSF NPGI Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology, a NSF CAREER Award, and a Human Frontier Science Program Early Career Award.

    lily.cheung@gatech.edu

    404-894-2826

    Office Location:
    ES&T L1230

    Website

  • Related Site
  • Research Focus Areas:
    • Systems Biology
    Additional Research:
    Engineering of genetically encoded biosensors Quantitative fluorescence microscopy and image analysis Computational models of gene regulatory networks Transcriptional regulation and developmental biology of plants The past fifteen years has seen dramatic advancements in genome sequencing and editing. The cost of sequencing a genome has decreased by two orders of magnitude, giving rise to new systems-level approaches to biology research that aim to understand life as an emerging property of all the molecular interactions in an organism. At the same time, technologies that allow site-specific modifications of the genome are enabling researchers to manipulate multicellular organisms in unprecedented ways. From reductionist approaches to systems biology, and from conventional plant breeding to synthetic biology, the future of plant biology research relies on the adoption of computational methods to analyze experimental data and develop predictive models. In biomedicine, mathematical models are already revolutionizing drug discovery; in agriculture, they have the potential to generate more efficient, faster growing crop varieties. The goal of the Cheung lab is to bring quantitative techniques and mathematical modeling to plants in order to gain systems-level insight into their physiology and development - particularly to understanding how metabolic and gene regulatory networks interact to control homeostasis and growth.

    IRI Connections: