Mark A. Eiteman
A professor in the University of Georgia College of Engineering has been named president-elect of the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE), a professional organization that encourages inquiry and interest in the field of biological engineering.
Mark A. Eiteman, a professor in the School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, joined UGA in 1991 after completing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Virginia. He is a fellow of IBE, a UGA Inventor of the Year (2014), and a UGA College of Engineering Distinguished Faculty Scholar (2016).
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead the international biological engineering community in the coming years through this role,” said Eiteman. “My election in no small way also recognizes the impact that UGA biological engineering has had over the last two decades toward this emerging discipline.”
In addition to his doctorate, Eiteman earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech.
Eiteman’s expertise is at the interface of metabolic engineering, bioprocess engineering and fermentation technology. He’s the inventor of multiple technologies directed at the industrial production of important commodity and specialty chemicals using microorganisms. These technologies include amino acids used in animal feed and nutritional supplements; a commodity chemical, which is a non-toxic, environmentally benign antifreeze and also the precursor to many chemicals and therapeutic agents; and a group of organic acids used in the production of polymers, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Each of these technologies, licensed to several multinational companies with global manufacturing and distribution capabilities, has been implemented on an industrial scale for a variety of uses.
Eiteman is a named inventor in eight U.S. patents and multiple foreign patents.
IBE was established in 1995. Brahm Verma, professor emeritus in the UGA College of Engineering, served as the organization’s first president.
