معرفی
Dr. Georges Belfort is the Russell Sage Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), with dual roles as an Institute Professor and member of the National Academy of Engineering. His expertise spans membrane technology, bioseparations, and protein misfolding, with a focus on advancing mRNA vaccine purification, antimicrobial peptide design, and organic solvent nanofiltration.
Education: BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Cape Town (UCT), PhD in Engineering from University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Research Interests: His work integrates engineering and biotechnology to address challenges in separations science. Key areas include:
- Development of novel polymer membranes for high-efficiency separations
- Mechanistic studies of protein-membrane interactions and amyloidogenesis
- Optimization of mRNA purification processes for vaccine manufacturing
- Design of anti-microbial peptides targeting bacterial membranes
Awards:
- ACS Murphree Award (2008)
- AIChE Separations Award (2000)
- Inductee into National Academy of Engineering (2003)
- Featured as one of the “100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era” (AIChE Centennial, 2008)
Advances & Impact: Over 30 years, his research has produced transformative technologies in membrane science, including tunable polymer brushes, ligand-functionalized membranes, and methods to combat protein misfolding. Current efforts emphasize scalable mRNA purification systems critical to pandemic response and personalized medicine.
His career includes over 500 publications and 50+ patents, with active collaborations in academia and industry advancing next-generation separation systems.
