UB Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Fall 2015 Newsletter

FALL 2015 CHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

BREAKTHROUGH COLLABORATIONS IN HEALTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT Multidisciplinary research creates lasting impact for science, business and people’s lives.

A YEAR OF GROWTH AND BREAKTHROUGH COLLABORATIONS Dear friends, On behalf of the students and faculty at UB Chemical

The enrollment and qualifications of our graduate and

and Biological Engineering, it is a great pleasure to share

undergraduate students increased significantly this past year,

our news and accomplishments through the 2015 Catalyst.

as did our students’ accomplishments! Two of our students,

There have been many exciting developments this year,

Stephanie Kong and Sharon Lin, made us particularly proud

placing UB CBE in a position to play a leadership role in

when they received the highly competitive Barry Goldwater

advancing our discipline by addressing big challenges

Scholarship, established by Congress in 1986 in honor

in health, energy, and the environment in the years ahead.

of Senator Barry Goldwater. It is a point of pride for us that

As you will see, we have added three more outstanding new faculty members to our ranks. They are Professors Goyal

five CBE undergraduate students have won this prestigious award in the past three years.

and Dupuis (two very accomplished senior investigators),

Among many of the accolades that our alumni received this

and Professor Parashurama (a very talented junior faculty).

year, we are proud of the accomplishments of our distinguished

Collectively, their research addresses important problems

alumnus Dr. Ashutosh Sharma. On January 9, 2015, Dr. Sharma

in the emerging areas of materials informatics, nanomaterials

became the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology,

for health, energy and the environment, and stem cell

Government of India. You can read more about Ashu and other

bioengineering. In total, we have added six new faculty

distinguished alumni in this newsletter, and participate by going

members since 2013, a 30% increase in our faculty size in

online at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/alumni.

only two years. This remarkable growth will continue as we look to add strength in areas that complement broad university initiatives, all of which are led by CBE faculty.

Thank you for your continued support and financial contributions. I hope to see you on campus soon at one of our future events.

As you read the pages in this newsletter you will first notice the leadership efforts undertaken by CBE in addressing complex scientific, technological and societal challenges through broad

Please stay in touch,

collaborative initiatives. Here at the University at Buffalo, we are uniquely positioned to leverage expertise from a variety of colleagues and resources. Between the RENEW universitywide interdisciplinary effort led by Amit Goyal, the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI) directed

Stelios T. Andreadis

by Mark Swihart, and our new NYSTEM funded Stem Cell Training Program led by myself and Sriram Neelamegham, UB CBE will call on over 100 investigators within UB and the local scientific, health and entrepreneurial

STELIOS T. ANDREADIS

communities to work with us

Chair, Department of Chemical

to forge breakthrough,

and Biological Engineering,

collaborative initiatives.

University at Buffalo

THE UNDENIABLE RESULTS OF MULTI DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH RENEW GRAND INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CHALLENGES PAGES 6–7

SCiRM TRAINING PROGRAM

CMI LEADING IN MATERIALS INFORMATICS

BY INTEGRATING RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ADVANCING STEM CELL SCIENCE; ACCELERATING DRUG DISCOVERY AND CELL-BASED THERAPIES

PAGES 12–13

PAGES 8–9

OVER

100

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

47%

FACULTY INCREASED BY A THIRD DR. HAIQING LIN DR. JOHANNES HACHMANN DR. GANG WU

2015

UP 20%

GRADUATE ENROLLMENT

2014

RESEARCH EXPENDITURES

DR. AMIT GOYAL DR. NATESH PARASHURAMA DR. MICHAEL DUPUIS

ADDING MORE GREAT MINDS TO OUR WORLD-RENOWNED FACULTY

DR. AMIT GOYAL

DR. MICHEL DUPUIS

DR. NATESH PARASHURAMA

Dr. Amit Goyal joined UB in January 2015 as Director of RENEW (see pg 6–7).

Dr. Michel Dupuis joined our department in January 2015. His research is in the area of computationenabled chemical and materials science and engineering, in particular for new energy technologies relevant to sun-to-fuels and fuels-toelectricity conversions.

Dr. Natesh Parashurama will be joining UB CBE in January 2016. His research program will focus on using principles of chemical engineering, molecular imaging, and stem cell/ developmental biology to develop functioning liver cells/ tissue, and to develop new molecular diagnostics and therapeutics for liver diseases. Following training in chemical engineering (MIT) and Medicine (University at Buffalo, Boston University), Dr. Parashurama completed his doctoral research in the area of liver stem cell and tissue engineering (Rutgers University and Harvard Medical School). Most recently, Dr. Parashurama completed postdoctoral training in the area of molecular imaging, focusing on noninvasive imaging of stem cells (Stanford University), and a California Institute of Regenerative Medicine fellowship focusing on human stem cells, human tissue biology and human liver development (University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Goyal has developed clean energy technologies for over two decades, authored more than 350 publications and has more than 80 issued patents, with 20+ pending. He was the most cited author worldwide in the field of high-temperature superconductivity from 1999–2009, and has received numerous accolades including the presidential level DOE’s E.O. Lawrence Award in the inaugural category of Energy Science & Innovation. The award is bestowed by the Energy Secretary on behalf of the United States President.

He has been elected fellow of nine professional societies, and he concurrently holds the title of Empire Innovation Professor at UB in four departments while remaining as Emeritus Corporate Fellow and Distinguished Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition, he is the Founder, President & CEO of TapeSolar Inc., a private-equity funded company and also the Founder, President & CEO of TexMat LLC, an IP holding and consulting company.

FOCUS IN RENEW: RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ON ISSUES REGARDING ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER 4

Dupuis obtained a Diplome d’Ingenieur from the Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1972 and a PhD in Theoretical Chemistry in 1976 in the Department of Chemistry at UB under the supervision of Professor H. F. King.

He worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, at IBM, and more recently at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Laboratory Fellow. He is a Fellow of the APS, a Fellow of the AAAS, and a Member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science IAQMS. Over the years he has contributed to the development and application of quantum chemical methods and codes (HONDO, GAMESS, and NWChem) for electronic structure studies of molecules and materials.

FOCUS IN CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FOR NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

FOCUS IN DEVELOPING NEW MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS AND THERAPEUTICS FOR LIVER DISEASES

FACULTY AWARDS DAVE KOFKE NAMED AN AAAS FELLOW Congratulations to David Kofke for his recent election as a Fellow of the AAAS. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of all people. Dr. Kofke is well recognized in the field of Statistical Thermodynamics and Molecular Simulation. His election as an AAAS fellow is another testament to his academic achievements and the respect he has earned among our peers.

Learn more: www.cbe.buffalo.edu/kofke

SRIRAM NEELAMEGHAM RECEIVES CHANCELLOR’S AWARD Sriram Neelamegham was recognized by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher with the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. The award recognizes his many significant contributions to the field of bioengineering, and in particular his work in the area of Systems Glycobiology in the context of the interactions of white blood cells with the vasculature. It also recognizes sustained contributions in integrating engineering and medicine and his dedication to our profession. Learn more: www.cbe.buffalo.edu /neelamegham

AMIT GOYAL ELECTED FELLOW BY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS The National Academy of Inventors elected Amit Goyal as a fellow, for “having demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.”

Learn more: www.cbe.buffalo.edu/goyal

PASCHALIS ALEXANDRIDIS HONORED BY UB STOR Paschalis Alexandridis, UB Distinguished Professor and CBE Director of Graduate Studies, was honored in March at the Annual Inventors and Entrepreneurs Reception given by the University at the Buffalo Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR) for his U.S. Patent 8,859,000 “Synthesis of Nanoparticles by an Emulsion-Gas Contacting Process”.

These materials are primarily used in optical sensors, bio-tracers and markers and in semiconductor electronics. The patent is licensed to Quantum Technology Group headquartered at Kennebunk, Maine. Learn more: www.cbe.buffalo.edu /alexandridis

MARK SWIHART RECOGNIZED WITH MEYERSON AWARD FOR TEACHING AND MENTORING Congratulations to Mark Swihart, recipient of The Meyerson Award, in recognition of his exceptional teaching and mentoring at the University at Buffalo. The award also recognizes faculty who provide guidance and support to undergraduate students to help them develop the skills necessary for research, as well as creative thinking and innovative research activities. Mark has done an exceptional job in this regard. In addition to maintaining an active and productive research group with a large number of graduate students, Mark has trained 92 undergraduate students to date, including Phil Tucciarone, who received the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Learn more: www.cbe.buffalo.edu/swihart VIEW MORE OF THIS YEAR’S FACULTY AWARDS ON P. 15 Catalyst Fall 2015

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

UB RENEW

CREATING TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE THROUGH RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UB has recently

RENEW’s research seed

launched the RENEW

projects will address

Institute, which stands

a variety of prominent

for Research and

issues including energy

Education in eNergy,

diversification (“Offshore

Environment and

Wind Energy in the

Water. Directed by UB

Great Lakes”), freshwater

CBE faculty member

photo by: Ken JP Stuczynski

Dr. Amit Goyal, the

protection and restoration (“Tracking

institute develops innovative research, education and outreach

Emerging Contaminants in the Great Lakes”), environmental

programs. Societies across the world are grappling with urgent

management and governance (“Energy Efficient Seawater

challenges such as climate change, pollution, and pressing

Desalination and Food Processing”), societal adaptation

needs for energy, fresh water and other resources. As a leading

to changing environments and the green economy

public research university, UB is committed to addressing

(“the New Agriculture From Food Farms to Solar Farms”),

regional and global energy and environmental challenges

ecosystem science, engineering and policy, and public health.

through enduring scholarship and intellectual innovation.

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| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

The institute’s interdisciplinary focus (involving several faculty

Technology Policy’s (OSTP) Materials Genome Initiative, whose

from UB CBE), will engage over 100 faculty from six UB schools

overall motivation is to enable discovery-to-market of materials

and colleges. Over 20 additional faculty will be added.

in half the time and at half the cost by leveraging advances

Among its several potential focus areas, one of the first is Rational Design of Next-Generation, Renewable Energy Materials. Six of UB CBE’s faculty will participate, including Michel Dupuis, Edward Furlani, Mark Swihart, David

in computation and modeling. It does so by using theory, rational design and modeling to guide experimental and synthesis efforts. RENEW looks forward to very significant participation by the CBE Department in its other focus areas as they develop. n

Kofke, Gang Wu, and Johannes Hachmann.

Additional information about RENEW

The rational design focus area is aligned

can be found at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/goyal

with the White House’s Office of Science &

MULTI-SCALE

ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY

MODELING— GUIDING

Recently, a new type of high-performance, low-cost, and

THE DEVELOPMENT

robust graphene-tube (up to 500 nm) catalyst was developed

OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL

jointly by Professors Gang Wu and Mark Swihart, holding great

TECHNOLOGIES

promise to replace expensive and scarce precious metals (e.g.,

Michel Dupuis’ research program deals with fundamental scientific

or www.buffalo.edu/RENEW.

Pt) for fuel cell oxygen cathodes. This work was highlighted by Michel Dupuis and Nina Tyminska

Materials Views on Wiley websites: http://www.materialsviews. com/graphene-tubes-electrocatalysis/. In addition, supported

problems which limit renewable energy technologies

by the U.S. Department of Energy, Wu’s group is dedicated to

such as solar energy conversion and electrical energy

developing a new type of oxygen-deficient perovskite oxide

storage technologies.

catalyst for an innovative reversible alkaline fuel cell technology

A current project in collaboration with UB CBE postdoctoral research associate Nina Tyminska and CBE Professor Gang Wu involves fundamental aspects of photoelectrochemical cell chemistry to split water and generate hydrogen as a fuel. The group is using large scale first principles simulations to study the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyzed by reducible oxide perovskites, in particular the role of oxygen vacancy defects on these reactions.

Controlling synthesis design through theory-driven understanding could lead to breakthroughs in the use of alternate fuel sources. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/dupuis

that can convert renewable energy-generated electricity into hydrogen as storable fuel via water splitting, and then use the hydrogen in the fuel cell to provide electricity when and where needed. Also, a new NSF project is underway to develop a novel three-dimensional nanographene anode with well controlled electronic and geometric structures for next generation lithium-ion batteries with much improved capacity and cycle stability. Wu’s group also has substantial expertise in developing high-surface-area and highly graphitized carbon materials for high-energy and high-power electrodes in supercapacitors, which is supported by The New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI) and SUNY Materials & Advanced Manufacturing (MAM) Network Funding. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/wu

Charge transfer processes in solar energy conversion

Graphene Tubes Catalyst Fall 2015

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HEALTH

NEW TRAINING PROGRAM WILL EDUCATE FUTURE LEADERS FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH AND THERAPY BREAKTHROUGHS Successful translation of stem cell breakthroughs into cell therapies requires interdisciplinary approaches that draw from biology, medicine and bioengineering, but few scientists or engineers are prepared to meet this challenge. With $1.85M in funding from NYSTEM (New York State Stem Cell Science), the University at Buffalo Schools of Engineering and Medicine and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) Graduate Division will join forces to do just that. >>

Project leaders Drs. Stelios Andreadis (UB CBE), Sriram Neelamegham (UB CBE), and Richard Gronostajski (UB Biochemistry) will bring together 18 faculty from UB and RPCI and support 8 graduate students per year for five years to advance the basic science of stem cells. Their collective goal: to develop innovative technologies to accelerate clinical translation of stem cell research.

8

| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Each student will be co-mentored by two faculty to promote interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations. Excellent facilities are available for cutting-edge research including the Western New York Stem Cell Culture and Analysis Center (also funded by NYSTEM).

The new training program will be greatly facilitated and enriched by numerous additional health care, life sciences research, and medical education institutions in the newly built Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus. These include the new Medical School scheduled to open in 2016, the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital, the new Clinical and Translational Research Center, the Center of Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, and the new RPCI Clinical Research Center, among others.

This rich, interdisciplinary environment will foster development of stem cell approaches for treatment of diseases including cardiovascular, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer.

The combination of a highly-trained science and engineering workforce, and the potential for clinical translation and commercialization of research findings, are expected to have significant economic impact in Western New York, as well as throughout NY State. n

STELIOS ANDREADIS DELIVERS KEYNOTE AT BIOENGINEERING AND STEM CELL RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

BREAKTHROUGH IMPROVEMENTS

FROM THE PFEIFER GROUP

The Pfeifer Group has several recent exciting developments.

Work led by Mahmoud Kamal Ahmadi and Samar Fawaz resulted

in a first place finish Charles Jones and Blaine Pfeifer

at the New York State Pollution Prevention 2015 Earth Day Competition (see pg 17), and the work was recently published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Research by Charles Jones, Yi Li, Mingfu Chen, Akhila Golakota, and Tai Chun Chung on non-viral gene delivery has been published in several recent papers.

Mr. Kamal Ahmadi and Mr. Jones have also been active in seeking commercial opportunities for their work in wastewater remediation and genetic vaccine design, respectively. Both have participated and advanced in local (Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship) and national (43North and NSF I-Corps) competitions focused on start-up business opportunities.

Finally, Lei Fang and Guojian Zhang have been working on discovery projects for new antibiotics with Dr. Zhang using an engineering strategy to generate new erythromycin analogs capable of overcoming antibiotic resistance. His work was recently published in Science Advances (see figure below) and received local and national media attention. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/pfeifer

Stelios Andreadis, Professor and CBE Chair, delivered a keynote presentation at the Bioengineering and Stem Cell Research Symposium that was held at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on June 8–9, 2015. The symposium focused on stem cell science and the prospective use of stem cells in regenerative medicine and clinical therapies, which have been enhanced by the application of a wide range of bioengineering strategies and materials. In his presentation, Dr. Andreadis discussed the latest findings of his laboratory in the development of strategies to reverse stem cell senescence and their implications for cardiovascular tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/andreadis

White filter disks holding antibiotics sit on petri dishes housing erythromycin-resistant Bacillus subtilis. The filter disks circled in red hold new forms of erythromycin created by University at Buffalo researchers, and the dark halo around them indicates that the drug has seeped out of the disk to kill the surrounding bacteria.

Credit: Guojian Zhang. Learn more: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/ releases/2015/05/049.html Catalyst Fall 2015

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HELPING TO TREAT INFLAMMATORY AND THROMBOTIC AILMENTS— DISCOVERING ENZYMES REGULATING BLOOD CELL ADHESION The Neelamegham laboratory applies genome editing, a recently developed method that allows both the functional ablation of genes at predefined sites in the chromosome and also the specific insertion of novel DNA segments at this site. In a recent publication in the journal Blood (the official journal of the American Society of Hematology), the Neelamegham laboratory showed that such ablation of a single enzyme called ST3Gal-4 in human white blood cells (leukocytes) abolishes leukocyte adhesion to activated endothelial cells under physiological fluid flow conditions1. These results show that while there are several dozen enzymes that can participate in fine tuning the leukocyte cell adhesion process during disease, one enzyme (ST3Gal-4) is apparently more important than others and likely represents a novel target for anti-inflammatory drug development. Blocking this enzyme activity could potentially ameliorate a wide swath of inflammatory and thrombotic ailments where white blood cells play a major role such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, reperfusion injury, crisis during sickle cell anemia and deep vein thrombosis. The enzyme is thus analogous to the ‘One Ring’ in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that “rules the rest and in the darkness binds them.” n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/neelamegham 1

Mondal et al. Blood: 125(4):687-96, 2015.

‘VELCROED’ NANOPARTICLES TARGET HIV AND CANCER CBE researchers in the Jon Lovell Lab have discovered a way to easily and effectively fasten proteins to nanoparticles— essentially an arranged marriage — by simply mixing them together. The biotechnology is described in the journal Nature Chemistry (doi:10.1038/nchem.2236).

To create the biotechnology, the researchers engineered nanoparticles made of chlorophyll (a natural pigment), phospholipid (a fat similar to vegetable oil) and cobalt (a metal often used to prepare magnetic, water-resistant and high-strength alloys). The proteins, meanwhile, are modified with a chain of amino acids called a polyhistidine-tag.

Polyhistidine-tags are used extensively in protein research. Next, the researchers mixed the modified proteins and nanoparticles in water. There, one end of the protein embeds into the nanoparticle’s outer layer.

Novel liposomes that bind his-tagged polypeptides

Nanoparticles formed in this way using specific peptides showed promise for targeting cancer cells and for developing an HIV vaccine. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/lovell

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| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

RATIONAL DESIGN OF PLASMONIC PHOTOTHERMAL NANOTRANSDUCERS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS THROUGH MULTIPHYSICS MODELING Research in the Furlani group involves multiphysics modeling for the development of innovative materials and devices with design features and functionality that are engineered at the nanoscale. One thrust area involves the study of plasmon-enhanced photothermal transduction using metallic nanostructures for applications that range from nanofabrication to theranostics.

In such applications, a pulsed laser is used to excite the nanostructures at their plasmon resonance frequency in order to optimize photon absorption. Professor Ed Furlani and PhD candidate Ioannis Karampelas have studied fundamental aspects of this phenomenon for select nanostructures (e.g. Au nanocages) using a combination of computational electromagnetic and thermo-fluidic modeling.

This research enables the rational design of the photothermal process including laser pulsing strategies and optimized particle geometries for controlled heat 3D simulation of laserinduced heating of a 50 nm gold nanocage (cutaway view) showing nucleated nanobubble.

transfer and nanobubble nucleation. Professor Furlani has collaborated with Professors Mark Swihart (CBE) and Paras Prasad (Chemistry) for the synthesis and characterization of plasmonic transducers for various bioapplications including imaging, hyperthermia and nanobubble-based cancer therapy [Lab Chip 12.19 (2012), J. Phy. Chem. C 117.39 (2013), Nanomed.-Nanotech.

Biol. Med. 9, (2013)]. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/furlani

NOVEL NANOCAGES ENGINEERED VIA CRYSTAL-FORMING TEMPLATES FOR SIMULTANEOUS DRUG AND GENE DELIVERY Professor Chong Cheng was awarded a collaborative grant from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program of the National Science Foundation for the development of a novel miniemulsion-based nanocage technology that can be used for drug and gene delivery applications. Crosslinking of surfactant monolayer at the water-oil interface of miniemulsion nanodroplets typically can only yield ill-defined products because of insufficient dynamic stability of surfactant molecules in such systems. In collaboration with Professor Honggang Cui from John Hopkins University, Dr. Cheng’s research will focus on precise template synthesis of nanocages by converting liquid cores of miniemulsion nanodroplets to crystallized solid cores, leading to greater dynamic stability of the interfacial surfactant monolayer. Proof-of-concept studies using this innovative method have already produced well-controlled nanocages, and systematic studies are currently under way to synthesize a broad variety of welldefined structures and to develop molecular level understanding of the surfactant stabilization mechanism in these crystal-forming miniemulsion systems. With their inner core enabling encapsulation of small molecules and their charged shell promoting adsorption of genetic material, these nanocages provide unique advantages as therapeutic carriers for simultaneous drug and gene delivery (Chen et al., Nanoscale, 2014, 6, 15671572). n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/cheng

Schematic illustration of nanocage synthesis Catalyst Fall 2015

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RESEARCH & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

CBE PLAYS LEADING ROLE IN NYS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN MATERIALS INFORMATICS In February 2015 Mark

CMI research efforts are directed primarily at three high

Swihart, UB Distinguished

growth industry sectors: Clean Energy, Life Sciences,

Professor of Chemical and

and Advanced Manufacturing. A key component of CMI

Biological Engineering, was

activities is matchmaking between regional companies and

named executive director

UB expertise and resources, helping companies to navigate

of the University at Buffalo’s

the university to find the people and tools that can solve

New York State Center

their problems. In some cases, the CMI is able to directly

of Excellence in Materials

support UB research activities carried out in collaboration

Informatics (CMI). He succeeded Alexander N. Cartwright, who had served as interim executive director since the launch of CMI in 2012.

The central mission of CMI, funded by the state through NYSTAR/Empire State Development,

with these companies.

CBE researchers have been among the most active in engaging with local companies through the CMI, in many cases solving energy related problems.

Professor Edward Furlani has worked with Xerox,

is to leverage UB’s cutting edge materials science,

S. Howes, and

big data analytics, and advanced manufacturing

Vader Systems to

expertise to drive critical R&D activities that

develop new process modeling

directly impact private sector growth. State

capabilities that

funding for CMI has ramped up from a seed

can generate

grant of $200k in 2012–13 to $1M in state

both cost- and energy savings

funding for 2015-16, matched by $1M in UB

as well as new

resources. University-wide, more than 70 faculty

process capabilities.

are engaged in CMI-related research activities.

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| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

DEVELOPING A MACHINE LEARNING AND INFORMATICS TOOLBOX FOR CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS RESEARCH To accelerate the discovery process and overcome the limitations of conventional

Assistant Professor Haiqing Lin has worked with Perry’s

modeling efforts,

Ice Cream and Helios Technologies on membrane-based

Professor Johannes

technologies for energy-efficient wastewater recycling

Hachmann and his

and gas separations, respectively. Research Professor Keith Kahen has received CMI support for research related to his startup company, Lumisyn, LLC, which is developing novel quantum dot phosphors for displays and solid-state lighting.

Widespread adoption of LED-based solid-state lighting is poised to produce enormous energy savings worldwide.

Assistant Professor Gang Wu is advancing graphene-based

team have been pioneering virtual high-throughput screening techniques. Data-driven research of this nature has gained considerable attention in recent years, and so has the need to adequately analyze, mine, and model the resulting large-scale data sets.

materials for supercapacitors, a key component of energy

Hachmann’s group is developing a software suite

systems from electric cars to large-scale transmission

called CheML that stages cutting-edge techniques

networks, in collaboration with Graphenix Development.

from machine learning and informatics,

Assistant Professor Johannes Hachmann is interacting

and adapts them to chemical and materials

with Kitware, Inc. on creation of open source software for

questions. CheML can be employed to gain an

materials informatics. Professor Swihart has worked with

understanding of hidden structure-property

Praxair, on nanomaterials synthesis; Avox Systems on sorbent

relationships from Big Data, which is a prerequisite

testing and gas purification; and New Era on testing

for the rational design and inverse engineering

of solar-absorbing materials for cold-weather headgear.

capability advocated by the White House

CMI also operates a collection of shared facilities that includes electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, FIB, and e-beam lithography)

Materials Genome Initiative. n www.cbe.buffalo. edu/hachmann

and other materials synthesis and characterization equipment.

These facilities are accessible to both UB researchers and external clients. n For more information on the CMI, contact Mark Swihart at swihart@buffalo.edu or visit www.cbe.buffalo.edu/swihart.

A rationally designed candidate compound for optoelectronic applications

Catalyst Fall 2015

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ROBERT LANGER DELIVERS 7TH ANNUAL RUCKENSTEIN LECTURE

On April 23, 2015, UB CBE graduate students, faculty, and colleagues were honored to host a lecture from Robert S. Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT. His appearance was in conjunction with CBE’s annual lecture honoring SUNY Distinguished Professor Dr. Eli Ruckenstein, whose work has had profound impact on the chemical engineering profession. Professor Ruckenstein received the National Medal of Science from President Clinton and was designated as one of 50 Eminent Chemical Engineers of the Foundation Age. Professor Ruckenstein is also a member of the National Academy of Engineers.

Dr. Langer has written over 1,280 articles. He also has nearly 1,050 patents worldwide. Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 250 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies. He is the most cited engineer in history.

His presentation was titled “Biomaterials and biotechnology: From the discovery of the first angiogenesis inhibitors to the development of controlled drug delivery systems and the foundation of tissue engineering.” The standing-room-only lecture drew over 250 attendees.

A reception was held immediately following the lecture. n

Professors Langer and Ruckenstein

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www.cbe.buffalo.edu/news

| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

EDUCATION & OUR STUDENTS

INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR BREAKING THROUGH TO STUDENTS Here’s a puzzle: how can one help students remember the concepts and skills they learn in one course for use in future courses, appreciate the concrete usefulness of what they learn, and see connections between different topics? >> Toward this end, since fall 2013 UB CBE has been implementing its new Spiral Learning Initiative, which uses the project in CE 408 (senior plant design, taught by Johannes Nitsche) as a pedagogical focal point for each incoming class of students. “Spiral problems” are devised and distributed over multiple courses they will take during their sophomore, junior and senior years. Through these problems students revisit scientific themes and knowledge areas underlying the design project they will ultimately complete in CE 408. The project is decided (and waiting for them) before they even take their first CE course. Thus, for example, students who entered UB as freshmen in fall 2011 had homework,

JOHANNES NITSCHE NAMED SUNY DISTINGUISHED TEACHING PROFESSOR

exam and recitation problems on mechanics of falling lactic acid films in

Congratulations to Dr. Johannes

Transport Phenomenon I CE 317 (fall 2013), and distillation of lactic acid

Nitsche, who was recently named

+ lactide mixtures in Separation Processes CE 407 (spring 2014), among

SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor.

others. In this way, the students were prepared to design a plant this

He was cited by the University at Buffalo

past spring producing enough lactide to make 300 million lb/year of

as “A leading example to his students

polylactic acid, an environmentally friendly polymer finding increasing use

as a superb scholar and dedicated

in water bottles, biomedical products and many other areas. A humorous

researcher.” Dr. Nitsche is internationally

ceremony and giveaways for students accompany each instance

renowned for his theoretical research

of a spiral problem. These ceremonial elements aim to make students

in biological transport processes and

remember and mentally catalog the spiral moments (and content)

dermal absorption. He is also a recipient

in their undergraduate education. n

of the 1995 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has recently received a book contract from Springer to write a problem-based textbook on transport phenomena with the potential to be used by a growing number of bioengineering programs.

Read more about the spiral learning initiative at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/ spirallearning.

Catalyst Fall 2015

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CELEBRATING STUDENT BREAKTHROUGHS AICHE STUDENT CLUB SEEKS TO CREATE REAL WORLD CONTEXT FOR FUTURE ENGINEERS The student chapter of UB CBE’s AIChE has a mission to assist undergraduate students in preparing for the real world by fostering connections with future employers. They do so by presenting a speaker series where students can visit with and learn from UB CBE alums. Each month they can attend tours of local plants. The AIChE student chapter also attends national and regional AIChE conferences, competes in the Cheme-E car competition, and hosts social events to connect students and colleagues. n

Stephanie Kong (L), Sharon Lin (R)

TWO UB CBE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WIN THE PRESTIGIOUS GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIP

Cheme Car competition, photo courtesy of AIChE

Congratulations to UB CBE undergraduate students Stephanie Kong and Sharon Lin, who have both won the highly competitive Barry Goldwater Scholarship, established

by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater.

CONGRATULATIONS TO PROFESSORS TAMARA KOFKE AND CARL LUND

The scholarship provides up to $7,500 per year to cover the

Each were honored recently with

educational expenses of outstanding students pursuing careers

Professor of the Year awards

in math, the natural sciences, and engineering. This year’s

at this year’s AIChE student

award winners are a point of pride for UB’s engineering school.

banquet. The student AIChE

Since 2012, six undergraduate engineering students—

Club is committed to encouraging academic and professional

including five from the Department of Chemical and

progress for undergraduate students through a speaker series,

Biological Engineering — have won this prestigious award. n

plant tours, national and regional conference attendance,

Read more about the Goldwater Scholarship winners

competitions, and outreach programs. n Learn more about the

at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/goldwater

AIChE Club at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/aichestudents

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| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM Over the years the UB CBE Graduate Student Research Symposium has evolved into an exciting, comprehensive event that showcases the high quality, multidisciplinary research that is conducted in our department, and spans such diverse areas as molecular engineering of novel materials, nanotechnology, bioengineering, and molecular modeling. Every year our faculty and graduate students welcome the opportunity to present their work to their peers from CBE, other UB departments, our alumni, and representatives from local business. The Symposium has grown in ambition and scale, featuring over 60 posters, two lectures from senior graduate students, and a keynote lecture from an accomplished colleague. Last fall, CBE welcomed Dr. Daniel K. Schwartz, University of Colorado Boulder, whose presentation Single Molecule Tracking at Wet Interfaces, was attended by over 200 faculty, students, and alumni. A reception featuring a poster judging contest immediately followed the symposium. n

Mohsen Ghafari (CSEE), Mahmoud Kamal Ahmadi (CBE), Samar Fawaz (CBE), Alanna Olear (CSEE)

UB CBE GRADUATE STUDENTS SAMAR FAWAZ AND MAHMOUD AHMADI WIN RIT EARTH DAY COMPETITION Mahmoud Kamal Ahmadi (related story on p.9) and Samar Fawaz won first place at the Earth Day NYWP2I research conference 2015. The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology presented the annual Research and Development student competition, open to colleges and universities throughout the state, to recognize both graduate and undergraduate level sustainability projects. UB CBE’s team captured first place for retrieving precious metals from waste effluent at Precious Plate Inc. in Niagara Falls. Samar Fawaz, UB CBE graduate student in the Blaine Pfeifer lab, was interviewed by

ANDREADIS LAB PHD STUDENT SINDHU ROW WINS AICHE BEST PAPER AWARD

the local news station. The work was also recently published

Congratulations to UB CBE PhD

UB’s Entrepreneurship Lab (eLab). “The eLab encouraged me

candidate Sindhu Row, whose

to dream big and taught me what it takes to start a company” .

presentation at the Annual AIChE

Ahmadi was one of four students who received funding.

in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Mahmoud Kamal Ahmadi was also awarded seed funding from

Meeting in November 2014 garnered her the Best Paper award.

His startup is PreMeR X, a company developing a precious

Row received two Best Paper awards last year from AIChE

metal retrieval process. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/news

and BMES as well, a new record. Hard work pays off! n

Catalyst Fall 2015

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CELEBRATING STUDENT BREAKTHROUGHS

YUMIAO ZHANG WINS FIRST PLACE IN N.E.

CBE PHD STUDENT IOANNIS KARAMPELAS

BIOENGINEERING CONFERENCE POSTER COMPETITION

WINS SEAS POSTER COMPETITION

Yumiao Zhang, a PhD student in the UB CBE and Biomedical

Congratulations to CBE PhD student Ioannis Karampelas

Engineering programs won the first place prize from a field

from the Ed Furlani research group, who won first place

of 150 entrants for his poster presentation at the 41st Northeast

in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering

Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC 2015). His poster, entitled

and Applied Sciences poster competition held in May

“Frozen Naphthalocyanine Micelles for Intestinal Imaging”

in Davis Hall. Ioannis’ project, “Numerical Analysis

presents a new non-invasive method to image intestine

of Laser Induced Photothermal Effects using Colloidal

function. By engineering nanoparticles with extremely high

Plasmonic Nanostructures”, was the top pick among

color content, their motion could be traced non-invasively

fourteen entrants. n

in the intestine using an imaging technique called photoacoustic tomography. Eventually, this could lead to better diagnosis of conditions like Crohn’s disease, or used for colonoscopy screening procedures. Yumiao led the research in the Jon Lovell laboratory and involved a multidisciplinary team with collaborating researchers including Dr. Paschalis Alexandridis, and groups from University of MadisonWisconsin, POSTECH University in Korea and McMaster University in Canada. n www.cbe.buffalo.edu/news

SUPPORT EXCELLENCE When you make a financial contribution to UB CBE, you allow bright, hard-working students to fulfill their dreams and complete their degrees through scholarships, special lectures, and learning environment improvements. You also enable groundbreaking research at all levels of the department. To make a gift, simply send your donation in the return envelope enclosed, or go online to www.cbe.buffalo.edu/ donate. Thank you!

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| University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

AND INNOVATIVE ALUMNI

STEPHANIE LAM, BS 2009 Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology “My favorite in-class memory was Prof. David Kofke telling the class

VASSILIOS SIKAVITSAS, MS 1995, PHD 2000 Professor, School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma

ABDULLAH BALKHYOOR, BS 2001 Deputy Project Manager, Hidada Contracting “While at UB, I had the most wonderful time of my life, and learned lots of new

during recitation for Fluid Mechanics

“The exciting collaborative environment

that he figured out how the flushing

between faculty and students formed

The U.S.A. and Buffalo especially, are

mechanism for a toilet worked in

the foundation of my success. I still

my second home. I will never, ever

a dream. My favorite out of class

remember the intense discussions

forget the wonderful people of Buffalo,

memory was how there was so much

between students from different bio

the delicious BUFFALO WINGS and the

snow in Buffalo during the winter,

groups on the ninth floor of Furnas Hall

greatest Buffalo Bills football team!”

one year my friends and I decided

extending way beyond midnight.

to build an igloo. We did and it was

Life at CBE at UB was full of amazing

super warm inside!”

classes from outstanding teachers

things from living in a different culture.

and stimulating research interactions with top notch scientists (faculty and students). It was during this time that I made the transition from student to researcher, and I’ll always keep UB as a special place in my memories.”

RECONNECT WITH UB CBE

PARTICIPATE IN OUR STUDENT INTERN PROGRAM:

COME TO AN EVENT: Join us for the Fall UB CBE

engage in internship experiences in Western New York and across

Graduate Research Symposium or the Spring annual

the United States. There’s a bright and eager student ready

Ruckenstein lecture. We would love to see you!

to work on real-world engineering problems at your firm too.

GIVE A LECTURE TO CBE STUDENT CLUBS: Students

For more information on the UB CBE alumni program and

are always interested in the potential careers that await

to reconnect, like us on Facebook and LinkedIn, and sign up

them after graduation. See more information on our

for the CBE e-bulletin at www.cbe.buffalo.edu/connect. You can

AIChE Student Club on page 16.

also write us at cbe-chair@buffalo.edu, or call 716.645.1174.

Each year, the majority of UB CBE undergraduate students

Catalyst Fall 2015

| 19

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE

PAID

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

BUFFALO, NY PERMIT #311

303 Furnas Hall, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Buffalo, NY 14260-4200

UB CBE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT ASHUTOSH SHARMA, ENERGY MINISTER OF INDIA

1988 PhD graduate Dr. Ashutosh Sharma was named Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Dr. Sharma credits, in large part, his time at UB and his mentor (Dr. Eli Ruckenstein), for his post-UB success. “I certainly owe UB and Eli a great deal in shaping my story. The strong research ethos there encouraged me to think independently and take multidisciplinary approaches. His advocacy and personal example of hard work, creativity and overall excitement about the research were my inspiration. UB CBE also offered me strong graduate courses and splendid learning opportunities in the form of weekly seminars presented by outstanding researchers.�

Dr. Sharma was an Institute Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he also established a Nanoscience Center. He is best known for his pioneering research in the areas of colloids, soft thin films, interfaces, adhesion, patterning, and in the fabrication and application of self-assembled nano-structures. His current interests are in nanofabrication and nanomaterials for energy, environment and health.

UB CBE is proud to announce that Dr. Sharma will be joining us in Buffalo on Friday, April 15, as the eighth annual Ruckenstein Lecturer. For more information about Dr. Sharma and UB CBE Seminars and Lectures, visit us online at www.cbe.buffalo.edu.