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.
Huskies who participate in Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program learn how to partner with industry and get the kind of experience that employers are looking for when hiring. In the case of the Consumer Product Manufacturing Enterprise (CPM) OneTumbler Team, the research they conducted for their project also led to a publication credit and fewer single-use beverage containers on campus.
Hear from 2024 chemical engineering graduate Jacqui Foreman, who led the CPM OneTumbler Team, on the College of Engineering Blog.
The Health Research Institute (HRI) at Michigan Tech is pleased to announce Spring Graduate Fellowship awardees for 2025. Congratulations to all recipients!
HRI Spring Fellowship awardees are:
- Grace Dykstra, Chemical Engineering
- Kan Wang, Biomedical Engineering
HRI Student Fellowships are awarded three times a year. More information can be found on the HRI website.
The Vice President for Research Office (VPR) has awarded the following Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Fund (C2E2) awards at the recommendation of the C2E2 Committee:
- Bo Chen (CS) — Developing an Autonomous Vehicle Testbed for Research and Education in Vehicle Security
- Terri Jo Frew (VPA) — Peter Pugger VPM-9SS Clay Pug Mill and Stand
- Robert Handler (ChE/BioSci) — Michigan Tech Aquaponics
- Parth Bhatt (CFRES) — Enhancing CFRES’s Research and Educational Capabilities through Acquisition of the DJI Mavic 3M Drone
- Matthew Moore (VPA) — Proposal for Making Improvements to the Rozsa Scene Shop Dust Collection System for a Safer and Healthier Environment
- Tan Chen (ECE) — Acquisition of a Humanoid Robot to Advance Multi-Disciplinary Research and Strengthen Robotics Engineering Education at Michigan Tech
Thank you to the C2E2 Committee members and the deans and department chairs for their time spent on this internal research award program.
For additional information on the C2E2 opportunity, visit the C2E2 website.
The Health Research Institute (HRI) at Michigan Tech is pleased to announce the winners of the poster and oral presentation sessions from our annual Student Research Forum, which was held on Nov. 20. Congratulations to the following:
Poster Session:
- First Place — Taravat Sarvari, Chemical Engineering
- Second — Grace Dykstra, Chemical Engineering
- Third — Natalia Krakhaleva, Chemical Engineering
Oral Presentations:
- First Place — Ahmad Bshennaty, Biomedical Engineering
- Second Place — Kamand Sedaghatnia, Chemistry
- Third Place — Victoria Santillan, Biomedical Engineering
For more information on the Institute, please visit the HRI website.
Michigan Tech research crosses disciplines — and crosses the globe. “International partnerships are really key to expanding your research network, research ideas, and to be able to have your research out into industry and be applied,” said Professor Caryn Heldt (ChE), who directs the University’s Health Research Institute.
In the Heldt Bioseparations Laboratory, research team members are collaborating to apply their work in ways that can be adapted for best use in countries throughout the world. Bellicia Kamwanya, a research biologist in the Democratic Republic of Congo, teamed up with award-winning MTU researcher Vaishali Sharma in Heldt’s lab as part of the U.S.-Africa Frontiers fellowship program.
Hear from Kamwanya in a video on the College of Engineering Blog.
This fall, the College of Engineering welcomed 16 new faculty members across eight departments, including three in the Department of Chemical Engineering. These new faculty members bring a wide range of specializations in microfluids, electrokinetics, cancer tissue engineering, sustainable water and energy systems and much more.
Read more about the new faculty members on the College of Engineering blog.
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.