Faculty Directory

EDUCATION

Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder, 1989

BACKGROUND

William E. Bentley is the Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor of Engineering and was founding Chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering. He is currently Inaugural Director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices and director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech). He is also appointed to the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research. At Maryland since 1989, Dr. Bentley has focused his research on the development of molecular tools that facilitate the expression of biologically active proteins, having authored over 350 related archival publications. Recent interests are on deciphering and manipulating signal transduction pathways, including those of bacterial communication networks, for altering cell phenotype. To enable discovery, his lab develops new strategies for opening ‘communication’ between devices and biological systems by the creation and facile assembly of biologically functional interfaces. These concepts are emerging within the fields of ‘biofabrication’ that exploits biological components and processes for assembly and 'bioelectronics" that interface electronics with biology. He has served on advisory committees for the NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, FDA, USDA, and several state agencies. He has mentored more than 40 PhDs and 15 postdocs, many now in leadership roles within industry, federal agencies, and academia.  He co-founded a protein manufacturing company, Chesapeake PERL, based on insect larvae as mini bioreactors. Dr. Bentley was recipient of the SIM’s Schering-Plough Young Investigator Award, the Charles Thom Award of the SIMB, the Marvin Johnson Award of the BIOT Division in the ACS, and the AIChE’s FPB Division Award. He is also a Fellow of the ACS, AAAS, and AIMBE and is an elected member of the American Academy of Microbiology. 

HONORS AND AWARDS

For the complete list, please visit Professor Bentley's website.

• Distinguished University Professor (2016)
• Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Chair of Engineering (2016)
• Charles Thom Award, Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (2013)
• Elected Fellow, American Chemical Society (ACS) (2013)
• Elected Member, Electorate Nominating Committee, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013)
• Meeting Keynote, Upstream Processing, BIOT Division of American Chemical Society’s 245th National Meeting, New Orleans (2013)
• AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award in Chemical Engineering (2012)
• University System of Maryland (USM) Regents’ Faculty Award for Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity (2011)
• Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor (former)
• Herbert Rabin Distinguished Professor (former)
• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) (2007)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2001)
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2001)
• Maryland's Outstanding Young Engineer, Maryland Science Center (1998)
• Washington Academy of Sciences Allen C. Davis Medal (1998)
• Schering-Plough Young Investigator Award (1996)
• Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award from the American Society for Engineering Education (1995)
• Society of Industrial Microbiology Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Sciences Award

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• American Academy of Microbiology
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Chemical Society
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering Society

A RECENT PRESS RELEASE FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY: https://youtu.be/bDnAElgYrOA?t=1