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Ruben Carbonell, Ph.D.

Ruben G. Carbonell is the Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State University, which he joined in 1984 after 10 years at the University of California, Davis.  As executive director of the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) from 2008 to 2017, he led the establishment of its highly regarded academic, professional development, and bioprocess and analytical services programs and now holds the title of BTEC Distinguished Fellow. Dr. Carbonell is currently serving as senior technology strategist for the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL).  He was instrumental in launching NIIMBL and served as chief technology officer from 2017-2020. Since 1999, he has also held the position of director of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science, which supports innovative research, educational, entrepreneurial and public policy programs.

Dr. Carbonell was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2014, in recognition of his work on molecular recognition for biological separations, and on transport processes.  He is member of the National Academy of Science’s Board of Chemical Sciences and Technology, and he is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society.  Dr. Carbonell is a Foreign Member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna.  He has won numerous awards, including the Holladay Medal for Excellence at NC State, the highest award given to university faculty, and the O. Max Gardner Award, the highest award given to faculty members in the University of North Carolina System.   He has published nearly 250 technical papers and is an inventor in over 30 patents, several of which have been licensed.

Dr. Carbonell received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Manhattan College in 1969 and his PhD from Princeton University in 1973.  He has supervised more than 75 MS and PhD students and over 35 postdoctoral researchers, many of whom hold leading positions in industry and academia.