Biochemical and Molecular Engineering XXIV 

Harnessing the Power of Community for a Stronger Biotech Future

An ECI Conference Series

July 19 – 23, 2026
Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Hotel
Puerto Rico

About This Conference

Natural systems are remarkably complex, yet they offer unparalleled precision and control, which engineers are increasingly harnessing to drive innovation across fields including medicine, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are now enabling us to tackle long-standing challenges in engineering microbial communities, developing health interventions, and designing novel data storage systems. At the same time, we are witnessing exciting progress in translating these innovations from the lab to real-world applications. New frontiers are opening up across the kingdoms of life: from using microbes in mining, agriculture, food production, and waste upcycling, to engineering a wide range of eukaryotic and human cell types, including immune cells, for therapeutic purposes. Chemical and biological engineers are at the forefront of these transformative advances.

The Biochemical and Molecular Engineering Conference Series brings together leading researchers from engineering and the natural sciences to share cutting-edge developments, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and explore new strategies to amplify biotechnology’s impact on society. Now in its 24th edition, this storied conference traces its roots back to the early days of recombinant DNA technology. This year, we are thrilled to host the conference in Puerto Rico, a vibrant hub for biotechnology and biopharma. Our goal is to strengthen existing connections, offer opportunities to expand our global network, and inspire the next generation of innovators.

We warmly invite you to join us for a week of dynamic scientific exchange, networking, and community building. Please help us spread the word, especially to early-career researchers, so we can continue the tradition of cultivating a strong, inclusive, and forward-looking community of biochemical and molecular engineers.

Conference Chairs

Sponsorship Opportunities

Package A: $15,000 - PLATINUM SPONSOR 

• Scientific Session sponsorship (Company name listed as sponsor of session in program, on app and  on slide at the beginning of session) 
• Company information packet available in attendees’ registration materials 
• Company logo and link on conference website 
• Full page ad in digital program 
• Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
• Name of company on sponsor list in program 
• Limited spaces available for sponsor display table of promotional materials 

Package B: $10,000 - GOLD SPONSOR  

• Scientific session sponsorship (Company name listed as sponsor of session in program, on app and  on slide at the beginning of session) 
• Company logo and link on conference website 
• Full page ad in digital program  
• Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
• Name of company on sponsor list in program 

Package C: $7,500 – SILVER SPONSOR 

• Poster session sponsorship 
• Company logo & link on conference website  
• Full page ad in digital program 
• Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
• Name of Company on Sponsor List in Program 

Package D: $5,000 - BRONZE SPONSOR 

• Half-page ad in digital program 
• Company logo & link on conference website  
• Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
• Name of company on sponsor list in program 

Package E: $2,500 – ALUMINUM SPONSOR 

• Company logo displayed on screen between sessions 
• Name of company on sponsor list in program 

ECI Associate Director Kevin Korpics (kevin@engconfintl.org) may be contacted for invoicing and other  questions.  

Please note that none of the sponsor packages include any free or discounted  registrations for attendees from sponsor companies. 

ECI is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization and donations may be tax deductible.

Previous Conferences in this Series

Biochemical Engineering
August 20-25, 1978 - Henniker, New Hampshire
Conference Chairs:
Wolf R. Vieth, Rutgers University
Alkis Constantinides, Rutgers University

Biochemical Engineering II
July 13-18, 1980 - Henniker, New Hampshire
Conference Chair:
Alkis Constantinides, Rutgers University

Biochemical Engineering III
September 19-24, 1982 - Santa Barbara, California
Conference Chair:
K. Venkatsubramanian, H.J. Heinz Co. and Rutgers University

Biochemical Engineering IV
September 30 - October 5, 1984 - Galway, Ireland
Conference Chairs:
Henry Lim, Purdue University
Patrick Fottrell, University of Galway

Biochemical Engineering V
July 27-August 1, 1986 - Henniker, New Hampshire
Conference Chair:
William A. Weigand, Illinois Institute of Technology

Biochemical Engineering VI
October 2-7, 1989 - Santa Barbara, California
Conference Chairs:
Walter E. Goldstein, ESCA Genetic Corp.

Biochemical Engineering VII
March 3-8, 1991 - Santa Barbara, California
Conference Chairs:
Henrik Pedersen, Rutgers University
David DiBiasio, Worcester Polytechnic

Biochemical Engineering VIII
July 11-16, 1993 - Princeton, New Jersey
Conference Chairs:
Subhash Karkare, Amgen
Robert M. Kelly, North Carolina State University

Biochemical Engineering IX
May 21-26, 1995 - Davos, Switzerland
Conference Chairs:
Jay Bailey, ETH
Dane Zabriskie, SmithKline Beecham

Biochemical Engineering X
May 18-23, 1997 - Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
Conference Chairs:
Wei-Shu Hu, University of Minnesota
James Swartz, Genentech

Biochemical Engineering XI
July 25-30, 1999 - Salt Lake City, Utah
Conference Chairs:
George Georgiou, University of Texas
Steven Lee, Merck & Co., Inc.

Biochemical Engineering XII
June 10-15, 2001 - Rohnert Park, California
Conference Chairs:
Doug Clark, University of California-Berkeley
Jay Keasling, University of California-Berkeley
David Robinson, Merck

Biochemical Engineering XIII
July 19-23, 2003 - Boulder, Colorado
Conference Chairs:
Eleftherios (Terry) Papoutsakis, Northwestern University
Weichang Zhou, Protein Design Labs

Biochemical Engineering XIV
July 10-14, 2005 - Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., Canada
Conference Chairs:
William Bentley, University of Maryland
Hendrik J. Meerman, Genencor International, Inc.
Michael Betenbaugh, Johns Hopkins University
Vijay Yabannavar, Chiron

Biochemical Engineering XV
July 15-19, 2007 - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Conference Chairs:
Michael Betenbaugh, Johns Hopkins University
Vijay Yabannavar, Trubion Pharmaceuticals
Anne Robinson, University of Delaware
Eugene Schaefer, BMS

Biochemical Engineering XVI
July 5-9, 2009 - Burlington, Vermont, USA
Conference Chairs:
Anne Robinson, University of Delaware
Eugene Schaefer, BMS

Biochemical Engineering XVII
Emerging Frontiers
June 26-30, 2011 - Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Chairs:
François Baneyz, University of Washington
Costas Maranas, Penn State University
Beth Junker, Merck Research

Biochemical Engineering XVIII
Frontiers in Biological Design, Synthetic Biology and Processing: East Meets West
June 16-20, 2013 - Beijing, China
Conference Chairs:
David Robinson, Merck
Tianwei Tan, Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Huimin Zhao, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Biochemical Engineering XIX
July 12-16, 2015 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Conference Chairs:
Theresa Good, National Science Foundation
Gargi Seth, Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Biochemical Engineering XX
The Next Generation of Biochemical Engineering: From Nanoscale to Industrial Scale
July 16-20, 2017 - Newport Beach, CA, USA
Conference Chairs:
Wilfred Chen, University of Delaware, USA
Nicole Borth, Universität für Bodenkultur, Vienna, Austria
Stefanos Grammatikos, UCB Pharma, Belgium

Biochemical Engineering XXI
July 14-18, 2019 - Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Conference Chairs:
Christina Chan, Michigan State University, USA
Mattheos Koffas, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
Steffen Schaffer, Evonik Industries, Germany
Rashmi Kshirsagar, Biogen, USA

Biochemical and Molecular Engineering XXII
The Dawn of a New Era
June 26 – 30, 2022 - Cancun, Mexico
Conference Chairs:
Michael Jewett, Northwestern University
Kristala Prather, MIT
Michael Köpke, LanzaTech
Diane Hatton, AstraZeneca

Biochemical and Molecular Engineering XXIII
Accelerating Biotech Solutions to Aid a Changing World
July 21 – 25, 2024 - Dublin, Ireland
Conference Co-Chairs:
Michelle O’Malley, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA
Brian Pfleger, University of Wisconsin, USA
Varnika Roy, GSK, USA

General Information About ECI

Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit, global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962 that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.

The format of the conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions will be scheduled for evening discussion as well. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.

All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording/photographing of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.

Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.