Students

Hasan Nikkhah Wins Best Poster Award at the Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Design Conference

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We are thrilled to share that our graduate student, Hasan Nikkhah, has received the Best Poster Award at the 2024 Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Design (FOCAPD) Conference for his work on seawater desalination. In collaboration with our undergraduate student Dev Barochia and under the guidance of Professor Burcu Beykal, Hasan presented their research, “Design and Optimization of a Multipurpose Zero Liquid Discharge Desalination Plant,” which introduces a novel approach to multicomponent seawater desalination with zero liquid discharge.

This work leverages mathematical optimization to determine the best operating conditions for minimizing energy consumption, addressing the environmental challenges of traditional desalination methods. By improving efficiency and sustainability, this work has the potential to make clean water production more accessible and environmentally friendly.

We are incredibly proud of Hasan’s achievement and look forward to seeing how this work contributes to the future of desalination!

Read more on this work in the FOCAPD 2024 Proceedings.

Faculty & Students Celebrated in the College of Engineering Growth & Momentum Publication

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We proudly celebrate our faculty and students who have been recognized in the inaugural Growth & Momentum publication by the UConn College of Engineering. This special issue highlights the groundbreaking research and achievements of our community in materials science, renewable energy, biomedical engineering, and more, showcasing the tremendous impact of our department’s work across the College.

Many of our faculty are recognized among the top 2% of scientists worldwide. Their contributions, along with the remarkable efforts of our students, continue to drive innovation and address critical global challenges. We are especially proud to recognize the following members of our department featured in this issue:

🔹 President Radenka Maric
🔹 Professors Cato Laurencin, C. Barry Carter, Yu Lei, Jeffrey McCutcheon, Montgomery Shaw, Luyi Sun, Robert Weiss, Xiao-Dong Zhou
🔹 Graduate student Usama Sheikh (Advisor: Jeffrey McCutcheon)

Their achievements reflect the strength of our department and the excellence of our faculty and students.

Read the full issue here.

Undergraduate Researchers Shine at the AIChE Annual Student Conference

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We are proud to celebrate the incredible achievements of our undergraduate students at this year’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Student Conference. 

Joseph Choi
🥈2nd Place – Computing, Simulation, and Process Control III
Advisor: Prof. Matthew Stuber, PhD
Poster Title: “Automatic Generation of Reduced-Space Models for Faster Global Optimization in Julia”

Nathaniel Rodney
🥉3rd Place – Food, Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnology II
Advisor: Wendy W.K. Mok (UConn Health)
Poster Title: “Riboswitch Engineering: Tracking Levofloxacin Accumulation and Oxidative Damage in Single Cells Using Biosensors”

Mehr Chhatre
🥉3rd Place – Environmental Science and Engineering I
Advisor: Prof. Leslie Shor
Poster Title: “Modulation of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminant Toxicity to Soil Protists via Co-Exposure with Microplastics”

Special Recognition to All Our Student Presenters:
Aislin Robb
Advisor: Prof. Yongku Cho
Poster Title: “Protein 14-3-3 Expression on Yeast Surface Display”

Sanjana Srinivas
Advisor: Prof. Kelly Burke
Poster Title: “Thiol-Functionalized Silk Biomaterials, a Study of Two Different Synthetic Routes”

Katelynn Horvath
Advisor: Prof. Yongku Cho
Poster Title: “Engineering Binding Affinity of Yth to m6A-RNA Leveraging Yeast Surface Display and Next-Generation Sequencing for Comprehensive Mutant Library Analysis”

Their hard work and commitment to research excellence continue to inspire us. Congratulations to all our students on their outstanding accomplishments! 

Erik Ammermann Wins the AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Student Oral Presentation Award

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Congratulations to our graduate student Erik Ammermann for winning the Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Student Oral Presentation Award at the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting!

Erik is a PhD student in our department working with Professor Yongku Cho to advance the understanding of tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease. Elevated levels of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) are linked to disease progression, but current methods to study these modifications are insufficient. Erik is tackling this challenge by developing a groundbreaking method to produce full-length human tau with genetically defined phosphoserine sites in engineered E. coli.

Well done, Erik! We’re excited to see what’s next. 

Read more on Erik’s work in the Technical Program.

Alumni Michael Jones Receives the 2024 Scientific Achievement Award by the International System Safety Society

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Our alumni Michael Jones, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Scientific Achievement Award by the International System Safety Society (ISSS). This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to system safety through research and development.

Mike has been recognized for his work on the design and development of novel passive propagation resistant (PPR) lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the integration of PPR Li-ion batteries with Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs), and integration of PPR Li-ion powered UUVs with U.S. submarine platforms. This award underscores the global impact of Mike’s work. Last year, the award went to a team of engineers at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe. This year, Mike is being honored as an individual, reflecting his substantial contributions to advancing system safety.

Mike is currently pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island (URI) while working as an Engineering Task Lead at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport (NUWC). His research is supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and is part of the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT), a collaborative effort involving URI, University of Connecticut, the Navy, and other partners.

We are incredibly proud of Mike and the contributions he continues to make in this field. His work is a powerful reminder of how knowledge and innovation can drive real-world impact.

Nicole Beauregard Awarded the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium Graduate Student Fellowship

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We are thrilled to announce that our graduate student, Nicole Beauregard, has been awarded the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium Graduate Student Fellowship. She will be working on integrating machine learning with evolutionary algorithms for the rapid discovery of high-performing metal-organic frameworks for gas adsorption.

Nicole also recently won the Faculty Choice Award for Best Student Talk at the 4th Women in STEM Frontiers in Research Expo (WiSFiRE) at University of Connecticut.

We are incredibly proud of Nicole’s achievements and look forward to seeing the impact of her work.

Read more on the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium.

2024 Teaching Fellow Announced

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We are proud to announce Britney Russell as the 2024 Teaching Fellow of our Department! She will have the exciting opportunity to develop innovative teaching materials and course formats that will enhance our undergraduate core curriculum.

We are confident that her accomplishment marks the beginning of a journey filled with even greater achievements ahead.

 

 

2024 Research Excellence Awards Announced

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We are proud to announce Hasan Nikkhah, Laron Burrows, and Henry Sokol as the winners of the 2024 Research Excellence Awards! Their pioneering research and unwavering commitment to scientific advancement have earned them this well-deserved recognition.

Well done to our graduate students, whose accomplishments mark the beginning of a journey filled with even greater achievements ahead.

 

 

2024 Outstanding Graduate TA Awards Announced

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Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Graduate TA Awards!

Amir Shahbazi, Heejeong Ryu, and Nicole Beauregard have shown exemplary commitment, innovation, and passion in their roles as Teaching Assistants. Their contributions have significantly enriched the learning experience for students and inspired their peers.

Well done to our graduate students, whose accomplishments mark the beginning of a journey filled with even greater achievements ahead.

Engineering Students Share Yearlong Research Projects During Senior Design Demo Day

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With the semester coming to a close, our senior design teams presented their projects to judges. The final day of the semester was a celebration, and it's with great pride that we announce the top-placing teams from judging on Senior Design Demonstration Day!

🥇 1st Place
Team 4: "Spirit of Sobriety: Engineering the Essence of Non-Alcoholic Brews"
👥 Members: Kanisha Desai, Cameron Hubbard, Ethan Krouskup, Hailey Tam
🎓 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Pascal
🔗Watch the video presentation on College of Engineering Senior Design Website.

🥈 2nd Place
Team 2: "Design and Optimization of a Multi-Effect Desalination Unit Integrated with a Gas Turbine Plant"
👥 Members: David Gan, Katelyn Honegger, Alanna Smith, Wasif Zaman
🎓 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Burcu Beykal
🔗Watch the video presentation on College of Engineering Senior Design Website.

🥉 3rd Place
Team 5: "Redefining How to Process a Body Wash: Creating a More Efficient and Agile Supply Chain"
👥 Members: Samantha Miel, Aadil Shahzad, Megan Shiring, Matthew Silver
🏢 Sponsor: Unilever
🎓 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anson Ma
🔗Watch the video presentation on College of Engineering Senior Design Website.

Read more on UConn Today.