Principal Investigator Bio

Amor A. Menezes is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida, with affiliate appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Genetics, and Chemical Engineering. He is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology. His research focuses on modeling and controlling biological processes for medical and space applications. His group develops feedback control systems for inflammation-mediated coagulation disorders; advances the theory of biomolecular positive dynamical systems; designs integrated space biomanufacturing systems; and genetically engineers microbes to reject extreme environments. His research has been published in the top associated journals, including Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, and Automatica. His research has also been featured by national and international media outlets, including Science Today (CBS Radio), Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Der Spiegel, and Cosmos Magazine. As Principal Investigator of three multi-university experiments launched to the International Space Station on SpaceX CRS-27, SpaceX Crew-7, and SpaceX CRS-31, he established the viability of space microbial biomanufacturing. From 2017-2023, he was Science Principal Investigator of NASA's Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space. 

Dr. Menezes' research was recognized by the NSF CAREER award, the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program, and the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative. He has contributed to the Engineering Biology Research Consortium's "Engineering Biology for Space Health Roadmap," the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy workshop on "Homesteading in Space," and the National Intelligence Council Strategic Futures Group's "Global Trends Report." He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Control Systems Society Technology Conference Editorial Board and the ASME Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference Editorial Board. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Member of AIAA, ASME, and ASGSR. Dr. Menezes received a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and completed postdoctoral training in aerospace engineering and bioengineering at the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. His lab is funded by the DoD, NASA, and NSF.