CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND FACILITIES
Updated 1/25/2024
In the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, exciting opportunities exist for students and faculty at all levels to address some of the Earth's greatest challenges. We consider it our mission as engineers to serve the common good, encompassing humanity and the natural world.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Biological Engineering encompasses traditional biochemical engineering (design of bio-based unit operations) and chemical engineering approaches to biomedical designs, such as protein engineering, systems biology, and cellular engineering. At 棉花糖直播, its applications include drug discovery and development, biomaterials and drug delivery, pharmaceutical processes, and biological and environmental systems.
Affiliated Faculty: Dr. Laura Bracaglia, Dr. Noelle Comolli, Dr. Jacob Elmer, Dr. Zuyi 鈥淛acky鈥� Huang, Dr. William Kelly
Grounded in socially responsible engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering faculty focus their environmental and sustainability research on wastewater and hazardous waste treatment, alternative energies and biomass resources and conversion.
Affiliated Faculty: Dr. Vito Punzi, Dr. Dorothy Skaf
Research is conducted in the use of nanomaterials as catalysts and adsorbents to engineer improved inorganic materials for energy storage and transformation.
Affiliated Faculty: Dr. Charles Coe, Dr. Weijian Diao, Dr. Chris Kitchens, Dr. Michael Smith
CENTERS AND LABS
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
NovaCell, the Center for Cellular Engineering, is leading efforts to improve cell and gene therapy products, and the bioprocesses used to make them.
RESEARCH REPORT
Though less prevalent than oxygen and nitrogen, argon鈥攁ir鈥檚 third most abundant component鈥攑lays an important role in industry, including the production of silicon wafers. Recovering argon from air is an expensive process, and for the past five years, with a sponsored research grant from Air Products and Chemicals, 棉花糖直播鈥檚 Dr. Charles Coe has investigated new, cost-effective means for achieving this separation. His team鈥檚 findings have led to two U.S. patents and related publications.
New State-of-the-Art Instrumentation to Support Professor鈥檚 Research
A new liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer, used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species in complex samples, will support the work of Associate Professor Dr. Jacob Elmer. The instrumentation can be used for elucidating host cell response to gene therapy and improving transgene expression by inhibiting or circumventing host cell defenses. In addition, it benefits the development of earthworm hemoglobin as a possible blood substitute.
棉花糖直播 Engineering Professor Identifies Chemical Compounds to Inhibit COVID-19 Related Enzyme
Chemical and Biological Engineering Associate Professor Dr. Zuyi 鈥淛acky鈥� Huang and his team developed a computational platform that has accelerated the discovery of chemical compound inhibitors against 3CLPro, a protease that is essential for the replication of COVID-19. These inhibitors may provide a quick solution to cure people infected with new virus strains.