About the Author
Dr. Sergio Riva is the Director of the Institute of the Chemistry of Molecular Recognition (ICRM) of the Italian National Council of Research (C.N.R.), where he has been working since 1984, and "Professore a Contratto"at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia since 2000. He took his Laurea in Chemistry at Milano University in 1983 and his Diploma di Specialita in Organic Synthesis at Milano Politecnico in 1989. He spent one year (1987) at M.I.T. (Cambridge, USA) working with Prof. A. Klibanov. In 1993 he was awarded the Ciamician medal by the Organic Chemical Division of the Italian Chemical Society for his research activity in biocatalysis. His research activity is documented by more than 160 publications reporting on the isolation and characterization of different groups of enzymes (hydrolases, dehydrogenases, oxynitrilases, aldolases, laccases, glycosyltransferases), and on the use of these biocatalysts for the selective modification of natural compounds (steroids, alkaloids, terpenes, sugars and natural glycosides) and chiral synthons.
Wolf-Dieter Fessner obtained his PhD from the University of Freiburg, following which he carried out postdoctoral research at Harvard University with George Whitesides and at the University of Southern California with George Olah. Since 1998 he has been Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Technische Universitat Darmstadt. His primary research interest is focused on the development of practical methods for asymmetric synthesis at the interface between chemical and biological catalysis. A distinctive element in his research is the assembly and development of one-pot, multi-enzymatic reaction cascades for biocatalytic carbon-carbon bond formation and oligosaccharide synthesis, including the characterization and engineering of novel enzyme catalysts for a broader spectrum of substrate specificity