Amar Mohanty

Prof. Amar Mohanty, Professor and Ontario Premier’s Research Chair in Biomaterials and Transportation at the University of Guelph, and former Michigan State University professor, is an international leader in the field of biomaterials with a focus in engineering new sustainable materials.

Prof. Mohanty's research interests are focused on the bioeconomy related to biobased materials, biofuels and biorefinery. He has more than 800 publications to his credit, including 358 peer-reviewed journal papers, five edited books, 23 book chapters, and 56 Patents awarded/applied.

Prof. Mohanty received the 2018 Synergy Award for Innovation, for "Partnership with Two or More Companies", from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This award was in recognition of partnership activities to develop innovative bio-based materials. 

Prof. Mohanty received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the BioEnvironmental Polymer Society (BEPS) in 2015. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest recognition from BEPS to a member who has made “outstanding contributions to scientific advancement and made phenomenal scholarly accomplishments and impact in the field of biopolymers, bio-based materials and/or bioplastic/materials related bioenergy systems”.

In July 2017, Prof. Mohanty received one of University of Guelph's inaugural Research Leadership Chair awards. This award is for well established faculty who have demonstrated excellent scholarly output, research-related knowledge mobilization and training of highly qualified personnel.

Prof. Mohanty is an accomplished researcher and was the holder of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. He received the Andrew Chase Forest Products Division Award in 2006 from the Forest Products Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), of which he is one of the Executive Committee Members. He received the Jim Hammar Memorial Service Award from the BioEnvironmental Polymer Society (BEPS) in 2011. 

Prof. Mohanty was the lead editor of the book "Natural Fibers, Biopolymers and Biocomposites" published by Taylor & Francis CRC Press in 2005 as well as for the American Scientific Publishers' book "Packaging Nanotechnology" in 2009. He was a co-editor of the books entitled "Handbook of Polymer Nanocomposites" (2014) published by Springer, “Biocomposites: Design and Mechanical Performance” (2015) and “Fiber Technology for Fiber-Reinforced Composites” (2017) both published by Woodhead Publishing. Dr. Mohanty serves as Editorial Board Member on four international journals.

Prof. Mohanty has a strong track record in working with industries. His R&D excellence has helped in developing a number of industrial products and more recently his research innovations have brought a number of new bio-based product platforms to the marketplace.

Prof. Mohanty brings his expertise to Ontario, in collaboration with fellow researchers, at the University of Guelph, at selected universities here in Ontario and with collaborating institutions and industry nationally and internationally, bringing an exciting new approach to our future needs through plant-based biomaterials.