Interim Department Chair and Professor
Dear alumni and friends of the UF Department of Chemical Engineering,
Against the dusty backdrop of building renovations, our department continues to strive for excellence. This newsletter offers a wide window into this semester’s achievements, research and impact by our faculty, students and alumni.
Here, you will read about game-changing work led by Professor Piyush Jain, UF Health Shands surgeon Rushi Shah, M.D., and recent UF Ph.D. graduate Santosh Rananaware. What started as a conversation between two dads at a park led to a start-up at UF Innovate that could revolutionize organ transplants and post-surgical treatment.
We also peek inside the lab of Assistant Professor Carl Denard, Ph.D., whose team is working with protease inhibitors that may speed up the development of new drugs for viral infections, cancer or inflammatory diseases, giving clinicians quicker access to more precise treatments.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Helena Hagelin Weaver, Ph.D., is doing fascinating work to improve the conversion of methane gas into energy and useful products. This is good news for the environment as the amount of harmful greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere could be greatly reduced.
You’ll also read about Assistant Professor Joshua Moon, whose recent National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award will support his research on membrane-based separation processes and ways to reduce energy consumption through chemical engineering.
We introduce you to two of our top Ph.D. students: Elizabeth Aikman, who attended the prestigious BioPACIFIC MIP program this summer, and Yunhan Chuai, whose parents sent him across the ocean to become an electrochemical research and development engineer.
There are features on two alumni: Sunil Roy and Albert DaCosta — both different in their success but both diehard Gators who used their engineering skills to make huge marks in industry and health.
To be sure, this has been a remarkable semester with many successes. I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings. Have a wonderful holiday season and Go Gators.
Sincerely,
Richard B. Dickinson, Ph.D.
Interim Department Chair and Professor