PATHS TO RESEARCH

Foundations

Overview

Our positive impact to human and environmental health depends on ensuring strong foundations in chemical engineering and applied chemistry principles. Thermodynamics, mass transfer, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, molecular and process modeling, data science and informatics, and the structure and characterization of materials are examples of foundational expertise in chemical engineering and applied chemistry that advance our understanding in areas spanning from inorganic to biological phenomena. Our department uniquely expands these foundational concepts to address engineering education and leadership. Some examples of our research activities include:

  • Modeling the phase behavior of complex surfactant-water-oil systems.
  • Investigating suspensions of rigid and deformable particles such as droplets, elastic particles and vesicles.
  • Designing optimal biological processes and material structures through machine learning and modeling.
  • Imaging complex and soft materials during real-time processing.
  • Investigating fundamental transport phenomena through model membrane materials and new membrane designs.
  • Optimizing separations processes for water recovery and re-use.
  • Applying fundamentals in chemical engineering to finance, including valuation of real options.
  • Improving instruction of transdisciplinary competencies and life-long skills development (Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice).
  • Creating opportunities for curricular and co-curricular leadership (Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering).

Key Terms

  • Data science
  • Surface and interface analysis
  • Nanoscale electrochemistry
  • Electrolyte thermodynamics
  • Corrosion fundamentals
  • Process modeling
  • Process engineering
  • Process optimization
  • Advanced materials
  • Nanomaterials
  • Complex fluids
  • Transport phenomena
  • Separation science
  • Engineering education
  • Leadership in engineering

Core Principal Investigators

Edgar Acosta

Edgar J. Acosta

Microscopic thermodynamic models; HLD-NAC theory; Process Engineering

Tim Bender

Timothy Bender

Nanomaterials; molecular modeling; process modeling

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William R. Cluett

Data science; process modeling; process optimization

Greg Evans

Greg J. Evans

Air pollution; advanced measurement methods; environmental data analytics

Mark Kortschot

Mark T. Kortschot

Surface and interface analysis; material design; engineering education

Yuri Lawryshyn

Yuri A. Lawryshyn

Data science; process modeling and optimization in financial engineering

Krishna Mahadevan

Radhakrishnan Mahadevan

Process optimization; process modeling; data science

Master, Emma

Emma R. Master

Surface and interface analysis; advanced materials

Charles Mims

Charles A. Mims

Surface and interface analysis; nanomaterials

Mohamad Moosavi

Seyed Mohamad Moosavi

Data science; advanced materials; separation science

Roger Newman

Roger C. Newman

Nanomaterials; corrosion fundamentals; nanoscale electrochemistry

Vlad Papangelakis

Vladimiros G. Papangelakis

Electrolyte thermodynamics; chemical modelling; sensors

Joseph C. Paradi

Joseph C. Paradi

Data science; process modeling and optimization in financial engineering

Arun Ramchandran

Arun Ramchandran

Complex fluids; transport phenomena; interface analysis; advanced materials

Doug Reeve

Doug Reeve

Research on engineer leadership in the workplace; developing evidence-based leadership curriculum

Nicole Weckman

Nicole Weckman

Surface and interface analysis; synthetic gene circuits; micro and nanotechnologies

Jay Werber

Jay Werber

Separation science; advanced materials; surface and interface analysis