Biography

Michael Grady, DS, is an Adjunct Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. He received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University in 1982, a MS in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984, and a DS in Materials Science from ETH Zurich in 1997. Professor Grady spent 25 years as a polymer reaction engineer for DuPont Performance Coatings at the Marshall Laboratory in Philadelphia where he developed multiple new processes for making polymer (resin) important to new automotive coatings formulations. In 2007 he joined DuPont Central Research as Process Lead on their Biobutanol Program and later joint development with BP known as Butamax Advanced Biofuels, Inc. at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, DE. In this roll he led a team of engineers and biologists developing novel in-situ product removal techniques and purification techniques to overcome the impact of isobutanol on the growth and metabolism of the production yeast strain. In 2012 Grady became Technology Manager for the Process Technology Group within DuPont Industrial Biotechnology, and was involved in a range of new material developments taken through to large scale piloting. In 2016, Grady joined Axalta Coating Solutions, Inc., the newly created spin-off from DuPont, as Process Technology Manager and later Technology Fellow, working on process development programs in resin, dispersion and paint producing technology located at Axalta’s Global Innovation Center at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. Grady’s polymer research interests include acrylic polymerization chemistry especially higher temperature secondary reaction mechanisms and reaction engineering thereof, condensation polymerization and methods to speed removal of small-molecule by-products during production and novel inversion techniques for making polyurethane dispersions. Grady’s biological process research interests include fermentation, fermentation modeling and fermentation processes. Grady has taught as an adjunct at Drexel since 1997.  

Degrees / Education

• DSc, Material Science / Chemical Engineering, ETHZ, 1997
• MSc, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1984
• BSc, Chemical Engineering, Drexel University, 1982

Research Areas

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Materials

Research Interests

Areas of Study

• Chemical Engineering

Academic Distinctions

• 2017 Outstanding Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering at Drexel University

Select Publications

• Liu, Shi ; Chua, Lauren; Shamsabadi, Ahmad Arabi; Corcoran, Patrick H.; Patra, Abrirup; Grady, Michael C.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Soroush, Masoud “Oxygen-Initiated Free-Radical Polymerization of Alkyl Acrylates at High Temperatures” Macromolecules  (2021), 54(17), 7925-7930.
• Nasresfahani, Amin; Schiavi, David; Grady, Michael C.; Hutchinson, Robin A.; “An automated recipe generator for semi-batch solution radical copolymerization via comprehensive stochastic modeling and derivative-free algorithms”; Chemical Engineering Journal; (2021), 417, 127920. 
• Riazi, Hossein; Nemani, Srinivasa Kartik; Grady, Michael C.; Babak, Anasori; Soroush, Masoud; “Ti3C2 MXene-polymer nanocomposites and their applications”, Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability” (2021), 9(13), 8051-8098.
• Schier, Jan E.S.; Zhang, Min; Grady, Michael C.; Hutchinson, Robin A. “Modeling of Semibatch Solution Radical Copolymerization of Butyl Methacrylate and 2-Hyroxyethyl Acrylate”, Macromolecular Reaction Engineering, (2018), 12(4).
• Moghadam, Nazanin; Liu, Shi; Srinivasan, Sriraj; Grady, Michael C.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Soroush, Masoud “Theoretical Study of Intermolecular Chain Transfer to Polymer Reactions of Alkyl Acrylates” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (2015), 54(16), 4148-4165.

Patents

• US 9,206,448 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Extraction solvents derived from oil for alcohol removal in extractive fermentation.”
• US 9,175,315 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Production of alcohol esters and in situ product removal during alcohol fermentation.”
• US 9,109,196 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Processes and systems for the production of fermentation products.”
• US 9,040,263 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Production of alcohol esters and in situ product removal during alcohol fermentation.”
• US 8,969,055 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Method for producing butanol using extractive fermentation with electrolyte addition.”
• US 20140335582 A1 20141113, Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Fermentive Production of Four Carbon Alcohols.”
• US 8,865,443 Grady, Michael Charles et al. “Extraction solvents derived from oil for alcohol removal in extractive fermentation.”