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.

Blair Brettmann received her B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. She received her Master’s in chemical engineering practice from MIT in 2009 following internships at GlaxoSmithKline (Upper Merion, PA) and Mawana Sugar Works (Mawana, India). Blair received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT in 2012 working with the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing under Professor Bernhardt Trout. Her research focused on solid-state characterization and application of pharmaceutical formulations prepared by electrospinning. Following her Ph.D., Brettmann worked as a research engineer for Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics for two years. While at Saint-Gobain she worked on polymer-based wet coatings and dispersions for various applications, including window films, glass fiber mats and architectural fabrics. Later, Brettmann served as a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago with Professor Matthew Tirrell. Currently, Brettmann is an assistant professor with joint appointments in chemical and biomolecular engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech.

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.

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.

The Tong Lab tackles challenges in the interdisciplinary areas of bioresource engineering and sustainable chemistry. We develop innovative technologies for producing chemicals, materials, energy, and fuels from renewable resources.

Current research interests include:

• Functional biomaterials for high-efficiency circular economy
• Platform chemicals and hydrocarbon fuels from renewable resources
• Sustainable process control and modeling
• Nano-biomaterial synthesis and self-assembling
• Polymer degradation and recycling

Disciplines:

• Materials and Nanotechnology

• Energy and Sustainability

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. 

Dr. Realff’s broad research interests are in the areas of process design, simulation, and scheduling. His current research is focused on the design and operation of processes that minimize waste production by recovery of useful products from waste streams, and the design of processes based on biomass inputs. In particular, he is interested in carbon capture processes both from flue gas and dilute capture from air as well as the analysis and design of processes that use biomass.