On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, Dr. Scott Banta '97, chemical engineering, received the Outstanding Alumni award during the 2021 Alumni Awards Ceremony and Reception.
You can watch the ceremony here (start at 37:36). and also view the program and pictures from the event.
Excerpt from Program:
Scott Banta ’97, chemical engineering, is currently
professor and vice-chair for the Department of
Chemical Engineering at Columbia University,
where his research program focuses on protein engineering, metabolic
engineering and synthetic biology.
The Banta lab at Columbia has published more than 100 peer-reviewed
manuscripts, holds nine U.S. patents, and has given seminars around the
country and internationally. Banta co-founded the start-up Ironic Chemicals
LLC and the company went on to receive two grants from the National
Science Foundation.
Banta’s dedication to his field is clear. He served as program chair of the
Bioengineering Area of the Food, Pharmacetical, and Bioengineering
Division for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Last
year he also delivered a Plenary Award Lecture for the Division. He is an
associate editor for the Biochemical Engineering Journal and part of the
Editorial Advisory Board for the AIChE Journal. He is also heavily involved
in the Biochemical Technology (BIOT) division at the American Chemical
Society. Banta served as the program chair for the National Meeting and
eventually served as the chairman of the BIOT Division and is currently a
long range program coordinator. Additionally, he was inducted into the
College of Fellows by the American Institute for Medical and Biological
Engineering (AIMBE).
Through Banta’s many professional roles and accomplishments, he
continues to contribute to the discussion around critical issues at
the undergraduate and graduate levels to help improve engineering
educational programs.
Photo Credit: UMBC Alumni & Friends Events
Left to right: Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, Dr. Scott Banta ’97, Dr. Mark Marten
Brian Frazee ’11, M.P.P. ’12