William E. Bentley, PhD.

Dr. Bentley is currently Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at University of Maryland, College Park. He is also Affiliate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of the Center for Biosystems Research of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.

Bill has been a long-standing participant in Division 15 programming since 1989, as both a participant and co-chair of many symposia, most often in Group 15C. In 2003, Bill was selected as a Division Lecturer representing area 15C and, in 2004, served as a member of the formation committee for the Society of Biological Engineering. In 2005, Bill co-chaired BioChE XIV, the bi-annual international biochemical engineering meeting held in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia (2005). Bill has also served in many roles for the Division of Biochemical Technology of the ACS, including Division Chair, and believes strongly that there are synergies to be built upon by the several representative societies that interface with biological engineering, particularly for professional development and scientific exchange. Two initiatives are proposed: 1. the SBE should work with the FPBE Division and in partnership with other societies in determining meeting locales and dates, extracting and building the most effective methods of exchange; 2. the SBE has established high content and effective meetings and should in the future expand its horizons to include new areas that encompass biological engineering. 

There are also synergies between academic departments in Bioengineering and Chemical and BioX-engineering in terms of education and research. The net outcome of the emergence of these departments should be an increase in engineering faculty and students that think about biological systems, with an understanding of reaction engineering and chemical separation. The SBE and the AIChE should be inclusive partners in the development of biological engineering directed towards human health. 

Biographical Information
Bill received his undergraduate (BS, ’82) and Master of Engineering degrees (’83) from Cornell University. He then worked as a process engineer for International Paper Company in Tuxedo Park, NY. In 1985, he returned to graduate school, this time at the University of Colorado where he finished his Ph.D. in 1989. All his degrees are in chemical engineering. At Maryland since 1989, Bill has focused his research on the development of molecular tools that facilitate the expression of biologically active proteins, having authored over 155 related archival publications. He co-founded a protein manufacturing company, Chesapeake PERL, based on insect larvae as mini bioreactors. He has directed the Ph.D. dissertations of 24 individuals, all of whom received positions in industry, government, or academia. Bill is a Fellow of the AIMBE (2001), AAAS (2001), and was recently elected member of the American Academy of Microbiology (2007).

Bill is originally from Syracuse, NY. He is married to Holly, an independent consultant working in instructional design and delivery, and who teaches in a hotel and hospitality institute at their local community college. He and Holly have two children, one in elementary school and one in middle school who are engaged in lacrosse, swimming, and other after school activities.