Prof. Richard Gross
PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION
SUNY Albany Chemistry B.S. 1979
Polytechnic University (Prof. Mark Green) Chemistry Ph.D. 1986
UMASS Amherst (Prof. Robert Lenz) BioMacromolecules 1986-1988
APPOINTMENTS
1998-present Herman F. Mark Chair, NYU-POLY
2000-present Director – NSF Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules
2001-2007 Director – NYU-POLY Biomedical Engineering Program
2003-2006 Director: Polymer Research Institute (PRI)
2002-2005 Engineering Conferences Foundation, Board of Directors
1999 President – Biodegradable Polymer Society
1993-1998 Co-Director: NSF Center for Biodegradable Polymer Research
1988-1998 University of Massachusetts Lowell (Assistant Professor, 88-91; Associate Professor, 92-95; Full Professor, 96-98)
HONORS
NSF: Presidential Young Investigator Award (1990-1995)
William H. Rauscher Lectureship (2000)
NSF-EPA: Presidential Award in Green Chemistry (2003)
Sesquicentennial Medal Winner (2005): Awarded to outstanding Polytechnic University Alumni
Turner Alfrey Visiting Professorship (2010)
Johnson and Johnson: Focused Giving Award (2000-2002)
Distinguished Polymer Lecture Series – First Honoree, (Pittsburgh State University, September 26, 2014)
2015 Polymer Fellow Awardee
Editorial Board Member: J. Bioactive and Biocompatible Polymers (2001-present); Biomacromolecules (2000-present); Industrial Biotechnology (2005 to present); Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic (2005-present); Enzyme and Microbial Technology (EMT) (2005-present); ACS Catalysis (September 2011 to present)
RESEARCH
Research in the laboratory of Dr. Gross encompasses a wide variety of projects directed toward development of new enzyme and chemo-enzymatic strategies and methods for the synthesis of polymers for a wide variety of applications. Chemists, biochemists, microbiologists, materials scientists, engineers, physicists and clinicians work in teams on projects ranging from enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic routes to monomers, macromers, polymers and bioactive molecules. Novel enzyme engineering techniques and methods for enzyme immobilization are used to develop efficient catalysts that function under practical conditions. From these studies our group is developing fundamental new knowledge in enzyme structure-activity relationships for polymer synthesis and degradation reactions as well as an understanding of critical design elements that stabilize and activate enzymes on surfaces and within macroporous resins. Current research in our laboratories is underway to explore enzyme and chemo-enzymatic routes for:
- condensation and ring-opening polymerizations.
- vinyl monomer synthesis by selective acylation of natural building blocks
- controlled branching when using multifunctional building blocks.
- synthesis of oligopeptide building blocks for polymer synthesis/modification
- synthesis of functional bioresorbable polymers for drug delivery, wound healing and tissue-engineering scaffolds.
- engineering microbial glycolipids with important physical and biological functions.
- Control of polymer polydispersity.
- Incorporate of chemically sensitive entities in polymers (e.g. disoloxanes).
Engineering of enzymes (lipase, cutinase, mono-oxgenase (P450), and metallo-proteins) is also underway in collaboration with DNA 2.0. E mpirical protein engineering methods are being used to intelligently design small numbers of protein variants that are synthesized, expressed and tested for complex combinations of properties.