Chemical and Environmental Engineering Newsletter

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Greetings! In July of 2024, our Department Head, Dr. Anastasios Angelopoulos accepted the position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. A search for a permanent department head is underway and the department will be led in the interim by Dr. Junhang Dong. Dr. Dong is a professor in chemical engineering and was recently appointed as the George Rieveschl Eminent Scholar Chair Professor in Membrane Science and Technology in recognition of his long-standing achievements and international stature in the areas of nanostructured inorganic membranes for gas and liquid separations, chemical sensing, catalytic reactions, and flow batteries for energy storage. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Angelopoulos for his years of excellent service and we look forward to carrying our momentum under Dr. Dong’s leadership into the 24-25 academic year! 

Two ChEE faculty were recognized by the College of Engineering and Applied Science as they honored exceptional faculty and staff members this past spring with college awards. Each of the recipients has demonstrated the legacy of excellence, scholarship and innovation that defines the college.  Professor Ben Yavitt was chosen as a University Research Council Faculty Scholar for his recent research successes at UC and for his promising future. Professor Greg Harris was awarded both a Master Educator Award for his excellence in the classroom as well as a Gold Star Lab Safety Award. Congratulations to both! 

Each year, our department hosts a one-day meeting with our External Advisory Board in which the two programs present accomplishments and future vision to a group of disciplinary experts from all areas of government, industry and academia. The EAB members were invited to the Student Award Ceremony on Thursday, April 18th, which was followed by a dinner at the Graduate Hotel. During the dinner, Dr. Taso Angelopoulos gave introductions and a brief overview of the department. The next day, the meeting commenced, with various faculty presenting updates on both the undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as updates on our COOP program and ABET. Also included were specific highlights on new faculty members. At the end of the day, the EAB members delivered assessment and recommendations on undergraduate, graduate, faculty, and strategic planning issues for each program.

This past May, UC, P&G and the American Chemical Society Miami Valley Section sponsored the P&G Soft Matter Symposium, organized by committee and coordinated by Dr Peter Koenig (P&G) and Dr. Greg Beaucage (UC). The keynote address was given by Dr. Norm Wagner, the 2024 Awardee of the Procter & Gamble Soft Matter Lectureship. Dr. Wagner is the Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Director of the Center for Neutron Science at the University of Delaware. He spoke on the topic of Thixotropy, Shear Rheology and Electron Transport in Model Carbon Black Suspensions Under Flow. Presentations were also given by Matt Lynch (P&G) (Polymers for preparing sprayable yield-stress fluids) and Jon Pham (UC) (Wetting, adhesion, and friction of soft material surfaces). A poster session and reception followed. The symposium had 80 attendees representing eight companies, national labs and the University of Cincinnati.

The Ohio Department of Development awarded more than $1.6 million in grants to UC Chemical Engineering researchers to examine better ways to capture carbon dioxide and other pollutants from industrial emissions.

• Dr. Joo-Youp Lee’s lab was awarded $250,000 to assess a new absorption-based method for separating carbon dioxide in emissions  
• Dr. Vadim Guliants was awarded three grants totaling $750,000 to investigate: 
  • Converting emissions into products used in lithium-ion batteries and polymers
  • Using coal fly ash to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater through oxidation
  • Extracting lithium and rare earth elements from coal
• Dr. Peter Smirniotis was awarded $750,000 to investigate the following projects:
  • Developing and testing new materials for removing carbon dioxide from flue gas emissions of coal-fired boilers at a wide range of temperatures
  • Creating novel and cost-effective ways to produce ethene from coal
  • Using nano-catalysts to convert carbon dioxide from emissions into synthetic gas
• Dr. Junhang Dong was awarded $100,000 to showcase a novel batteries with carbon capture capacity for thermal and electric energy storage at coal-fired power plants.
  

• Greg Beaucage, National Science Foundation, Mechanism for nanoparticle release from automotive tire tread, $410,000.
• Dongmei Feng, U.S. Geological Survey, Integration of in-situ and SWOT data to regionally improve SWOT data accessibility and accuracy, $32,000
• Joo-Youp Lee, Department of Energy, Energy-Efficient Direct Air Capture System for High Purity CO2 Separation, $520,000
• Xi-Zhi Niu, U.S. Geological Survey, Tracing the Shortest: method development and analysis of ultrashort-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the Ohio River basin, $270,000
• Yoonjee Park, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Injectable, Co-Delivery Dose-Controllable Implants for Advanced Chronic Eye Disease Treatment, $80,000 
• Yoonjee Park, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Injectable, Tunable Co-Delivery Therapeutic Implant to Reduce Airway Stenosis, $65,000
• Aashish Priye, National Science Foundation, Compact and Low-Energy Molecular Diagnostic Devices for Testing of Infectious Diseases, $50,000
• Patrick Ray, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Insight Needed for Investment in Natural and Nature-Based Features in Water Resources Planning, $39,000. 

On April 12, 2024, the 2024 graduating class in chemical engineering came together for a first annual celebratory Maggiano’s dinner. The dinner was attended by students as well as many of the ChE faculty members. Dr. John Weidner, the dean of CEAS, also made an appearance, giving all the chance to congratulate the students on their accomplishments!

The Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering held their annual Student Award Ceremony on Thursday, April 18th.  Awards and scholarship recipients are listed below.  Congratulations to our students on these outstanding accomplishments!