George A. Kaminski

George A. Kaminski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He holds a BS from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1990), MS (1993), and PhD (1998) from Yale University. His research focuses on computational physical chemistry, specifically force field development and applications, with an emphasis on polarizable force fields for organic and biophysical systems. He has developed the POSSIM software suite for polarizable molecular simulations, parameterized for peptides, proteins, and small molecules.

• Education
• BS: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1990)
• MS: Yale University (1993)
• PhD: Yale University (1998)

Research interests include protein simulations, electrostatic polarization effects, and continuum solvation models. His work has been funded by the NIH R01 grant (R01 GM074624, $1.365M total). Former students/postdocs include Timothy Click (Postdoc), Qina Sa (Graduate), Zhen Chen (Undergraduate). Current students include Xinbi Li, Ity Sharma, and John Peter Cvitkovic. His lab focuses on advancing computational methods for biophysical systems.

Scientific contributions include studies on copper(I) binding energies, pKa calculations, and protein stability under mechanical stress. The POSSIM software advances polarizable simulations with reduced computational cost. Recent work incorporates the fuzzy-border continuum solvation model for enhanced accuracy in hydration energy predictions.