W. Grant McGimpsey

professor, biochemistry, WPI

W. Grant McGimpsey received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Queen's University, Ontario, Canada in 1985 and spent several years as research scientist at the National Research Council Canada. In 1989, he joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In 2005, McGimpsey was appointed as the Director of WPI's Bioengineering Institute (BEI), an organization focused on the development and commercialization of medical technologies. In 2007, McGimpsey was also named the WPI Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies ad interim. In addition, he is president and co-founder of Active Surface Technologies Incorporated, a company developing thin film technology for medical, sensor and energy applications. McGimpsey's research interests focus on surface chemistry, thin film devices, nanotechnology, molecular scale devices, micro- and nano-fluidics and biosensors. His research program, which has attracted nearly 8.5 million dollars in external support over the past 15 years is currently funded by the Department of Defense. In 1995, McGimpsey was visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Radiation Chemistry in Germany and in 2002 he was visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is now adjunct research professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UMASS. Also in 2002, McGimpsey was given the WPI Trustees Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship.