Letter from the Chair, June 8, 2023
Dear ChBE Community,
As we emerge from a particularly cold and snowy Colorado winter, and embrace the warmth of spring, it’s a great time to reconnect with our ChBE alumni, students, faculty and staff and to reflect on the changes since we last connected.
Of note are the early successes of our young faculty. This year, Ankur Gupta received a CAREER award while Adam Holewinski, who recently received tenure, secured a Fulbright award to further his research on sustainable chemical products and fuels. You can read about their research below. We also welcomed this year Assistant Professor Kõnane Bay to our faculty.
This spring Teaching Professor Charlie Nuttelman received two prestigious awards: the Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Teaching and Pedagogy Award — an honor bestowed on only three faculty members annually across the entire university campus — and the department’s 2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Faculty Award.
In terms of research, here are just a few examples of our significant accomplishments.
A team of our ChBE engineers designed tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds—with potential applications to deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body.
Additionally our researchers collaborated with the Materials Science and Engineering Program to publish groundbreaking findings in Joule which may pave the way for low-cost, high efficiency solar cells using hybrid lead halide perovskites.
Furthermore, Professor Timothy White and ChBE PhD graduate Tayler Hebner were part of a team that created a new, rubber-like film capable of leaping like a grasshopper, a development that could one day help embody “soft robots” to leap or lift.
In the latest U.S. News and World Report’s for 2023-24, our Chemical Engineering degree program ranked in the top 10 among public institutions, while our Biological Engineering secured the 25th spot.Our graduate students continue to excel, earning prestigious fellowships and awards, including six NSF Graduate Research Fellowships for our current students and four such fellowships for our students enrolling in Fall 2023. Three students received Department of Defense fellowships. Notably, PhD Student Albert Velasco Abadia received the prestigious Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award, Hector Sanchez-Moran claimed first prize at the PEGS Essential Protein and Antibody Engineering Summit poster presentation competition, and Max Yavitt was the lead author on a new paper in Science Advances that focuses on human intestinal tissue research.
Our undergraduates have also distinguished themselves, with 25 percent of the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s awards going to ChBE students. Additionally, 18 students received department awards.
Among our esteemed alumni, Simon Kalmus (ChemBioEng’19) is collaborating with a CU Boulder team to develop soybeans capable of producing scarce ingredients for cancer drugs, vaccines and infant formula—while prioritizing sustainability. Haichao Wu (PhD'21, CHEN) was named winner of the Victor K. LaMer Award for his outstanding dissertation; this national award is only given once annually. Our Alumni Student Mentor Program is going strong with 27 students benefiting from mentorship this academic year. I extend congratulations to Brittany Michael (ChemEngr'12), recipient ofthe Outstanding Mentor Award. We are always seeking more mentors, so if you are interested, please sign up through our ASMP mentor page.
We encourage you to explore the stories below and to visit the ChBE website. Don't forget to watch our new department videos, including the spotlight on Assistant Professor and our and programs.
Wishing you all a wonderful summer filled with adventure, community and relaxation.
Will Medlin
Chair
Denver Business Challenge Endowed Professor