Jonathan Dordick


Jonathan S. Dordick is the Howard P. Isermann Professor of Biochemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2008 he became director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. In 2013 Dr. Dordick stepped down from his role as head of the CBIS and became the Vice President for Research at RPI.

Background

Dordick was born on January 15, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Biochemical Engineering. In 1987, Dr. Dordick joined the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Iowa. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991, to full professor in 1994, and served as department chair from 1995–1998. In 1998, Dordick joined the faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and professor. In 2013 Dordick became the Vice President of Research at RPI.
He is married to Vera. Dordick has a son, Samuel, and a daughter, Hannah.

Research

Professor Dordick currently leads the Jonathan S. Dordick Research Group, which works in part at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies working on biomedical technologies. Present and past research has included studies of Biocatalysis in Nonaqueous Media, Combinatorial Biocatalysis, Nanobiotechnology, enzyme technology, molecular bioprocessing. More specifically, they work on the development of enzymatic catalysis under extreme conditions, enzymes in the synthesis and modification of polymeric materials, combinatorial biocatalysis for drug discovery and polymer synthesis, and the generation of biocatalysts and biomimetics with unique activities and selectivities. Dordick has been featured in the news for helping develop the "MetaChip" technology for fast drug screening, and for research on gel nanomaterials that could be used to control the delivery of drugs.

Honors