2014 Highlights CollageCU-Boulder's Chemical and Biological Engineering community enjoyed great success in 2014, from commercialization of research to prestigious awards, grants and papers. Read about some ChBE highlights from the past year, and keep up with the department by joining us on LinkedIn.

Tooth filling

3M to Use Polymer Co-Developed in Bowman Group in New Filtek Dental Restorative Material

Oct. 1, 2014

3M released a novel dental restorative material, Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative, based on the research of Distinguished Professor Chris Bowman. The new polymer eliminates expensive dispensing devices, has lower stress, is more wear resistant over time and makes it possible for dentists to fill cavities with a single application. Currently it can take up to four applications of polymer material, with each layer requiring an individual light-curing procedure, to fill a single deep-tooth cavity.

Campus in snow

US News Ranks ChBE Undergraduate Program 18th, Graduate Program 14th

Sept. 11, 2014

In the 2015 US News & World Report rankings published this week, the Chemical & Biological Engineering undergraduate program at CU Boulder is ranked 18th overall and 12th among public institutions. ChBE is the only undergraduate chemical engineering program in the Mountain Time Zone to make the list. Undergraduate program...

Kristi Anseth

Kristi Anseth Elected Vice President of Materials Research Society for 2015, President for 2016

Oct. 20, 2014

Distinguished Professor Kristi Anseth was recently elected to the 3-year president line of the Materials Research Society (MRS) by its 16,000 global members. Anseth will serve as MRS Vice President in 2015, MRS President in 2016, and MRS Immediate Past President in 2017. As president, Anseth will lead the MRS...

How it works

Andrew Goodwin Receives $2M NIH New Innovator Award to Develop Cost-Effective Way to Detect Cancer, Heart Disease

June 12, 2014

Assistant Professor Andrew Goodwin received a $2M NIH New Innovator Award for his proposed new biomolecular detection method using sound, which he hopes will result in new, cost-effective technologies for detecting cancer and heart disease. “We’re focusing on ultrasound because it’s clinically quite relevant and widespread,” he said, adding that the project builds on his successful development of a technology that helps to distinguish acute from chronic deep-vein thrombosis.

Christine_M._Hrenya

Hrenya to Receive 2014 AICHE PTF Lectureship Award in Fluidization

June 12, 2014

Congratulations to Professor Christine Hrenya who will receive the 2014 AIChE Particle Technology Forum Lectureship Award in Fluidization at the Annual AIChE Meeting this coming November in Atlanta, Georgia. The award recognizes an individual’s outstanding scientific/technical research contributions with impact in the field of fluidization and fluid-particle flow systems. Professor...

Dan_Schwartz

Dan Schwartz Named an ACS Fellow

July 14, 2014

The American Chemical Society has named ChBE Department Chair Dan Schwartz a 2014 ACS Fellow . Professor Schwartz is being recognized for his leadership in the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry ; service as a Senior Editor of Langmuir ; ACS symposium organization; and innovative research developing and applying...

Stephanie Bryant

Stephanie Bryant Awarded $3.3M in Tissue Engineering Grants

March 20, 2014

Associate Professor received $1.5M from NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for "Personalizing Matrix Assisted Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation." Additionally, Bryant was awarded a $1.8M award from NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for "Synthetic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Niches for Vascular Therapy."

H2 from Sunlight

Al Weimer and Charles Musgrave Receive $2.5M to Investigate Solar Thermal Water Splitting

July 14, 2014

Professors Al Weimer and Charles Musgrave received over $2.5M to explore solar thermal water splitting experimentally and computationally, respectively. While Musgrave’s team investigates advanced redox materials, Weimer and his team are developing a novel solar-thermal chemical reactor process to produce hydrogen by splitting water. The focus of the technology is...

Richard Noble in lab

Rich Noble Wins 2015 ACS Separation Science and Technology Award

July 21, 2014

The American Chemical Society has named Professor Richard Noble the 2015 ACS Separations Science and Technology Award winner. This award recognizes the development of novel applications with major impacts and/or the practical implementations of modern advancements in the field of separation science and technology. Noble is noted for his world-leading...

Balaji Sridhar

ChBE Startup Nanoly Bioscience Wins Silicon Valley Tech Award for Vaccine Innovation

Nov. 19, 2014

Balaji Sridhar is a CU Boulder Chemical Engineering PhD candidate halfway through two years of the Medical Scientist Training Program, a joint effort between CU campuses in Denver and Boulder. After receiving his PhD degree, he will head back to medical school. He is also leading a company that aims...

Sam Torrance and Brian Kihn

Mentoring Program Connects Alumni and Students

May 21, 2014

Six months after it was first implemented, ChBE’s mentoring program is proving to be beneficial to student and alumni participants alike. “This program provides an ideal outlet to give back to the younger generation of engineers and makes you feel great sharing and helping others,” says Jay Witherspoon (ChemEngr’81). The...

1904 Society

1904 Society Launch

May 21, 2014

The 1904 Society, named to commemorate the initial launch of the Chemical Engineering degree at CU, seeks to create a community that promotes the interests of the ChBE community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff by supporting the department financially. This support is essential in helping the department recruit, recognize,...

yler Gleditsch-Jay Westcott-Erica Duffy-Kelly Anderson-Julie Surfus

The Houston Hub

Oct. 13, 2014

Now working at Shell, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, and ConocoPhillips, ChBE alumni from the Houston area and beyond periodically meet to catch up, compare work experiences and watch CU football games. "Our CU alliance forged in the bowels of the Borg is stronger than any company rivalry," says Jay Westcott (ChemEng’13).

Stacey Skaalure

Stacey Skaalure Named as Whitaker Scholar

June 12, 2014

Stacey Skaalure , who recently received her Ph.D. under the advisement of Associate Professor Stephanie Bryant, has been named a Whitaker Scholar . The Whitaker International Program provides funding to emerging leaders in biomedical engineering/bioengineering to conduct research abroad. Each year, up to 50 grants are awarded nationwide to graduate...

Undergraduate students Bill Heymann and Phil Jensen

ChBE Undergrads Win at International Synthetic Biology Competition

Jan. 14, 2014

The CU-Boulder iGEM team had a goal of making synthetic biology more accessible and affordable. Surpassing their hopes, their project on new low-cost methods of enzyme purification won multiple honors at the iGEM North American Regional Competition in Toronto and qualified them for the top synthetic biology competition in the...

Ana and LaurenWelcome New ChBE Office Administrator Ana Cleves and Financial Manager Lauren Miremont

A graduate of Florida State University, Ana Cleves has extensive experience in both human resources and operations management in academia, government and the private sector; before coming to CU, she spent eight years at Kennesaw State University. Lauren Miremont is a CU-Boulder alumna who worked for CU-Boulder Parking Services from 2006-2012 in several roles, including as an accounting tech and manager, and for CU’s Sponsored Projects Accounting from 2012-2014.