Category: Featured

The chairman of Tropical Smoothie Café believes in balance – work, family, service, social life – and the power of free frappé to lift spirits. by David Finnerty This spring as the coronavirus tormented nations and stretched hospitals to their snapping points, Scott Pressly made smoothies. Dozens became hundreds. Each, to the health workers he […]

David Hibbitts, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the University of Florida Department of Chemical Engineering, has received the University of Florida Provost’s Excellence Award for Assistant Professors for 2020. The awards are focused on junior faculty and recognize excellence in research. Dr. Hibbitts’ research interests include the exploration of reaction mechanisms and structure-function relationships for the conversion of biomass- […]

Piyush Jain, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of the UF Health Cancer Center, and Long Nguyen, a Ph.D. student, have developed a CRISPR-based, paper-based, rapid detection technology that can identify SARS-CoV-2 cDNA in as little as 5-10 minutes or SARS-CoV-2 RNA in as low as 30-60 minutes without the need […]

Chemical Engineering (ChE) continues its steady growth by welcoming two new faculty members. Henry Chu, Ph.D., and Janani Sampath, Ph.D., will start January 2021. Henry Chu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Ph.D. 2017, Cornell University Henry Chu’s research covers transport phenomena, colloid and interface science, electrokinetics, and rheology. His research develops multi-scale computational tools and fundamental theory […]

David Hibbitts, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE), is leading a three-year, $672,000 grant from the National Science Foundation from the Chemistry Division titled: Separating Electronic and Geometric Effects in Compound Catalysts: Examining Unique Selectivities for Hydrogenolysis on Transition Metal Phosphides. In this project, Dr. Hibbitts will collaborate with David […]

Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Dean’s Leadership Professor, was elected to The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows on March 24, 2020. Rinaldi-Ramos was recognized for his outstanding contributions to applications of magnetic nanoparticles and broadening participation of women and minorities in medical […]

The UF Department of Chemical Engineering’s graduate program rose to No. 14, from its previous No. 19, according to the 2021 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools Ranking. “We are grateful that our peers recognize the efforts of our faculty and students, and for the tremendous support we’ve received in recent years from the […]

Tanmay Lele, Ph.D., the Charles A. Stokes Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a National Institute of Health (NIH) U01 grant to examine the physical and molecular mechanisms of the cancer nucleus. Research in the Lele Lab is focused on how the cell nucleus is shaped and positioned, and how these functions become abnormal […]

Samuel J. Berens, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named a finalist in the highly competitive U.S. Presidential Management Fellows Program (PMF). The Presidential Management Fellows Program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and has existed for more than 30 years for the purpose of developing potential […]

The department of Chemical Engineering made a strong showing at the 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando on Nov. 8-15, 2019. Sixteen undergraduates, 41 graduate students, and 16 faculty members connected with colleagues, participated in competitions, and showcased their research in 68 Oral and Poster contributions. UF AIChE chapter members participated in the new K-12 Outreach […]