Robert J. Linhardt received his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University (1979) and was a postdoctoral student with Professor Robert Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1979–1982) and served on the faculty of the University of Iowa from 1982–2003. He is currently the Ann and John H. Broadbent, Jr.’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, holding joint appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biology, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. He is an Adjunct Professor of Orthopedics at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, NY. His research interests include glycoscience; biocatalysis; metabolic engineering; nanobiotechnology analytical and bioanalytical chemistry; chemoenzymatic synthesis; biochemistry and chemical biology; biotechnology and biomaterials organic; medicinal and drug discovery polymers; materials and energy.
Jonathan S. Dordick is an Institute Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with joint appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Sciences. He 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. At Rensselaer, he served as the Vice President for Research, the Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, and Department Chair. He was the founding Co-Director of the Rensselaer-Mount Sinai Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine. Before joining Rensselaer, he was a Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Iowa, where he also served as the founding Associate Director of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing. He has received numerous awards and honors, including election to the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers. His research interests are biological.
Fuming Zhang is a Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After eight years of teaching and research in Biochemical Engineering and Fermentation Technology at the Zhejiang University of Technology, he went to the University of Leeds as a Ph.D. student to study Microbiology. He joined the Linhardt Group at the University of Iowa in 1999, after he worked at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for one year as a research associate. He moved to RPI with the Linhardt Group in 2003. He has received several scientific achievement awards (such as the Research Excellent Award, RPI, 2012, and the Zhejiang Provincial Government Scientific Achievement Awards, 1993). He serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Biomedical Technology and Research (since 2013) and the Journal of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (since 2014). His research interests include molecular interactions using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and glycan analysis using NMR and LCMS in glycomics and glycobiology.
