Two ChBE professors selected for prestigious AICHE “35 Under 35” award

Two CU Boulder faculty members from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering were recently selected for the prestigious “35 Under 35” awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Assistant Professors Kayla Sprenger and Ankur Gupta have been recognized by AIChE as two of the 35 outstanding chemical engineering professionals under the age of 35. The 2023 award celebrates their significant contributions to the field as well as to AIChE, and acknowledges them as role models and innovators “who will pave the way for future generations.”

Gupta’s research group studies interfacial phenomena, including electrochemical interfaces, colloidal motion, and microhydrodynamics for applications in energy storage, desalination and lab-on-a-chip technologies. He and his group aspire to delve into the design of porous electrodes using electrolyte transport phenomena, with the goal of advancing energy storage technologies. 

“Being selected by the AIChE for the 35 under 35 award is an incredible honor, not just for me, but for my entire research group," Gupta said.  "It's a recognition of the effort that's gone into our research on the broad and vital topic of electrochemical interfaces and colloidal physics for energy and environmental applications. This award serves as a motivation to continue pushing the frontiers of chemical engineering, and I'm deeply grateful for this acknowledgement.”

Sprenger’s lab focuses on multi-scale computational approaches to design immunotherapeutics against a wide variety of infectious and neurological diseases. She hopes to publish and establish her lab’s research in the areas of computational immunology and machine learning-driven vaccine design. 

"It means so much to me to be selected by the AIChE for the 35 Under 35 award," Sprenger said. "My research is highly multidisciplinary, incorporating elements from physics, (bio)chemistry, neuroscience and immunology. Despite this breadth, my lab's approach to solving problems in these realms is deeply rooted in applying engineering-based principles. To me, then, this award is a reflection of this fact, as well as a nice nod to my continued commitment to the broader chemical engineering community."

The two will be honored at a Nov. 6 reception for alumni and friends at the 2023 AIChE annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

You can read more about the award winners here.