Channing Robertson is the Ruth G. and William K. Bowes Professor in the School of Engineering and a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He also serves as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs in the School of Engineering.

Professor Robertson was born and raised in the Southern California area and attended the University of California at Berkeley where he received a B.S. degree [with Honors] in Chemical Engineering. He obtained his M.S. & Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University with an emphasis on fluid mechanics and transport phenomena. Professor Robertson joined the Denver Research Center of the Marathon Oil Company and worked in the areas of enhanced oil recovery, geophysical chemistry and polyurethane chemistry. He accepted a faculty position in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford in 1970 and has remained there ever since.

His research focuses on the behavior of proteins at or near solid and liquid interfaces. Professor Robertson also studies the molecular basis of interactions among naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds and proteins. In addition he conducts research in the area of metabolic engineering wherein microorganisms are manipulated at the gene level to produce useful chemicals and substances. He has educated and trained over forty Ph.D. students, holds seven patents and has published over one hundred and forty articles.

Professor Robertson teaches the introductory course to chemical engineering, a course in advanced fluid mechanics, two sophomore seminars and a graduate course in biotechnology. He is the Director of the Stanford-NIH Graduate Training Program in Biotechnology and supports the research activities of ten Stanford graduate students in departments within the Schools of Engineering, Medicine, and Humanities and Sciences. He was co-Director of the $150 million dollar Stanford initiative in biotechnology known as BioX, which in part includes the soon-to-be-completed Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. Currently he organizes the BioX graduate seminar series during the academic year.

Professor Robertson directed the summer Stanford Engineering Executive Program for 10 years and led the Annual Travel/Study Alumni Ski Trip to Europe for 12 years. He is a Master Advisor at Stanford and has advised incoming freshman for over 30 years. He received the 1991 Stanford Associates Award for service to the University, the 1991 Richard W. Lyman Award and the Society of Woman Engineer’s Award for Teacher of the Year 2000 at Stanford University. He is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He currently serves on the Science, Law and Technology Law Program Committee of the National Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation (SATob) of the World Health Organization, and the Panel on Court Appointed Scientific Experts [CASE] of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the fall of 2000 he was featured in Upside Magazine's special issue on "100 People Who Have Changed the World".

Owing to his interests in biotechnology, Professor Robertson has consulted widely in the design of biomedical diagnostic devices. He also has served as an expert witness in several trials including the Copper-7 intrauterine contraceptive cases [in the U.S. and Australia], the Stringfellow superfund case and most recently the Minnesota tobacco trial.

In an effort to interest his students in learning the fine points of fluid mechanics, Professor Robertson developed a series of lectures that highlighted the importance of fluid motion and its relationship to the origin of sports ball games. While he can tell you about the physics of the flight of sports balls he is unable to practice what he preaches. As a result, he remains a professor rather than a professional.

His wife, Donna, a graduate of the University of the Pacific, is Director of Donor Relations in the Stanford Office of Development. Son Jesse [25], like dad, is an avid pilot and fly fisherman, and graduated from Whitman College majoring in creative writing and English literature. Having worked for the E&J Gallo Winery in Seattle he now enjoys being a ski instructor at Vail, CO. Daughter Jodie [31] graduated with a degree in biology from the University of California at San Diego, a degree in Medicine from the University of Southern California and is presently a resident in emergency medicine at the University of California at Davis Medical Center. The family resides on the Stanford campus with their English springer spaniel, Aspen and their chocolate labrador, Cedar.