Georgia State University Athletics

George Pierce has been a member of the University Athletics Committee since 2010 and was named Georgia State's Faculty Athletics Representative in 2013. He represents Georgia State as the FAR Representative to the Sun Belt Conference and was Chair of the Sun Belt Conference Faculty Athletics Representatives from 2016-2018. In addition, he is the FAR representative to the Sun Belt SAAC Presidents, and provides support and education about athletics initiatives throughout the academic community.  

Pierce spent more than 20 years in private research before joining the Georgia State biology department as Professor in 2000 and was the graduate director of applied and environmental microbiology for 20 years.

He has more than 45 years of experience in translational applied microbiology and biotechnology, with particular emphasis on development, process research, and scale-up, of regulated products (pharmaceutical and food-grade) directed toward making biological processes a practical commercial reality.

In the past five years the focus of Dr. Pierce’s research has been in two main areas: 1) the development of a practical catalyst platform (plant growth regulator) which is currently under commercial development and has resulted in 10 awarded U.S. Patents and over 30 foreign applications, for the delayed ripening of climacteric fruits and control of molds, and 2) the development of an improved Asparaginase for the treatment of Juvenile Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  Dr. Pierce has obtained numerous U.S. Patents as the result of his research. To date, 30 individuals have obtained their Ph.D. working with Dr. Pierce.