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.

Xu brings over 20 years of experience in managing laboratory paper machines and pilot testing equipment, along with a robust background in fluid mechanics, material science, and instrumentation development. His professional experience includes significant roles at International Paper, AstenJohnson, and Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Xu's career is marked by innovative research and successful commercialization of new products and processes. At AstenJohnson, he served as a senior research scientist, specializing in forming and press fabrics used in the paper industry. His work led to the commercialization of several new forming and press products, and he managed pilot press stand at AstenJohnson and participated in papermaking trials at different pilot facilities to evaluate the performance of these fabrics.

Prior to AstenJohnson, Xu held positions at International Paper's Corporate Technology Center, where he managed the Microfinishing Lab and Humidity Resistant Liner Lab. His research provided critical insights that influenced the company’s major business decisions. He also developed various unique instruments for different paper mills at International Paper.

Xu earned his Ph.D. in paper science and mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech’s Institute of Paper Science and Technology. His doctoral research focused on the measurement of fiber suspension flow and forming jet velocity profile using Pulsed Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (PUDV). He also holds a B.S. in Material Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Carson Meredith is Professor and James Preston Harris Faculty Fellow in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech and serves as Executive Director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI). 

His research focuses on sustainable materials and bioproducts, with particular emphasis on biomass-derived polymers such as cellulose and chitin nanomaterials. Representing the contributions of students and collaborators, this work addresses critical challenges in packaging, coatings, and recycling, and has been featured in Newsweek, NBC Nightly News, BBC, and NPR. Meredith’s research also includes innovations in polymer films, foams, composites and particle adhesion.

Meredith has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, with more than 7,600 citations. His recent research includes the development of recyclable nanocellulose coatings and water vapor-resistant films using renewable materials. He has received multiple patents and has led over $30 million in federal and industry funded research. 

Meredith has served in leadership roles across campus and nationally. At Georgia Tech, he has led RBI since 2020, one of eleven interdisciplinary research institutes, where he has built a community of over 70 faculty focused on circular materials, bio industrial manufacturing, and low-impact papermaking. He is also a member of advisory boards for the Bioproducts Institute (University of British Columbia) and the DOE Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI) and serves on the editorial board of Green Materials. 

He teaches courses in forest product technology and sustainable materials, and co-founded GT-EQUAL, the first American Chemistry Society Bridge Program in chemical engineering. He also led the development of a graduate certificate in Data Science for the Chemical Industry and created a MOOC on High-Throughput Development of Materials, which has reached over 14,000 learners. 

Meredith earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.Ch.E. from Georgia Tech. 

Research 

Meredith’s research centers on sustainable materials and bioproducts, with a focus on: 

• Cellulose and chitin nanomaterials 

• Renewable packaging and coatings         

• Polymer thin films and foams

• Particle adhesion 

• Energy efficient drying in natural fiber manufacturing

   

His work integrates environmental sustainability into materials design and manufacturing, and he collaborates across disciplines to advance scalable climate solutions. 

Awards and Distinctions 

• AIChE Andrew Chase Award (2024) 

• AIChE David Himmelblau Award (2024) 

• AIChE Fellow (2023) 

• Georgia Tech Outstanding Service Award (2023) 

• Georgia Tech Curriculum Innovation Award (2022) 

Selected Publications 

• Hickmann, T., Tao, L., Stingelin, N., Meredith, J.C. (2024). Low-water-permeability foils based on bio-renewable cellulose-derivatives. RSC Sustainability, 2, 3451–3455. 

• Ji, Y., Shen, D.E., Lu, Y., Schueneman, G.T., Shofner, M.L., Meredith, J.C. (2023). Aqueous-based recycling of cellulose nanocrystal / chitin nanowhisker barrier coatings. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 11, 10874–10883. 

• Shin, D., Choi, W.T., Lin, H., Qu, Z., Breedveld, V., Meredith, J.C. (2019). Humidity-Tolerant Capillary Viscous Adhesion of the Honey Bee Pollen Basket Fluid. Nature Communications, 10, 1379. 

• Satam, C., Irvin, C.W., Lang, A.W., Jallorina, J.C.R., Shofner, M.L., Reynolds, J.R., Meredith, J.C. (2018). Spray-Coated Multilayer Cellulose Nanocrystal—Chitin Nanofiber Films for Barrier Applications. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6, 10637–10644. 

   

A full list of publications is available on Google Scholar. 

RBI Initiative Lead: Plant production for sustainable fiber supply for renewable bioproducts 

Else-Marie Ulrika Egertsdotter is a Principal Research Scientist at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. 

Her research interests are focused on plant development, specifically understanding fundamental regulatory processes involved in early development and adaptation, and to apply biotechnology for a sustainable supply of plants to society for renewable products, food, fibers and bioenergy. She is particularly interested in AI applications and automation for plant production to capture the benefits from plant improvements for increased productivity and novel applications of plant fibers and other plant-based products.

She received her B.Sc. degree in Biology and Chemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden, and her Ph.D. degree in Molecular and cellular biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. 

After completing her studies, she was awarded the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Union to study plant signal-transduction pathways at University of York, UK. She then moved to Norway to initiate and lead forest tree biotechnology projects at the Norwegian Forest Research Institute. 

In 2000, she was awarded the Gunnar Nicholson Fellowship to join the Forest Biology team at IPST (Institute of Paper Science and Technology), Atlanta, GA, followed by appointments as research scientist at IPST until 2004 when she became Associate Professor of Genetics and Biotechnology at the Department of Forestry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, to lead the new biotechnology efforts at the College of Natural resources. 

She has been directing several projects for forestry companies to develop cost-effective technology for large-scale clonal production of conifer plants by somatic embryogenesis (SE).  These efforts ranged from fundamental research to experimental and pilot scale technology development and has resulted in an ‘SE Factory’ now being implemented in full commercial scale in Sweden. As recognition of her leadership, she was awarded a VINNMER Marie Curie Fellowship from VINNOVA (Swedish Innovation Agency) for further training on technology applications at Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, and executive management at Stanford University and Goizueta School of Business at Emory university.

Since 2008, in addition to her position in US, she has also served as an Adjunct Faculty and scientific advisor for conifer R&D at the Umeå Plant Science Center, Sweden. She was appointed by the Swedish government in 2019 to serve on the Gene Technology Advisory Board to monitor developments in the field of gene technology, oversee ethical issues, and give advice to the government on use of gene technology. 

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Professor of the Practice                       
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Associate Director, Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Tissue, Renewable Bioproducts Institute, an Interdisciplinary Research Institute at GT

Director, GT Pulp and Paper Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Program and Foundation
 

Brief Biography:  
Luettgen has 25 plus years of industry experience, with Scott Paper and Kimberly-Clark Corp., where he most recently served as head of North American Innovation the Kimberly-Clark Professional business sector. He has held positions in product development and innovation as well as in capital project management and manufacturing facility leadership.

For several years, Luettgen has served on the Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute Industry Board of Advisors, and as the Chairman of the Board of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI).  He earned his bachelor's degree in Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University (’85), his master’s degree at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, WI (’87), and his Ph.D. in Surface Chemistry at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology - now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech (’91).

He rejoined Georgia Tech in November 2014 as a Professor of the Practice in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Associate Director of Pulp, Paper, Tissue and Packaging at RBI. He also serves as the Director of the undergraduate Pulp and Paper Certificate Program and its Foundation.

Areas of research interest include:  Recycling; renewable cellulosic feedstocks; replacing fossil-based products with bio-based materials; commercialization of nanocellulosic materials in consumer and packaging products; Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0; tissue/towel manufacturing and converting; and manufacturing leadership / operational excellence.