Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Richard Gross, Ph.D., Constellation Chair of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, has been selected as a member of the 2024 class of fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The ACS Fellows Program honors members of the ACS “for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the science and the profession and for their equally exemplary service to the Society.” Gross is one of 37 members this year with the distinction.

“The ACS has always been my primary scientific home society,” said Gross. “As a junior scientist, ACS provided numerous opportunities to gain confidence by giving posters and oral presentations to ACS meeting attendees, networking with other ACS members where I was introduced to collaborators that provided critical roles in advancing our science, learning how to organize symposia, and playing a role in shaping the structure and contents of the journal Biomacromolecules.  This honor is a testament to ACS that provided valuable opportunities and nurtured my professional growth.“

Gross’ research addresses the grand challenge of transitioning from petroleum to renewable chemicals/polymers via processes that are environmentally friendly. The solutions he seeks to develop aim at mitigating global warming and the pollution of our planet, as well as improving human health. Gross’ approach is to combine green chemical methods with natural catalysts that work under mild conditions without using or generating toxic chemicals. He has focused these efforts on the synthesis and study of bioactive surfactants; peptides; polymers; a new family of ω-hydroxyfatty acid monomers; biobased fiber networks from cellulose and chitosan; hydrogels; and bioresorbable polymers for medical applications.

Notably, the Gross lab is developing solutions to the problem of plastic pollution and is investigating a family of enzymes known as cutinases that degrade plastic water bottles made from PET to their constituent building blocks.

After earning a bachelor’s in chemistry from the State University of New York Albany, Gross earned his Ph.D. from Polytechnic University. He then performed postdoctoral research on the synthesis/properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates (i.e., bacterial polyesters) with Robert Lenz, Ph.D. at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Gross began his career in 1988 as a professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMASS Lowell). While at UMASS Lowell, he co-founded and was co-director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Center for Biodegradable Polymer Research. In 1999, Gross became president of the Biodegradable Polymer Society. In the early 2000s, he was on the board of directors of the Engineering Conferences Foundation, served as director of the Polymer Research Institute, and was the founder and director of the NYU-POLY Biomedical Engineering Program. From 2003-2017, Gross served as director of the NSF Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules, the Herman F. Mark Chair at NYU-POLY, chair of the ACS Presidential Green Chemistry Award Panel, and chief technical officer at SyntheZyme. Gross joined Rensselaer in 2013, where he is a member of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies.  In 2022, Gross was named Editor-in-Chief of the journal Industrial Biotechnology. 

Gross has been published in over 400 peer-reviewed journals that have been cited 33,000 times (h-index 96, i10-index 343). He has graduated over 40 Ph.D. students who are enjoying successful careers in industry and academics. He believes in the formula of having Ph.D. students active in mentoring as well as working in teams with undergraduates.

“Professor Gross’ contributions to science are outstanding and this honor is well-deserved,” said Curt Breneman, Ph.D., Dean of Rensselaer’s School of Science. “Not only is his research impactful and timely, but so is his dedication to his students and the research community.”

The 2024 ACS Fellows were honored at a special ceremony in Denver in August.