News & Events
Recent News
Professor Andrew White Receives NIH Grant
September 15, 2020
Prof. White received a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH). The project is titled "Learning to learn in structural biology with deep neural networks." The goal of this research is to develop methods that allow meta-learning in structural biology to train new deep learning models on tasks where data is scarce, with limited computation resources.
UR and possible game-changer for Navy: Using salt water for fuel
July 20, 2020
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The US Navy leads the way in efficient, nuclear-powered vessels. All active aircraft carriers, and a number of other ships and subs are powered using that method. Now, researchers at the University of Rochester are working on a way to create another kind of fuel out at sea to make some deployments even more effective.
This low-cost catalyst helps turn seawater into fuel at scale
July 15, 2020
Statement of Social Injustice
June 16, 2020
Dear Students, Alumni, and Colleagues:
The Department of Chemical Engineering stands in solidarity with the University of Rochester in
supporting all Black members of our community. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others have catalyzed a global movement, raising awareness on how social injustice has persisted and has plagued our society for centuries. The events have caused grief, pain, and frustration, and we can only imagine how Black members of our community are feeling and have felt throughout our history.
Our department’s core mission is to prepare students for professional careers in chemical
engineering or related fields through excellent research and education, and it is critical that we
conscientiously strive to overcome implicit bias and to provide equal opportunity to our students.
We value diversity, and we are fortunate to have a rich population of minority and international
students. We need to ensure that all of our students—prospective students as well—are treated
equally. In addition to university-level efforts, our department is taking the following steps to
confront existing or emerging injustices:
(i) Each of our faculty and staff will complete implicit bias training to increase our awareness of how objectivity can be lost through subconscious assumptions.
(ii) A student focus group will be formed and students will be invited to “grade” our department
on how well we are promoting equity. The group will summarize student sentiment and provide
recommendations for action.
(iii) Our graduate committee will continue to act deliberately in promoting diversity within our
student population. Last year, through the UR’s Provost-Promise program, the department offered matching financial support and a robust academic advising and mentoring plan to a PhD fellowship recipient. We will continue to go after such win-win opportunities, and we will also encourage qualified underrepresented students to apply for scholarships to our graduate programs.
Beyond these items, our faculty and staff are open to further ideas and dialog on how to directly
address social injustice, continuing to foster openness and inclusiveness. Please feel free to
reach out to me if you have suggestions.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Anthamatten
Professor and Chair
Department of Chemical Engineering
Grant helps URMC researchers' math models predict how soon pandemic could end
May 22, 2020
Mathematical model will monitor spread of COVID-19
May 20, 2020
Wellawatte’s simulations may aid search for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
May 15, 2020
The complexity of the corona virus makes it difficult for researchers to simulate how potential vaccines and antibody therapies might prevent the virus’ devastating assault on human lungs, kidneys and other organs.
2020 ChemE Car
May 11, 2020
Even with this year’s team not knowing if they would be able to attend the AIChE ChemE Car competition, did not deter them from perfecting their car. Check out this video, of their ChemE Car in action and meet the members. This is a great hands on project, plus a great opportunity to engage and work as a team with other students.
COVID-19 Services and Support for Graduate Students and Postdocs
April 10, 2020
https://www.rochester.edu/coronavirus-update/impacts-for-graduate-students/
Apply Now
April 10, 2020
The Department of Chemical Engineering is still accepting Masters of Science application for Fall-2020.
Lawton eager to share her own ‘exciting journey’ in engineering
February 27, 2020
Last year’s senior class at Bucknell University chose Melodie Lawton as the faculty member “most likely to boost your confidence.”
Heta Gandhi receives fellowship from Molecular Sciences Software Institute
January 14, 2020
The Andrew White lab at the University of Rochester uses computational modeling to simulate how peptide molecules spontaneously self-assemble into a supramolecular complex or new phase.
Harry B. Gray continues to inspire
November 27, 2019
The Department of Chemical Engineering was honored to welcome to campus Harry B. Gray, the Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry at California Institute of Technology and founding director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. On November 20, his guest lecture on metal oxos drew a sizeable crowd.
Students benefit from AIChE conference
November 27, 2019
Members of the University of Rochester delegation to the recent AIChE national student conference in Orlando listened eagerly as awards were announced.
Professor J.H.David Wu Invited to the Indian Society of Microbiology Annual Meeting
November 19, 2019
Professor J. H. David Wu was invited to give the opening session plenary lecture at the 60th Annual Conference of Association of Microbiologists of India and International Symposium on Microbial Technologies in Sustainable Development of Energy, Environment, Agriculture and Health, November 15-18, 2019. Professor Wu's talk was titled: "The Cellulosome: A Molecular Machine for Cellulose Degradation"
Andrew Wunder Wins 2019 Young Alumni Award
October 9, 2019
Andrew Wunder ’04 (MS ’05) was announced as the first-ever recipient of the Department of Chemical Engineering’s new Young Alumni Achievement Award, which will be given annually to recognize graduates within the last 15 years for their service to society, their professional and technical accomplishments, and their demonstrated leadership. Andrew, currently the director of operations at Henkel in Lyons, NY, has also been a compounding manager at Zotos International, R&D process engineer at Ferro Corporation, and process engineer for Kodak. Andrew has also served on the department’s Advisory Board, providing key insight into the current industry and how the department can improve its undergraduate program. Andrew accepted his award on Friday, October 4th during Meliora Weekend.
Technology Development Fund supports a Major Project under AMPL
September 3, 2019
In their pursuit of innovative ideas to enrich the intellectual character of the Center on Advanced Materials for Photonics and Lasers, AMPL, based in Chemical Engineering, Professors Chen and Anthamatten have been awarded a Technology Development Fund at the University in collaboration with Meadowlark Optics, Inc.
Putting theory into practice in quest to convert CO2
July 30, 2019
It is all well and good to learn theories in the classroom, say three University of Rochester chemical engineering undergraduates working with Marc Porosoff this summer.
Thin Films for PEM Fuel Cell
July 2, 2019
The most-read published article in Journal of The Electrochemical Society belongs to Professor Jacob Jorne; entitled "Proton Conduction and Oxygen Diffusion in Ultra-Thin Nafion Films in PEM Fuel Cell: How Thin?"
Homage for a humble icon of science
June 26, 2019
Every weekend, when he takes his children shopping at a local wholesale store, Mitchell Anthamatten is reminded of the magnitude of what his friend and colleague Ching Tang has accomplished.
Jennifer Condit Awarded Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Staff Award
May 19, 2019
Jennifer Condit, the undergraduate program coordinator for the Department of Chemical Engineering, received the 2019 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Staff Award. Jennifer advised 240 undergraduate students amidst a host of other duties essential to the department’s operation, yet manages to "make things happen seamlessly and professionally," says department chair Mitchell Anthamatten. "What impresses me most about Jen is her absolute professionalism," he adds. Jennifer's Dottie Welch award four years ago is a testament to the respect her students have for her. Congratulation Jen!