Dr. Jonathan S. Dordick's Talk

Feb 04, 2015 - 16:00

Feb 04, 2015 - 17:00

Lecture Hall No. 22 2nd floor VMCC IIT Bombay

Seminars

Dr. Jonathan S. Dordick Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering Biomedical Engineering Materials Science and Engineering and Biology Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy NY

Abstract: Nature is unparalleled in its structural and functional diversity. Living organisms make fantastic materials under myriad conditions with properties we cannot emulate today using conventional approaches. In many cases nature has provided us with a blueprint to design and assemble both natural and synthetic building blocks to create a new generation of functional organized and responsive materials. We have taken cues from nature to design materials with unique structural and functional properties along with new process technologies with the ability to produce a wide range of biomimetic structures. Specifically we have focused on the generation of nanostructures that are functionalized with and in some cases constructed from biological molecules complete with tailored selectivities and biocatalytic activities. For example these nanostructures have been exploited in the generation of biocatalytically functional polymeric films coatings and paints that kill bacteria prevent biofilm formation and reduce fouling by bioorganic molecules. The speakerwill highlight our recent efforts to exploit the interface of biology with materials science enhancing enzyme function along the way. Both fundamental advances and applications will be discussed the latter focused on enzyme-nanomaterial composites with a wide range of activities that endow surfaces with decontaminating properties. In particular surfaces have been generated with tailored activity against hospital-acquired infections (e.g. MRSA) food-borne illnesses (e.g. Listeria) and bacillus spores. Such activity provides a safe and potentially broadly applicable route to eliminating toxic compounds and pathogenic microorganisms from common surfaces.About the Speaker: Dr. Jonathan S. Dordick is the Vice President for Research and the Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prof. Dordick received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has held chemical engineering faculty appointments at the University of Iowa (1987-1998) where he also served as the Associate Director of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1998-present) where he also holds joint appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering Materials Science and Engineering and Biology. Prof. Dordick's research group includes chemical engineers bioengineers materials scientists biologists chemists and microbiologists all focused on gaining a quantitative understanding of biological principles and applying them to advance bioengineering nanobiotechnology drug discovery and biomanufacturing. He presently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for several biotechnology companies and venture capital firms and has cofounded a number of companies including EnzyMed (now part of Albany Molecular Research Inc.) Solidus Biosciences and The Paper Battery Company. Dr. Dordick has published over 330 papers and is an inventor/co-inventor on nearly 40 patents and patent applications. He is a recipient of numerous awards.