Month: August 2026

Bollas Selected As Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador

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A man in a suit speaks into a microphone while seated at the front of a workshop, with attendees visible in the foreground.Congratulations to George Bollas who has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador! 

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 as a bold investment in global peace and American prosperity through educational and cultural exchange. It offers passionate and accomplished students and scholars in more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to mutual understanding. During the 2024-2025 year, Prof. Bollas conducted research in Greece as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar at the Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, examining ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for decarbonizing transportation and industry. 

In this new role, Bollas is joining a competitive national cohort of scholars chosen to represent and promote the prestigious Fulbright program where he will serve a two-year term sharing his Fulbright experience, mentoring prospective applicants, and advancing international academic collaboration across his professional networks. The role also includes conference engagement, campus visits, advocacy efforts, digital outreach, and collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Read more on UConn Today.

Chemical Engineering Faculty Honored with Endowed and Term Professorships

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Four professional headshots arranged in a two-by-two grid, showing two men and two women against neutral backgrounds.Warmest congratulations to Professors Luyi Sun, Kelly Burke, Desen Özkan, and Yongku Cho, who have been awarded endowed and term professorship appointments, honoring their outstanding achievements in research, teaching, innovation, and service. Professor Luyi Sun and Kelly Burke are appointed as Centennial Professors, Prof. Desen Özkan is appointed as Collins Aerospace Term Professor, and Prof. Yongku Cho is appointed as Castleman Term Professor.

Endowed and term professorships represent one of the highest recognitions a faculty member can receive. These appointments recognize faculty whose work is advancing engineering knowledge, educating future generations of engineers, and driving innovations that extend far beyond the University. Through groundbreaking research, industry partnerships, technology development, and student mentorship, our chemical engineering faculty are helping address some of society’s most pressing challenges while strengthening UConn Engineering’s reputation as a leader in research and innovation.

We congratulate all our chemical engineering faculty who carry endowed and term professorships and look forward to their continued contributions to research, education, innovation, and the broader engineering community.

Read more on UConn Today.

Alumni Ethan Perkins Named Fulbright U.S. Student Program Finalist

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Aerial shot of UConn's main campus in Storrs.Congratulations to our alumni Ethan Perkins on being named a Fulbright U.S. Student Program finalist!

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 as a bold investment in global peace and American prosperity through educational and cultural exchange. It offers passionate and accomplished students and scholars in more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to mutual understanding.

Under the Fulbright program, Ethan will be looking to better understand how certain materials affect the performance of an electrochemical catalyst used in water electrolysis. He will be working with Livia Giordano, a professor at the University of Milano-Biccoca and performing density functional theory calculations of different systems.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided nearly 450,000 students, scholars, scientists, professionals, teachers, and artists with life-changing opportunities. We are proud to see Ethan be part of this prestigious program and look forward to seeing his continued success throughout his career.

Read more on UConn Today.

Cato Laurencin Elected as an International Fellow of the Chinese Society for Biomaterials

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Portrait of a man wearing a blue suit jacket, white shirt, and patterned bow tie, standing with arms crossed against a neutral gray background. He is smiling slightly and wearing several lapel pins and a pocket square.We are pleased to share that Cato T. Laurencin has been elected an International Fellow of the Chinese Society for Biomaterials. This distinction recognizes internationally respected leaders whose work has made sustained and significant contributions to biomaterials science and engineering.

This honor reflects his continued impact in regenerative engineering, biomaterials research, and clinical translation. His work has helped shape the global direction of the field, advancing interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation at the interface of engineering and medicine.

We congratulate Professor Laurencin on this international recognition and look forward to his continued leadership in advancing biomaterials research worldwide.

Read more on Uconn Today.

Remembering Tom Anderson, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering

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Black-and-white headshot of a smiling man wearing a suit jacket, white shirt, and tie against a plain background.It is with great regret that we announce the passing of Thomas F. Anderson, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering. Tom passed away on July 19, 2026, at the age of 79. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University in 1968. He then served in the United States Navy from 1969 to 1974 as a P-3 Orion patrol aircraft pilot and commander, leaving the service as a lieutenant. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1978, working with John Prausnitz on the application of the UNIQUAC equation to multicomponent phase equilibria. That work, together with the 1980 monograph Computer Calculations for Multicomponent Vapor-Liquid and Liquid-Liquid Equilibria that he co-authored, became a standard reference for engineers designing separation processes.

Tom served on the faculty of the University of Connecticut for more than thirty years. He led the Department of Chemical Engineering as Head, and he later served as Associate Dean of the School of Engineering. He also held a visiting professorship at the Norwegian Technical University in Trondheim. In addition, in 2002 he co-founded the extremely successful company, Academic Keys, a Storrs-based company that now carries higher education postings from more than two thousand institutions.

Colleagues and students knew him as a patient teacher and a generous mentor. He was truly a scholar and a gentleman who always had time for his students and his colleagues. He never failed to make himself available to help out the Department. Even after he retired, he found ways to give back, whether by stepping in to teach graduate-level thermodynamics or by serving on various committees. Tom represented the best in all of us and in what we aspire to become. He will be sorely missed.

Our thoughts go out to Tom’s family, friends, and all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him.