Research

 

Strong, active research programs have become a trademark of the department. The department was awarded the Fellows of the University Award of Excellence in Research in 2005 and again in 2011. Dr. Michael Mann and Dr. Wayne Seames have received awards for Individual Excellence in Research. Five faculty were honored by the Technology Transfer Office for submitting patents and/or patent disclosures. A new PhD program in Chemical Engineering and MS in Sustainable Energy Engineering were implemented Spring, 2010.

Direct research expenditures attributed to grants from Chemical Engineering faculty were $3.1 million in AY09/10, an increase of 92% over the previous year. Research has been an important part of the growth of the department. Our research productivity has allowed us to provide assistantships to all qualified graduate students and involve a large number of undergraduate students in our research. This success has also allowed the department to hire four faculty members and increase our staff and research engineer support.

A summary of our research expertise is provided below. For more details on each faculty’s individual expertise, please see our Faculty and Staff page.

 

Department of Chemical Engineering Research Priorities

• Renewable and Sustainable Energy - Transportation and Stationary Power

• Renewable Materials and Chemicals

• Sustainable and Environmentally Acceptable Use of Coal / Clean Coal Technology

• Next Generation Power Production Systems

• Environmental Mitigation with an Emphasis on Energy Systems and Modeling

 

Primary Research Interests of Chemical Engineering Faculty

Benson, Steve Advanced power system; Emission controls including carbon capture

Bowman, Frank Atmospheric aerosol; Engineering education

Ji, Yun Biomass pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis; Renewable fuels and chemicals

Kolodka, Edward Polymer engineering; Polymeric solar cells

Krisnamoorthy, Gautham Computational fluid dynamics; Simulation of combustion reacting flows

Mann, Michael Advanced energy systems including renewables; Emission controls / systems engineering

Seames, Wayne Understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts of trace element and particulate matter emissions; New technologies for energy, chemical, and material products

Tande, Brian Polymeric Membranes; Biobased Polymers and Composites

Wills, Robert Non-thermal drying of solids by chemical dehydration; Product enhancement of fermentation processes