Caryn Heldt (ChE/HRI) was mentioned by Lab Manager in a story previewing the 2025 Lab Design Conference, set for May 11-14 in Denver, Colorado. The article highlighted a session about Michigan Tech’s H-STEM Complex and its divergent lab concept, which promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and adaptability in lab design. Heldt was listed as a panel member.
Caryn Heldt (ChE/HRI) was interviewed by Technology Networks for a story exploring how new technology and workflows could enable more efficient purification of biotherapeutics. Heldt discussed the current state of the art for viral vector purification and new advances in purification technology.
Michigan Tech’s Unit Operations Lab was mentioned by The Detroit News in a story about the growing number of women working in the manufacturing industry. In the story, Hailey Ullett ’24 (B.S. Chemical Engineering) described how working in the UO Lab influenced her career choice. The story was picked up by The Sacramento Bee and 29 other news outlets across the country.
More than 800 first-year engineering Huskies turned out for the College of Engineering’s (COE’s) annual lecture, designed especially for them. The First-Year Engineering Series lecture took place Monday, Aug. 26, at the Rozsa Center, hosted by the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. This year’s featured lecturer was chemical engineering alumna Jessica Elwell ’02 ’03.
“Jessica told the fascinating and inspiring story of how she and her team at OxEon Energy worked with NASA to figure out how to make oxygen from in-situ resources on Mars (Yes, Mars!),” said COE Dean Michelle Scherer. “She also shared her journey to being chief operating officer at OxEon and how she has been able to focus her work on her passion of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and sustainable fuels.”
Scherer said Elwell’s words of wisdom reinforced why it’s important to move outside the comfort zone to try new things and to remember that engineering design requires failing many times until you find the solution.
Read more about the lecture series and Elwell’s accomplishments on the College of Engineering Blog.
Lei Pan (ChE) and Tinuade Ololade Folayan ’20 ’23 (M.S. Ph.D. Chemical Engineering) were mentioned by Argonne National Laboratory in a release announcing a new froth flotation method of separating individual cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.
Robert Handler (ChE/GLRC), the principal investigator on a project, received a $262,537 research and development co-op joint agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service.
The project is titled “Evaluating the Sustainable Production of Engineered BioCarbon for Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) Remediation from Fuel Reduction Treatments in the Superior National Forest (SNF).”
This is a potential three-year project.
Stephen Techtmann and Lindsay Putman (both BioSci) were quoted by The Daily Mining Gazette in a story highlighting the BioPROTEIN research project at Michigan Tech.
David Shonnard (ChE), Rebecca Ong (ChE), and Jeff Naber (MAE) were mentioned as members of the research team for the project, which uses bacteria to break waste plastics down to be recycled into useful products, including a protein powder similar to vegemite, lubricants, gases and candle wax. The project was featured in MTU’s 2022 Research Magazine.
(All images courtesy Jessica Elwell)
A chemical engineer who almost chose music as a major and went on to work on a project that was named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 has been selected as speaker for the First Year Engineering Lecture Series.
Her talk takes place at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, in Michigan Tech’s Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.
Elwell, chief operating officer at OxEon Energy, has built a career in technology and innovation, supported by her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech.
”I chose to go to a school where I knew no one, and into chemical engineering a bit unprepared—a year-and-a-half prior, I had planned to be a music major,” Elwell says. She knew it would be difficult, but was a strong student in high school and felt confident she could forge ahead. “It was an amazing amount of work, with a tight-knit group of students, and an impressive amount of fun all wrapped up in a single year. And the snow … I remember walking on campus during the first snow and thinking, “It’s October…”
Elwell’s talk, which is not open to the public, is part of the College of Engineering’s annual series that gives students an opportunity to hear about many different career paths—and the opportunities they have to impact the world—by interacting with some of the most innovative engineering leaders in the nation.
“I remember sitting in an auditorium seat during the first week of engineering school, somewhere between dream and reality, thinking about all the possibilities that lay ahead,” she says. “Career paths, projects, ways that this degree would make a difference. The room was buzzing. I’m excited to be in that atmosphere again, to—25 years later—have that chance to take a look back at the full path, and feel that excitement in the air!”
After earning her bachelor’s in 2002 and her master’s in 2003, Elwell began her career at SC Johnson as a research engineer. But, as she previously related in Stories From Husky Nation on Michigan Tech News, Elwell frequently jumped industries in search of positions that would add to her skill set.
With experience spanning renewable energy, aerospace, defense, and specialty chemicals, Elwell has managed high-profile projects for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Defense, and NASA, including the MOXIE system on NASA’s Perseverance Rover, which produced oxygen from Mars’ carbon dioxide and was recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023.
Elwell’s leadership continues to drive OxEon’s growth and innovation, as evidenced by her securing a $36.5 million DOE grant to scale manufacturing for products aimed at decarbonizing industries.
Holding six patents and numerous publications, Jessica’s influence extends beyond her company through board roles with the United States Hydrogen Alliance, Utah Business, and 47G, while actively supporting small businesses and STEM education in Utah, mentoring young women, and promoting energy equality and diversity.
Asked if she had ever envisioned where she’d be in her career today, Elwell says she always knew she wanted to contribute value to whatever team she was part of. “I don’t think anyone starts their freshman year thinking, ‘I’m going to help lead the first team to make oxygen on Mars.’ I couldn’t have anticipated the opportunities that would come my way, but I was ready to seize them when they did,” she says. “I initially thought I would work in product development, which I did, but I never could have imagined where that journey would lead me.”
Chemical Engineering faculty member Lei Pan’s research on battery recycling and improving the sustainability of mining through the recovery of critical minerals continues to draw regional and national interest.
Pan was recently quoted in a Bridge Michigan article, “Michigan’s electric energy future could be wasting away in a junk drawer,” which focused on the impact that recycling old electronic devices could have on the critical mineral shortage. The article described critical mineral shortage as a “looming choke point” affecting the nation’s energy transition and Michigan’s electric vehicle industry.
The article also noted that Pan’s lab will expand its research through the opening of a testing facility in summer 2025 through $8.1 million awarded to Michigan Tech through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Former chair of the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees, Julie Fream ’83, will be honored by the Automotive Hall of Fame this fall. Fream will receive the Distinguished Service Award during the Sept. 19 ceremony at Michigan Central Station.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals who have had a significant positive impact on the industry or their respective organizations.
Fream, a 1983 Michigan Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, is the retired President and CEO of MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers. Over her 40-year career, she worked at various OEMs and suppliers. For the most recent 10 years, Fream led MEMA-OE, championing industry challenges and opportunities on behalf of all automotive suppliers.
In addition to her service to the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees (2011–18), Fream served on the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Directors (2001–09) and the Michigan Tech Alumni Board of Directors (1988–2000). She was presented with Michigan Tech’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 1994 and its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021 and inducted into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy in 2003.