College of Engineering News • Iowa State University

Thivani Senathiraja’s passion for taking on problems is leading to grand successes

Senathiraja is working with Chris Cornelius, the Dr. Thomas D. McGee and Dr. Ick-Jhin Rick Yoon Department Chair in Materials Science and Engineering/Wilkinson Chair in Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering, by courtesy, to promote green energy by optimizing and increasing the performance and durability of hydrogen fuel cell membranes. Her research and leadership have resulted in her receiving several awards, including the local Guiding Start Award from the Graduate Society of Women Engineers.

If walls could talk: Cyclone Engineers develop cyber-physical system for exterior walls to “think for themselves”

Associate professor Alice Alipour (CCEE), associate professor Behrouz Shafei (CCEE) and professor Partha Sarkar (aerospace engineering) received a grant from the NSF in 2018 to study what they call a Smorphacade (short for a Smart Morphing Façade), a type of building exterior that is what some could consider alive. Recently, they received another project from NSF to conduct technology transfer on this fundamentally transformative idea.

Chowdhury computational research crosses new frontiers in protein structure study

Research led by Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering assistant professor Ratul Chowdhury has landed firmly on the cutting edge of new computational technology in protein research – and on the cover of a recent issue of Nature Biotechnology, one of the highest ranked journals in this field.

Mars Wrigley Confections donates more than $750k worth of lab equipment to ISU

The spirit of giving isn’t just limited to the Christmas holiday season! That’s what Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) Professor of Practice John Kaiser has experienced recently with the help of generous benefactors at his former employer, Mars Wrigley Confections. They’ve supplied more than $750,000 worth of lab equipment to the department.

Holographic hard hats ahead: Cyclone Engineers break into the third dimension of structural design

Civil engineering sophomore Liam Lenahan and assistant professor Roy Sturgill are working together to bring the third dimension into structural design. The two are bringing 3D projects into the classroom through a very ‘construction-style’ medium: hard hats. 

How much vehicle weight can highways withstand? Yongsung Koh receives award for highway resilience research

How much pressure can a road withstand? Of all the roads and highways we drive on – when will they crack? That’s what Yongsung Koh, a doctoral student in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is working hard to figure out.

From forest to farm: Using woodchips from crowded forests in sustainable water quality practices

By working together, the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and the Department of Natural Resource Ecology Management are studying the process behind weeding out certain species of trees in forests to help other trees grow, and using those weeded-out trees for water quality practices. The underutilized trees will be chopped into woodchips, a common media for water quality improvements.

Apply now for CBE’s 2023 BioMaP undergrad research program

The application period for the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering’s 2023 BioMaP REU program is now open. The program will be held from May 30 – August 4.

Efraín Rodríguez-Ocasio is growing a research career in the “corn place”

Growing up, Efraín Rodríguez-Ocasio did not foresee himself pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in a state he thought of as the “corn place.”  

But after discovering the opportunity to work with Laura Jarboe, Cargill Professor of Chemical Engineering, Rodríguez-Ocasio has found Iowa State fertile ground to grow a career in bioplastics research.

CBE’s AIChE student chapter proudly represents ISU at national conference in Phoenix

The Department of Chemical Engineering’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter recently returned from the organization’s Annual Student Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Twenty ISU student members took part in the event.

Tessonnier-led research bridges gap for more efficient conversions of lignin for cleaner and greener chemicals

Effective conversion of lignin to increase the production of bio-oil and reduce a solid by-product called “char” has been addressed in Iowa State University engineering research and published in Energy & Environmental Science.

CBE’s Shanks named Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fellow

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering faculty member Brent Shanks has been named an American Chemical Society (ACS) Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Fellow for the Class of 2023.

Helping policymakers make informed decisions about agriculture, $1.9 million grant for broad-scope framework

In the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, researchers received a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide a broad-scope framework presenting how FEW systems work together. Including elements like crop and animal production and ethanol generation among other things, the team is designing a series of maps that describe the food, energy and water data elements within the state of Iowa, and housing the maps in one user-friendly webpage.

Hui Hu icing research study receives AIAA best paper honors

A paper published by Department of Aerospace Engineering Martin C. Jischke Professor Hui Hu and three of his students has been selected to receive national recognition by the American Institute of Aeronautics and  Astronautics’ (AIAA) Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee.

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