Dear Friends,  

As we reflect on the past few months, we are excited to share several highlights from our department in this latest edition of our newsletter. 

In October, a group of our students traveled to San Diego to attend the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) conference, where they brought home several prestigious awards, including Outstanding Chapter. Our ChemECube team also had a successful showing with two wins, one of which was for their creative video ad. You can find a link to the video in the article. There is also a brief piece about my recent election as a Fellow of AIChE. 

We recently hosted our annual awards dinner, which was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of both our graduate and undergraduate students. We also had the honor of recognizing six professors who received professorships. You’ll find an article in this newsletter listing all of the recipients and their achievements. 

Another highlight in this issue is an article about Distinguished Professor Fan Ren, Ph.D., who was recently named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Ren, who has been with the department since 1998, is known for his groundbreaking research in next-generation semiconductor devices, which are helping to develop advanced health sensors for detecting conditions like heart attacks. 

Additionally, we are proud to feature Hansel Montalvo, a recent graduate, and Ambar Coral Velázquez-Albino, a Ph.D. student, who were both selected to attend the NextProf Nexus program. We also spotlight Hsiao-Hsuan Wan, a Ph.D. student who is advancing semiconductor and biosensor research.  

As we look ahead to the coming year, I wish you and your families peace, happiness, and continued success. 

Warm regards,
Carlos