NC State Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

👩🏻🔬 CBE alumna Emily McGuinness (B.S. '16) is a 2024 L'Oréal For Women in Science awardee! She is currently a NSF Engineering Postdoctoral Fellow in the Ferry and Ellison Research Groups at the Univ. of Minnesota where she works on developing new cooling materials by creating special fibers from everyday materials like plastics and ceramics. Read more about her research and how NC State has impacted her career here: https://lnkd.in/g6KkS-um

Anicah Smith O’Brien is a researcher currently working with The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) on a project investigating how surface coatings impact the biodegradability and functional properties of pure and blended biopolymer substrates. A doctoral student in the NC State Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department, Anicah was recognized with an award at NWI’s Fall 2024 Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) meeting for Best Presentation. The following video highlights some recent developments in Anicah’s research around the industrial compostability of coated polylactic acid (PLA) fibers. Surface coatings are commonly applied to nonwoven products to modify their physical properties, such as hydrophilicity, which is particularly important for personal hygiene products. The nonwovens industry has a keen interest in utilizing biodegradable materials. However, there is a lack of fundamental understanding regarding how blends and coatings influence biodegradability. Anicah’s project aims to bridge this knowledge gap by systematically evaluating the mechanisms behind the biodegradability of specific polymer blends and coatings. Understanding how surface modifications and blending impact polymeric properties and biodegradability is critical for such biopolymers to be fully implemented in industry. For more details on Anicah’s NWI research project, please visit https://lnkd.in/eH-JJtvv To learn more about the students currently working through NWI’s industry-selected nonwovens research program, please visit https://lnkd.in/eiMfAUxy. #nonwovens #biopolymers #materialscience #polymerscience #studentresearch #sustainability The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) offers students the opportunity to participate in fundamental research in areas that address the pressing challenges in nonwovens applications and technology. Student researchers working through the NWI program benefit from a diverse range of perspectives, working hand-in-hand with subject matter experts from academia and industry. NWI also offers a Graduate Certificate in Nonwovens Science and Engineering through the NC State Wilson College of Textiles. thenonwovensinstitute.com For more information on how students can engage with NWI, please visit https://lnkd.in/e2GV8FD4. Based at the Center for Technology and Innovation on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is a consortium of stakeholders spanning the breadth of the nonwovens value chain. Operating on an “Open Innovation” platform and covering the full Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range, NWI engages industry, government and academia to enable next-generation nonwoven solutions to mission-critical challenges.

🏅 CBE Prof. Michael Dickey has been named a 2024 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate! He has authored multiple Highly Cited Papers™ that rank in the top 1% by citations for his field(s) and publication year in the Web of Science™ over the past decade - indicating exceptional influence in his respective discipline.

🎉 Congratulations to Prof. Lilian Hsiao on being selected to receive the 2025 Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research by the American Physical Society! She is being recognized "for using in-situ confocal rheometry to identify microscope structure-property physics of anisotropic colloids during shear flow, and for applying self-assembly principles and scaling relations to address knowledge gaps in the friction of soft materials." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eQMwcuXR

Thank you to all our students, faculty, and alumni that represented CBE at the 2024 AIChE Conference in sunny San Diego! Everyone came ready to connect, innovate, and share their passion for chemical engineering. 📸 Photo 1: AIChE at NC State students. Read all about their award-winning nationally recognized members here: https://lnkd.in/ewFwPtFn 📸 Photo 2: 3rd year Ph.D. student Seyedamin Razavi who received one of the two Best Student Awards from the Particle Technology Forum. Congrats! #AIChE2024 #NCStateCBE

Congrats to the 2024 Future Leaders in Chemical Engineering awardees! 18 undergraduate students representing 14 states (+ Canada) visited CBE this month for a highly selective research symposium. 🏅 Best Poster winner Ian Brown: "Development of a Novel RNA Biochemical Sensor for High-Value Chemical Detection" (Univ. of Alabama) 🏅 Best Soundbite winner Ifrah Hammad: “Agarose-Based Hydrogel Systems as a Candidate for Enterosorptive Removal of PFAS” (Univ. of Kentucky)

Another successful CBE Schoenborn Research Symposium & Exhibition! Undergrad and graduate students presented 73 posters during the 2 day event and 19 4th and 5th year Ph.D. students participated in our first ever Three-Minute Thesis Competition. In addition to the research presentations, Dr. Elaine A. Cohen Hubal (Ph.D. '96) gave a keynote speech on understanding how the relationships between environmental exposures and health outcomes requires consideration of interconnected physical, chemical, biological, and social systems. Young alumni Ryan Dudek (Ph.D. '20), Amber Hubbard (Ph.D. '19), Dilara Sen (Ph.D. '21), and Justin Vento (Ph.D. '21) spoke on an insightful panel about starting your career after completing your Ph.D. Read the event recap here: https://lnkd.in/erbidQWT

As we begin to wrap up celebrations for our centennial anniversary, check out our most recent project: Celebrating 100 Years of Research! This book spans 100 years of research and innovation and covers everything from examining public school drinking water because of an increase in mottled tooth enamel to establishing a new NSF Center that deploys self-driving labs to accelerate photocatalysis reaction discovery. Read the booklet here: https://lnkd.in/eGaQqvmQ

🌿 Trees are the most abundant natural resource living on Earth’s land masses, and CBE Prof. Robert Kelly is making headway in finding ways to use them as sustainable, environmentally benign alternatives to producing industrial chemicals from petroleum. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eSS5HzeN

CBE student, Ange Mendez, is not only pursuing a degree in chemical engineering; she is also the first in her family to attend college. Check out the Spectrum Local News article on Ange and her journey with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers: https://lnkd.in/eHAM7_ZH