NAE Recognizes Engineering Alum Georges Belfort
Jan. 16, 2025 - UC Irvine engineering alumnus Georges Belfort ’72 (Ph.D.), ‘69 (M.S.) has been awarded the 2025 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education from the National Academy of Engineering. He is one of two recipients of this year’s prize, which recognizes new methods and concepts in education aimed at developing effective engineering leaders.
Belfort is an endowed professor of chemical and biological engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He will share the $500,000 prize with his research collaborator Steven M. Cramer, also an endowed professor at Rensselaer. The researchers are recognized “for advancing the state of the art in downstream bioprocessing and educating generations of industry and academic leaders who transformed and grew the biotechnology industry.”
Belfort and Cramer developed a unique center of excellence for cutting edge education and research in downstream bioprocessing -- a critical technology in the biomanufacturing process where complex biological mixtures are purified and refined into biological products that meet regulatory standards required for medical and biotechnology applications. Their educational and research achievements were critical to establishing downstream bioprocessing as a discipline in chemical engineering and in implementing new innovations in the biotechnology industry. They’ve graduated engineering leaders who were involved in the development and commercialization of 51 biologic drugs, including eight of the current top-10 selling drugs in 2024.
Belfort conducts research on membrane-based purification of mRNA (vaccines), in vitro production and purification of biofuels, and organic solvents. He has published over 260 peer-reviewed papers and has over 15 patents in separations science, biotechnology, health sciences and transport phenomena. He was elected to the NAE in 2003 and has received several notable scientific awards, including the 2017 Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Distinguished Service Award in Chemical Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the 2014 Alan S. Michaels Award for Innovation in Membrane Science and Technology from the North American Membrane Society, the 2008 E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry from the American Chemical Society and is one of the “100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era” as part of the AIChE Centennial Celebration in 2008.
Belfort earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and a master’s degree and doctorate in civil engineering from UCI. In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering by the University of Cape Town. Belfort was named to the UCI Samueli School's Engineering Alumni Hall of Fame in its inaugural year in 2015.
In sharing the news of this recognition with UCI colleagues, via email, Belfort said, “My success in receiving this prize is directly related to my solid foundation in engineering principles obtained during my M.S. and Ph.D. studies at UCI. Thanks to UCI and the faculty.”
– Lori Brandt
