Research Centers

Research centers are an important part of the graduate and undergraduate research carried out in the department, and significantly increase the interaction between students and industry.

Center for Membrane Applied Science and Technology
We currently have a National Science Foundation Center for Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) that is funded by NSF, Industrial Sponsors , the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, and the University of Colorado. In addition to Chemical and Biological Engineering, faculty from Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering and faculty from other Colorado schools have projects with the Center.

Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
The Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is jointly run by the Department of Chemical Engineering and the School of Pharmacy and is funded by industrial sponsors. The Center is divided into three research cores: (i) pharmaceutics, covering drug stability and drug delivery research, (ii) molecular biology, where recombinant DNA technology is employed to identify new drug targets, synthesize macromolecular therapeutics, and understand the molecular basis of disease, and (iii) analytical chemistry, where new methods are developed to characterize macromolecular structure, in vivo drug concentrations, and drug purity.

Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2)

C2B2 is a cooperative research and educational partnership with the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University. The center provides private industry with one-stop access to researchers, laboratories, students, and educators from four innovative institutions, each having unique strengths in biofuel and biorefining application areas. Participating companies include ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical Co., Shell Global Solutions, GreenFuel Technologies Corp., Range Fuels Inc., Solix Biofuels, PureVision Technology, Coprnican Energy, Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises and Blue Sun Biodiesel.

Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fundamentals and Application of Photopolymerization
The newest Center is an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fundamentals and Application of Photopolymerization and is operated jointly with the University of Iowa. It is currently funded by ten companies and is being considered for NSF funding.

Interdiciplinary Biotechnology Program

NIH Leadership Training in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Program