Research

Our department's historic strength in bioprocessing and biotechnology has evolved in the past few years to include complementary research activities in chemical and biochemical engineering that encompass four main thrust areas.

1. Chemical Engineering (molecular biotechnology; biological reactor engineering; bioseparation technology; bacterial, yeast, and mammalian cell systems).
2. Materials Science and Engineering (synthesis, mechanical behavior, and characterization of advanced and nanostructural materials; net shape manufacturing; sol-gel processing; electronic materials; IC and fiber optic manufacturing; microbiological corrosion of metals and alloys).
3. Environmental Engineering (bioremediation, coastal water quality studies, drinking water treatment).
4. Biomedical Engineering (biomedical laser applications; tissue engineering and biomedical transport processes; biomaterials; macromolecular self-assembly systems; biomechanical-electro-microsystems).

These highly-interdisciplinary thrust areas, along with the faculty who conduct research in each of these categories, are listed below.

Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
   Faculty: DaSilva, Grant, George, Hong, Lim, Putnam, Venugopalan, Wang

Tissue Engineering
   Faculty: George, Putnam

Bio-Transport Phenomena
   Faculty: Grant, George, Venugopalan

Biomolecular, Biomaterial, and Interfacial Engineering
   Faculty: DaSilva, Earthman, Putnam, Wang

Smart and Multifunctional Materials
   Faculty: Liu, Mecartney, Mumm, Wang, Yee

Electronic and Optical Materials
   Faculty: Shi, Lu

Fuel Cell and Energy System Materials
   Faculty: Mecartney, Mumm

Nanostructured Materials
   Faculty: Liu, Mohammed, Earthman, Ragan, Yee

The cross-disciplinary nature of the department and the faculty's research interests fosters a creative and highly stimulating environment for graduate study. Many of our students have gone on to become faculty at other institutions, and leaders in their respective fields. We invite you to visit the links to each of the above thrust areas, as well as the links to individual faculty, to read more detailed descriptions of the specific research activities within the department.

Facilities

Materials Characterization Center (MC²)