Green Polymer Chemistry: Biobased Materials and Biocatalysis

H. N. Cheng (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is currently a research chemist at the Southern Regional Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Orleans, where he works on projects involving improved utilization of commodity agricultural materials, green chemistry, and polymer reactions. Over the years, his research interests have included green polymer chemistry, biocatalysis and enzymatic reactions, pulp and paper chemistry, functional foods,polymer characterization, and NMR spectroscopy. He is an ACS Fellow and a POLY Fellow and has authored or co-authored 192 papers, 25 patent publications, coedited 11 books, and organized or co-organized 25 symposia at national ACS meetings since 2003.Richard A. Gross (Ph.D., Polytechnic University) holds the Constellation Chaired Professorship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and is also a member of RPI's Departments of Chemistry and Biology as well as Biomedical Engineering. Previously, he was on the faculty of University of Massachusetts (Lowell) (1988?1998) and occupied the Herman F. Mark Chair Professorship at Polytechnic University (1998-2013). He has over 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals with approximately 7,000citations, has edited six books, and has been granted or filed 26 patents. He has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Green Chemistry Award in the academic category (2003). He also founded SyntheZyme, LLC, (where he serves as Chief Technology Officer) in 2009 to commercializetechnologies developed in his laboratory.Patrick B. Smith (Ph.D, Michigan State University) currently serves as a research scientist at Michigan Molecular Institute. He had a productive and distinguished career at The Dow Chemical Company, rising to the rank of Fellow prior to his retirement in 2007. He was elected as an ACS Fellow in 2013. He has co-authored nearly 500 Dow technical reports, over 75 publications, and has been granted two patents.