TEXAS A&M RECEIVES GRANT

FROM INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

pg. 6

CRYSTALGPT: RESEARCHER
Artie McFerrin Department COMBINES AI AND ENGINEERING
of Chemical Engineering
TO IMPROVE MEDICINE
pg. 8

TEXAS A&M BLAZES TRAIL IN

SEMICONDUCTOR EDUCATION AND
TRAINING
pg. 28

CHEMICAL

ENGINEERING 2024
 Letter from the
Department Head

Howdy, from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering!

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Faisal Khan. On May 1st, 2024, I took responsibility as the Head of
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. Four years ago, I came to Texas A&M University as the Mike
O’Connor Chair II Professor and Director of Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC). I am deeply
honored to serve this outstanding department. We have exceptional colleagues, outperforming students and staff
who are committed to serving. Our researchers focus on investing in solving problems that will have generational
impacts on clean and safe energy, better health for all, novel materials, and integrated solutions for the
processing industries. I am thankful to our alumni for their help and support; and to the Industry Advisory Council
for providing valuable guidance to ensure we remain on track in serving our students and community.

Our department continues to gain major research grants to support our research. Dr. Jeetain Mittal has been
successful in securing multiple research grants, one being from the 2024 National Institute of Health for his
work with multiscale computational models that investigate the role of phase separation. Likewise, a team led by
Dr. Faruque Hasan received a $1.5 million grant from the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate-damaging
hydrofluorocarbons funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This year, we had a research
expenditure of over 35 million. While we had significant success in individual and collaborative grants, we
continue to lead multi year consortium programs, such as the Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) supported
by the Department of Energy, Department of Interior and the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon
(EPIXC) Institute supported by the Department of Energy as part of the Manufacturing USA initiative led by Dr.
Mark Barteau and Dr. Efstratios Pistikopoulos.

Our colleagues continue to make impactful discoveries and transformational work. Dr. Joseph Sang-Il Kwon,
has developed a crystallization simulator named “CrystalGPT” that combines AI and chemical engineering to
impact the medicinal manufacturing process. Also, Drs. Perla Balbuena and Jorge Seminario have developed a
method to understand the impact of external pressure on lithium-metal batteries using quantum mechanics. This
collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to reach the goals made by the Department of Energy.

Our students continue to make us proud with their outstanding achievements. Dr. Yuhe Tian, a doctoral student
from 2016 to 2021 (under the supervision of Dr. Stratos Pistikopoulos), has been recognized with the Outstanding
Doctoral Dissertation award. These achievements are a testament to the quality of education and research
opportunities we provide. We are grateful for the continued support and engagement of our alumni and staff.
These successes would not be possible without your support and continued engagement.

Dr. Faisal I Khan

Professor and Mike O’Connor Chair II
Professor, Chemical Engineering
Director, MKO Process Safety Center
Director, Ocean Energy Safety Institute
Affiliated Faculty, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Ocean Engineering
 pg. 5 pg. 8

pg. 16 pg. 27

Table of Contents
4 Facts Sheet
5 Engineering a Coating for Disease-Free Produce
6 Texas A&M Receives Grant from Inflation Reduction Act
8 CrystalGPT: Researcher Combines AI and Engineering to Improve Medicine
10 Pipeline Integrity and Microbial Corrosion Research Earns Best Paper Award
12 Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment Through Programmable Bacteria
16 Giving Back: What It Means to Be an Aggie
17 Fellowship Award Energizes Efficient Research
18 Engineering Alumni Honored with Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation
19 Masters students look to level up their research
23 Students Participate in NASA’s Annual MITTIC Competition
24 Recognizing a Lifetime of Contributions to Particle Technology
26 Improved Energy: Charged in Seconds, Powered for Days
27 Engineering professors team up to measure mechanical stresses and strains
28 Texas A&M Blazes Trail in Semiconductor Education and Training
31 Researcher Receives Grant for Work on Phase Separation
 FACTS SHEET
RANKINGS DEGREES AWARDED
(U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, PUBLIC) (2022-2023 School Year)

#
12 Undergraduate (2024)
331 Total

239 63 29
#
14 Graduate (2025)
Bachelor’s Master’s Ph.D.

ENROLLMENT (Fall 2023) FACULTY

985 Total 45 Total
Faculty 5 Endowed
Professorships

719 125 141 8 Chair

Holders 6 Endowed
Faculty Fellows
Undergraduate Master’s Doctoral

RESEARCH AREAS
• 1.Biomedicine and biomolecules • 4. Sustainability • 7. Process Safety
• 2. Catalysis and Reaction • 5. Materials and Nanotechnology
• 3. Energy • 6. Process Systems

4
 bacteria to attach and survive on fruits or vegetables.
ENGINEERING A COATING FOR The delayed release of the essential oil increases the
half-life of active ingredients and produce compared

DISEASE-FREE PRODUCE to its unencapsulated counterparts, according to the

article.
Dr. Mustafa Akbulut, professor of chemical “When bacteria are exposed to essential oil it can break
engineering, has teamed up with horticultural science down the bacterial wall,” Akbulut said. “This technology
professor Luis Cisneros-Zevallos to engineer longer- is going to basically help us inactivate the bacteria and
lasting, bacteria-free produce. According to Akbulut’s fungi to extend the shelf life.”
recent publication in Current Research in Food Science, Doctoral student Yashwanth Arcot ran experiments to
the global fruit and vegetable market loses over 50% support the research.
of agricultural fruit production during various stages of
“This coating was also inhibiting the fungal
produce handling and post-harvest treatments.
attachment,” Arcot said. “We have tested this system
Many fruits and vegetables already have a layer of against Aspergillus, a fungus responsible for the
food-grade wax that is applied for cosmetic reasons spoilage of food commodities and the onset of lung
and to prevent water loss. Akbulut’s research combines infections in humans. We were successful in preventing
such wax with nano-encapsulated cinnamon-bark its growth on the hybrid coatings.”
essential oil in protein carriers to enhance them with
Arcot said this is the first development of hybrid
antibacterial properties.
technologies for killing bacteria and fungus using nano-
“We are living in an age where technology has encapsulated essential oil in food waxes.
advanced so much,” Akbulut said. “However, the food
The chemicals used to produce this hybrid wax are
industry has not competed with these advances, and
antibacterial agents that are FDA-approved.
there are continuous problems with food safety. News
about foodborne diseases and outbreaks reporting “These hybrid wax coatings are easily scalable and can
hundreds of people becoming sick from unhygienic be implemented in food processing industries,” Arcot
food frequently appears at the national level.” said.

Akbulut’s wax coating technology bolsters the safety Additional contributors to the research include Dr.
of fresh produce and provides enhanced protection Matthew Taylor from Department of Food Science and
against bacteria and fungi. This composite coating Technology, Dr. Younjin Min from the University of
provides both immediate and delayed antibacterial California, Riverside, and Dr. Alejandro Castillo from the
effects, according to the article. Department of Food Science and Technology.

Foodborne pathogens are especially problematic This research received partial funding through the
for fruits and vegetables that are consumed raw Food Manufacturing Technologies Program provided
or minimally processed due to the lack of high by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
temperatures that can inactivate them. Additionally, funding comes from the USDA National
Institute of Food and Agriculture - Specialty Crop
Development of this coating gives better understanding
Research Initiative.
of the interactions between the wax and undesired
microorganisms, Cisneros-Zevallos said.
“I think that the impact that these wax coatings will
have on the industry is very big because the industry is
looking for new technologies,” Cisneros-Zevallos said.
“This is one of those tools that we are developing that
could actually help the industry face these challenges
against human pathogens and spoilage organisms.”
Nano-encapsulated essential oil makes it harder for

5
 TEXAS A&M RECEIVES GRANT
FROM INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
Texas A&M has been announced as a change by reclaiming and destroying
recipient of a $1.5 million grant from the hydrofluorocarbons.
Inflation Reduction Act to address climate-
“It’s about addressing different greenhouse
damaging hydrofluorocarbons.
gases that have adverse effects on the
The grant is among the five projects climate,” Hasan said. “One of them is
funded by the United States Environmental a mixed refrigerant that we use for air
Protection Agency (EPA) totaling $15 million conditioning and other applications, which
and includes three other universities: the is called hydrofluorocarbon or HFC.”
University of Washington, Drexel University
Texas A&M’s project aims to reduce the
and the University of California- Riverside,
time and cost of reclaiming HFCs in two
along with the Air Conditioning, Heating
ways. First is designing and testing a
and Refrigeration Institute.
technology capable of separating a range
Dr. Faruque Hasan, associate professor of HFC mixtures, according to the United
of chemical engineering and assistant States Environmental Protection Agency.
director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute,
Professor Hasan’s group specializes in
is leading the research team from
mathematical modeling and computational
Texas A&M that is combatting climate
optimization for the design and discovery

6
of new processes and technologies for be contaminated. Furthermore, some HFCs
advanced gas separation, decarbonization form azeotropes that are extremely difficult
of energy systems, and chemical supply and energy-intensive to separate in their
chains. “This selection for the grant pure forms and cannot be used for a better
highlights the important research that we purpose.
are doing at Texas A&M at the intersection
“To address these, we will develop an
of energy and the environment,” Hasan
advanced decision-making and optimization
said.
framework for HFC reclamation and reverse
Part two of the project includes logistics,” Hasan said. “We’re also going
incorporating a machine learning-based to test a new technology for separating
data-driven decision framework for reverse the reclaimed HFCs to see whether that
logistics with high supply chain visibility technology is robust.” As part of the project,
that includes quality, cost efficiency, Professor Hasan is collaborating with
changing market dynamics, stakeholder Professor Eleftherios “Lefteris” Iakovou
collaboration, safety, and environmental from the Department of Engineering
regulation, according to the EPA. Technology and Industrial Distribution, and
Icorium Engineering, an industrial partner
Overall, this project intends to achieve
focusing on HFC technology.
a 30% increase in reclaimed HFC and a
25% reduction in cost from the baseline This grant’s goal is to find pathways for
operation. The project is expected to last efficient, economic, and more sustainable
five years. reclamation of these greenhouse
gasses. “This is why both the process
With air conditioning, you need a
modeling, design and supply chain
refrigerant, and there is a push to replace
decision-making comes into play. We
refrigerants with high global warming
call the framework SMART-RECLAIM,
potential because of their negative impact,
which comes from Scalable, Modular
according to Hasan.
and Adaptable Reclamation Technology
“We also emit a significant amount of for Hydrofluorocarbon Refrigerant
carbon dioxide, but the refrigerants that Enhancement, Circular Logistics, and
we use, if vented to the atmosphere, are Intelligent Manufacturing,” Hasan said.
several thousand times more potent as
EPA anticipates that grants to the selected
a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,”
applicants will be finalized and awarded
Hasan said.
in the summer of 2024 once all legal and
According to the EPA, by increasing the administrative requirements are satisfied.
reuse of existing HFCs, selected projects are Selected applicants will begin projects in
expected to further reduce our economy’s the fall and winter of this year.
need for new HFCs and reduce overall HFC
Funding for this research is administered
impacts on our climate.
by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment
There are many different types of HFCs, Station (TEES), the official research agency
and if collected in the same tank they will for Texas A&M Engineering.

7
 CrystalGPT: Researcher Combines AI
and Engineering to Improve Medicine

Dr. Joseph Sang-Il Kwon has developed a The goal is not drug discovery,
crystallization simulator named CrystalGPT Kwon explained, but to focus on the
that impacts the manufacturing process manufacturing process of already
for drugs. discovered drugs. He hopes to design
CrystalGPT is the first model that combines a manufacturing process that is cost-
well-established physics models and effective and allows precise control of drug
reactor models with a next-gen AI model properties.
for a novel ‘best-of-both-worlds’ approach, “Since CrystalGPT can function as a highly
according to Kwon, a chemical engineering accurate and speedy prediction tool, it can
associate professor in Texas A&M highly expedite the process of simulating a
University’s Artie McFerrin Department of manufacturing process,” Kwon said. “All of
Chemical Engineering. these activities result in heavy cost-savings
When he first started using GPTs, Kwon for the drug development process. The
noticed that despite their popularity, exact numbers will vary with company and
there were hardly any applications in drug type.”
the chemical engineering space. “This Kwon said that improved drug
realization triggered a month-long manufacturing will mean cheaper
brainstorming session that resulted in production costs while still adhering to the
different ways to build-upon existing high standards for quality set by the U.S.
transformer models Food and Drug Administration.
for chemical engineering application,” “Given that currently in the U.S. there is
Kwon said. “My group is one of the few a general concern for the increasing cost
groups in the chemical engineering space of life-saving and basic over-the-counter
that has expertise in this field.” drugs, increased scale and efficiency in
CrystalGPT and the hybrid crystallization the drug manufacturing process will help
model that integrates with CrystalGPT in reducing the costs and increasing the
allow high-accuracy prediction of key quality of these drugs,” Kwon said.
process variables in the industrial A key factor for better drugs is precise
crystallization process, Kwon said. control of the specifications, such as
The current industrial process is not highly crystal size and shape. These specifications
adaptive to various process disturbances can be improved using CrystalGPT by
or changes to product specifications. As looking at the dominance of the efficacy,
a superior AI-based platform, CrystalGPT side effects, and potency of the drug.
will have a huge impact on manufacturing CrystalGPT has shown enhanced system-
better drugs for the American public. to-system transferability across crystal

8
systems and has been demonstrated for crystallization. Kwon then developed an
high-precision model prediction, along AI-enabled hybrid model that can estimate
with being integrated with established the hidden process kinetics of any given
chemical engineering principles to form AI- crystal system.
enabled hybrid models for implementation “This research is also highly relevant to the
in the industry. federal government and US DOE’s recent
“CrystalGPT is the first such model that initiatives on AI,” Kwon said.
modifies the large language models to Its implementation could increase
include a ‘time’ component to predict the economic competitiveness of U.S.
complex reactor dynamics,” Kwon said. industries and boost the welfare of the
“The inclusion of temporal dynamics within public, according to Kwon.
a transformer model has been performed
“From an advanced manufacturing
by only a handful of researchers in
perspective, CrystalGPT and its hybrid
this field, and this will be a pivotal
modeling sibling allow better prediction
development going forward.”
and control of industrial crystallization,
Because CrystalGPT is fully data-driven, thereby establishing a lead over other
Kwon said that to make it suitable for countries regarding the development
pilot testing and implementation it of more efficient and precision-heavy
was combined with reactor models for processes,” Kwon said.

9
 PIPELINE INTEGRITY AND MICROBIAL CORROSION
RESEARCH EARNS BEST PAPER AWARD
Years of previous research are coming back understanding of the corrosion mechanism
into focus with Dr. Faisal Khan’s risk-based driven by microbial activities.
pipeline integrity management work.
When research is published, KeAi monitors
Because of the significance of the work, the use of the material, and based on the
the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical citation and the relevance of the research,
Engineering interim department head’s they award the paper for being the most
Science Direct published article has recently widely downloaded and used paper in the
been honored with the Best Paper Award journal.
by KeAi (a subsidiary of Elsevier) Publishing.
Khan’s work attracted attention for its
Originally published in 2021 in the practical relevance to the field, resulting
Journal of Pipeline Science and Engineering, in the award. Typically, it takes four to five
Khan said the paper presents a deeper years for the researched work to become

10
scientifically relevant, he said. addressing the safety issues still in nascent
stages is shown as an example.”
It is a recognition by subject matter experts
on corrosion and pipeline engineering The ideal is inherently safe and sustainable
highlighting the impact of this work, Khan products and processes, he said, as well as
said. products that, by recycling, contribute to
humanity’s benefit.
“The work itself is applied and gets
attention early on compared to other “The research aims to identify the intricacy
work,” he said. “The award highlights how of localized corrosion, especially microbial-
certain published research is used by influenced corrosion mechanisms and
scientists and practitioners. This article the mathematical formulation that best
provided a foundational understanding of described its likelihood of occurrence and
localized corrosion damages ethics.” rate of growth,” Khan said. “The proposed
mathematical formulations could be used
According to the article, pipeline integrity
to study localized corrosion in oil and gas
is important for a sustainable future along
assets, especially oil and gas pipelines.”
with vital energy-transportation mediums
of today’s energy-intensive economies. According to the article, pipeline integrity
is tied to environmental, societal and
“The paper analyzed data from a range of
economic failures if not handled properly.
pipelines operated by major oil and gas
Khan’s research aims to capture the
companies for localized corrosion and
evolution of risk-based methods in integrity
especially the signature of microbially
management, focusing on the last two
influenced corrosion,” Khan said.
decades.
Additional work came from Edison Sripaul,
“I hope this provides a deeper
technical lab manager and safety officer for
understanding of the localized corrosion-
the chemical engineering department, who
induced failures and how these corrosion
reviewed and wrote the paper’s energy
mechanisms can be modeled in a
carriers and storage section.
probabilistic framework so that it helps in
With his knowledge of safety, Sripaul predicting and preventing failures,” Khan
explained the need to enforce safety said.
measures in developing new technologies
This collaborative work was supported by
and processes aimed at achieving
Genome Canada and TU Delft Netherlands
decarbonization.
researcher Dr. Rioshar Yarveisy. This work
“The goal is to control risks and introduce was part of Dr. Yarveisy’s graduate work
preventative and protective risk-reducing at Memorial University, Canada, under
measures in the development of new the supervision of Dr. Faisal Khan (former
technologies to meet decarbonization professor and Canada Research Chair Tier
demands,” Sripaul said. “To demonstrate, I at Memorial University, Canada) and Dr.
hydrogen, whose hazardous properties Rouzbeh Abbassi of Macquarie University,
are quite well known as it is already many Australia.
decades in use as an energy carrier, but

11
12
REVOLUTIONIZING CANCER TREATMENT THROUGH
PROGRAMMABLE BACTERIA
What if a single one-dollar dose could cure
cancer?

A multi-university team of researchers,

supported by federal funding, is developing
a highly efficient bacterial therapeutic
to target cancer more precisely to make
treatment safer through a single $1 dose.

Traditionally, cancer therapies have been

limited in their efficacy in treating patients.
Some, like radiation and chemotherapy,
cause harmful side effects, while others
tend to result in low patient responsiveness,
not to mention the cost it takes to receive
treatment. Findings from the American
Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
recorded that 73% of cancer survivors and
patients were worried about how they
were going to pay the cost of their cancer
care, and 51% said they were in medical
debt from treatment. For example, state-
of-the-art cancer therapy can cost up to
$1,000,000.

Texas A&M University and the University of

Missouri are leading the effort to develop
a low-cost, safe, and controlled cancer
treatment. Researchers received a $20
million grant from the Advanced Research
Projects Agency for Health(ARPA-H) to fight
cancer. The four-year project is part of the
current administration’s Cancer Moonshot
initiative, an effort to advance and increase
funding for cancer research. It is one of
the first projects funded by the newly
established agency that aims to accelerate
better health outcomes for everyone by

13
 supporting the development of high-impact tests with almost no manual or human
solutions to society’s most challenging intervention,” Han said. “That’s the
health problems. engineering challenge.”

Rapidly analyzing cells Rescuing anti-tumor immune cells

$12 million of the grant will go to the Texas While Han innovates and designs
A&M Engineering Experiment Station/ microdevices, Song — an immunologist with
Texas A&M, where co-principal investigators a background in microbial pathogenesis, T
Drs. Arum Han, Jim Song and Chelsea Hu cell biology and T cell-based immunotherapy
are developing synthetic programmable — has been working on bacteria
bacteria for immune-directed killing in immunotherapy for the past five years. A
tumor environments (SPIKEs). The idea certain bacteria known as Brucella Melitensis
is to engineer bacteria to help T cells kill can manipulate the microenvironment
cancerous tissue, destroy itself once the of the human body and promote T cell-
cancer is gone, and leave the body safely as mediated anti-tumor immunity to treat at
human waste. least four types of cancers.

“SPIKEs can specifically target tumor “We are working to improve Brucella
cells,” said Han, the Texas Instruments Melitensis to more efficiently prevent or
Professor in the Department of Electrical suppress tumor growth,” said Song, a
and Computer Engineering. “And since it’s professor at the Texas A&M School of
only targeting cancerous tissue and not Medicine. “Our current approach involves
the surrounding healthy cells, the safety of finding out how to engineer bacteria to
the patient is exponentially increased. It’s rescue anti-tumor immune cells, enhancing
a great honor to be on this team, tackling a their effectiveness in killing tumor cells.”
major health problem that affects a lot of
“Data so far shows that Brucella’s efficiency
people.”
is dramatically higher than other cancer
Han’s lab is developing high-throughput treatments, such as Chimeric antigen
microfluidic systems that can rapidly receptor T cell therapy and T-cell
process and screen massive bacterial receptor therapies, with a more than 70%
therapeutic libraries, one cell at a time, responsiveness rate,” Song said.
to quickly identify the most promising
Safe and controllable therapeutics
treatments. These systems are enabled by
integrating microfabrication methods and While Song continues to test the bacteria’s
biotechnology to achieve a pico-liter-volume efficiency using cancer models, Hu, an
liquid handling system that can accurately assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin
analyze single cells with high precision and Department of Chemical Engineering and
high speeds, creating devices to analyze a synthetic biologist, is working to ensure
individual cells quickly. the living bacterial therapeutic is safe and
controllable.
“The major challenge is figuring out how
to actually develop these sophisticated “The Brucella strain we’re using has been
microdevices that allow us to conduct shown to be safe for the hosts because it
millions and millions of fully automated is an attenuated version, meaning a key

14
gene that is required for bacteria virulence and Dr. Xiaoning Qian in the Department of
has been deleted,” Hu said. “Ultimately, Electrical and Computer Engineering, along
we want to control the bacterium’s rate of with the principal investigator, Dr. Paul de
growth, where it grows within the tumor Figueiredo, from Missouri University.
environment, and its ability to self-destruct
“The three key advantages to this work are
when its mission is completed.”
high safety, low cost and specific targeting
To control the growth rate, the bacterium’s of cancerous tumors,” Han said. “We are
genes will be altered to regulate its very excited that we are one of the first
population and oscillate around a specific teams that
setpoint. Hu also plans to engineer
are getting support from ARPA-H, which
biosensors into the bacteria, enabling them
is a brand-new agency established and
to differentiate between healthy tissue and
supported by Congress to really tackle
tumor tissues to ensure they grow only
hard problems in broad areas of health.
within the tumor microenvironment.
We’re attacking difficult issues using
The bacterium will be engineered to have a unconventional approaches. High risk, high
receptor to ensure that once the cancer is impact is the hallmark of our approach.”
gone, the patient can take antibiotics that
And the future applications of engineering
will signal the bacterium to essentially cut
bacteria that this research unlocks are
itself into pieces and be removed safely
limitless.
from the patient’s body.

“As humans, we’re actually covered in

bacteria, and a lot of diseases are caused “For our next big project, we will
by an imbalance in these bacterial work together to engineer bacteria
communities,” Hu said. “For instance, against autoimmune diseases such
while some people have incredibly fragile as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid
stomachs, others have robust ones. The
arthritis,” Song said. Bacterium-
science behind it is that those people with
strong immune and digestive systems have
based immunotherapy represents a
a healthy community of bacterial cells in groundbreaking frontier in medicine,
their gut. There’s a lot of potential in living offering the potential to revolutionize
therapeutics.” the treatment of autoimmune
diseases. With the power of beneficial
“It’s a really great opportunity to have an
incredible team who have expertise and microbes harnessed to modulate the
can push this technology to the front line,” immune system, we are on the verge
Hu said. “So that sort of goal is to reach the of changing the future of medicine.
clinic and provide patients with an effective Our research and expertise hold the
cancer treatment at less than $1 per dose.” promise of transforming the lives of
Attacking difficult issues using millions of people, providing them with
unconventional approaches new hope and healthier tomorrows.”

Other collaborators include Dr. Zhilei Chen

at the Texas A&M Health Science Center

15
 GIVING BACK: WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AGGIE
The annual Buck Weirus Spirit Award is given to engineers and have offered my service in this regard,”
65 students in recognition of their leadership, Babalola said. “I am intentionally looking at my hands
involvement and positive impact while enhancing to make an impact.”
the core Aggie values. Chemical engineering doctoral Volunteering to do the workshop resonated with
candidate Ifeoluwa Babalola is one of this year’s Babalola, who is passionate about merging education
recipients. and chemical engineering and encouraging future
Throughout her time at Texas A&M, Babalola has engineers.
exhibited the Aggie Core Values of Excellence, “Facilitating a section of the workshop for the
Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless elementary science teachers and mentoring the junior
Service. high students resonates with my research interests
“I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity to and dreams,” Babalola said. “This award was genuinely
serve fellow Aggies, graduate students, future Aggies, humbling because I did those activities out of passion
and engineers,” Babalola said. and love for what I do.”
Babalola came to Texas A&M in 2021 after receiving Babalola’s research ties into her work. Her studies in
her master’s degree in the Department of Chemical microfluidics revolve around chemical engineering
and Environmental Engineering at the University of education research. She describes it as bringing
Toledo in Ohio. When she arrived, she began fully laboratory research into the classroom. Babalola
embracing the community and looking for outreach has students do experiments in the classroom to
opportunities. incorporate active learning.
“When I got here, I really enjoyed the Aggie community When Babalola graduates next year, she plans to stay
and wanted to share my vision and plans,” Babalola involved with an alumni group to continue supporting
said. “We really have a great community of students, STEM education and outreach.
and I was really motivated to start up the West African “Through her dedicated efforts in crafting innovative,
Graduate Student Association.” hands-on instructional tools, Ifeoluwa has not only
Another way she gave back to the Aggie community significantly enhanced the learning experience in
was by mentoring 20 junior high school students our classrooms but has also set a high standard
and facilitating science workshops for 12 elementary of excellence for her peers,” said Dr. Victor Ugaz,
teachers in 2023 in collaboration with Spark! PK-12 chemical engineering professor and Babalola’s
Engineering Education Outreach (the K-12 STEM faculty advisor. “Her commitment to inspiring Aggies
outreach of the College of Engineering). across all levels epitomizes the spirit of service and
“I am committed to raising the next generation of excellence we strive to foster in our department.”

16
FELLOWSHIP AWARD
Energizes Efficient Research
Chemical greener chemistry-related practices.
engineering Ph.D. Additionally, Vito extends this to studying kinetics
candidate Jenna and hydrogen activation to see how confinement
Vito will receive affects this system on a molecular level.
the 2024 National
Dr. Manish Shetty, a chemical engineering
Science Foundation
professor and Vito’s faculty advisor, believes this
Graduate Research
fellowship will help Vito achieve her research
Fellowship for her
goals and venture into more high-risk research
research in zeolite
areas.
catalysis.
The two components of the application are the
“There are a lot of
research statement and the personal statement.
professional development opportunities with
Vito said that the personal statement holds
this award, as well as networking,” Vito said.
tremendous weight regarding involvement
“Overall, it’s exciting and a pretty prestigious
in professional organizations, volunteering,
award.”
outreach, and the ability to contribute to the
Vito’s goal is to work toward making industrial scientific community at large.
processes more energy efficient and adopt
Vito’s community outreach involves motivating
greener chemistry-related practices.
kids to be excited about engineering and science.
“Making those greener processes more
She volunteers with a campus program that
economically feasible compared to the current
offers a day camp for kids covering different
processes we have now that aren’t always super
engineering branches. She also brings STEM
benign to the environment,” Vito said.
activities and experiments to the classroom to
Specifically, Vito’s research focuses on how to supplement students’ learning.
design zeolite confined catalysts for selective
“Jenna came to us with a great undergraduate
hydrocarbon transformations.
background from West Virginia University,”
“My project is looking at how we can deconvolute Shetty said. “In our group, she works on making
the steric and electronic effects that appear as a industrial olefin production efficient with precise
result of confinement,” Vito said. “I use acetylene catalyst design. In and outside the lab, she
hydrogenation as a model reaction for this. I has been a champion for safety, and has been
synthesize the catalysts and test them against actively involved with CheGSA and outreach
controls to see the impact of parameters like activities through the Society of Women
acidity and pore size on reaction outcomes.” Engineers. Importantly, I hope this serves
Vito’s goal is to work toward making industrial as a stepping stone for future academic and
processes more energy efficient and adopt professional success.”

17
 ENGINEERING ALUMNI HONORED
WITH OUTSTANDING DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
Dr. Yuhe Tian is being art process optimization, thereby driving systematic
honored with the process design intensification via computational
Outstanding Doctoral discoveries,” Tian said.
Dissertation Award. The holistic scope of the research aims
Tian was a Texas A&M to incorporate process safety and control
chemical engineering considerations into process design, which is key
doctoral student from for chemical process operations, particularly in the
2016 to 2021. Her digital era, according to Tian.
faculty advisor for her “An integrated process and safety systems
dissertation was Dr. engineering approach, like the one developed by Dr.
Stratos Pistikopoulos, Tian, has the ability to deliver a process design that
professor of chemical is cost-optimal, flexible, controllable and safe at the
engineering. Tian will be receiving her award at The same time,” said Pistikopoulos.
Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Design
Pistikopoulos also explained that this type of AI-
(FOCAPD) Conference.
based method is becoming more relevant as we
FOCAPD is the premier international conference seek to safeguard systems and operations against
focusing exclusively on the fundamentals and unforeseen events in real time.
applications of computer-aided design for the
“We have taken this work to a level not only to
process industries. It allows the process design
perform computer-based simulations but also close-
community to come together and discuss the
the-loop by performing experiments for validation,
biggest trends in the field from a big-picture
monitoring and further optimization,” Pistikopoulos
perspective.
said.
“Receiving very strong support from my advisor and
Right after graduation, Tian joined the Department
also my committee members is definitely a great
of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at West
guide for my work,” Tian said. “To receive this award
Virginia University as an assistant professor.
is a testament to the high quality of the research
Winning this award is a great motivation for Tian to
we’re conducting in the Texas A&M chemical
continue her work, she said.
engineering department.”
Tian will continue her research with process
The award recognizes Dr. Tian’s outstanding
intensification, along with developing new research
contributions to the field with her Ph.D. research,
areas for microwave-assisted energy production and
which is oriented around a computer-aided process
safety-critical cyber-physical systems control.
intensification framework. Process intensification
offers the potential to substantially improve “I am very proud of her; she went directly out of
chemical and manufacturing processes with step Ph.D. studies to an academic position, which is quite
changes in energy savings, cost reduction, and unusual,” Pistikopoulos said. “That’s a token of how
environmental impact minimization. good she is. It’s a very competitive field, and getting
an award from her peers is obviously something to
“What interested me most is that this research is
be proud of.”
built on a novel perspective to synergize generalized
phenomena-based representation with state-of-the-

18
MASTERS STUDENTS LOOK TO
LEVEL UP THEIR RESEARCH
As a stepping stone to their future careers and someday world-changing research, 10 chemical engineering master’s
students from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University have received the
2023/2024 Francine & James Srygley ’54 I Fellowship.

This year’s students include Raj Panthesh Bhavsar, Jitendra Choudhary, Gladden Chukwu, Madeline Demny, Aovi
Deshpande, Sayyam Deshpande, Jason Mangalidan, Suraj Panicker, Savanah Pas and Vignesh Shankar.

With research being a primary factor of the fellowship, each student described their field of study and the progress
they have made with it.

Raj Panthesh Bhavsar is an enthusiastic graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in

the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. He is keen on using the extensive
resources available at the university to advance his research. He enjoys working on his
thesis in Dr. Joseph Kwon’s research lab, where he works on projects like microwave reactor
modeling and optimizing the material design of the CO2 adsorbent that is used for Direct
Air Capture Process. Bhavsar appreciates the support and camaraderie of his lab mates and
values the support of his advisor in the journey of graduate school. He believes that research
and the will to practice it sincerely go hand in hand.

Microwave reactor modeling is the focus of Bhavsar’s research regarding modeling the
adsorbent process for material design. Bhavsar said this project works on modeling
microwave physics to design and optimize adsorbent material.

“The carbon dioxide is captured using the direct air capture process, wherein we directly
capture carbon dioxide from the surroundings in the open environment,” Bhavsar said.
“Once the carbon dioxide is adsorbed, the tough task is to regenerate the sorbent that
adsorbs CO2 (carbon dioxide) . Using microwaves helps in saving energy costs when
compared to conventional heating for regeneration. Along with energy savings, this
methodology of regeneration also prevents the adsorbent from material degradation.”

After defending his master’s thesis, Bhavsar plans on doing a deeper dive into his research
and then using his technical skills in the chemical engineering industry after he gets his
doctorate.

Jitendra Choudhary, a graduate student in chemical engineering under the supervision of

Dr. Sreeram Vaddiraju, specializes in synthesizing nanowire foams and multifunctional shape
memory composites for space and biomedical applications. He holds a B.S.-M.S. in chemical
engineering with a minor in chemistry from IISER Bhopal, where he was recognized for
outstanding academic performance with a proficiency gold medal. Choudhary has garnered
prestigious accolades, including the Most Versatile Chemical Engineering Student in India for
2023 from IIChE, the Acharya P.C. Ray Award from IIChE and the Sir J.C. Bose Best Master’s
Thesis Award from ISEES in 2022.

19
 Gladden Chukwu is one of the recipients of the Francine & James Srygley ’54 Fellowship
award. She completed her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and mathematics
from the Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2019. She is currently in her first year of her
master’s degree in chemical engineering. Chukwu is passionate about energy, sustainability
and learning new concepts and ideas. Her passion has stemmed her research interest in the
degradation of plastics using biological materials. She is undertaking this research under Dr.
Qing Sun.

Chukwu said the fellowship helped further her research but also gave her a better
understanding.

“I knew that the fellowship was going to be very helpful in the next semester because that’s
when I’ll be intensely focusing on my research,” Chukwu said. “Having more time to focus has
made me understand my research better. I had to meet with Ph.D. students in my lab and
that really opened my eyes and gave me more insight into my fellowship.”

Madeline Demny is a recipient of the Francine & James Srygley ‘54 III Graduate Fellowship.
She received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and
continued into graduate studies through the fast track master’s program at Texas A&M. She
is working with Dr. Phanourios Tamamis, an associate professor in the chemical engineering
department. Demny’s research interests include using computational methods to understand
rules of life in protein folding and recognition of modified RNA. She has co-authored one
paper and is a recipient of the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award.

For Demny, the finances associated with the fellowship have allowed her to stay at Texas
A&M to continue her research, which might not have been possible otherwise. She is
considering staying in academia to share her knowledge with future researchers.

“My goal is to be a professor,” Demny said. “I enjoy teaching, and I want to share the
knowledge that I have of chemical engineering and be able to pass it on to the next
generation.”

Aovi Deshpande is currently pursuing my master’s in chemical engineering with a focus on

process systems optimization. Her current work revolves around resilience assessments for
facilities and its integration in water, energy and food nexus. Her motivation for research in
the field of technology scale up, process engineering and optimization originates from her
passion for creating tangible solutions to real-world problems. She is driven by the prospect
of applying scientific principles, conducting experiments and gathering data to uncover new
insights to address critical issues, such as resource optimization, sustainability and process
efficiency.

Depending on the project, Deshpande said she would consider continuing her education with
a doctorate.

“If I get a Ph.D., I would like to go into industry,” Deshpande said. “I personally would like
projects on energy and process systems optimization. I’m really interested in the process of
scaleups so picking technology from a lab scale to commercialization, that’s something that
really excites me.”

20
Sayyam Deshpande received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the
University of Mumbai, India in 2021 and joined the chemical engineering master’s program
at Texas A&M in spring 2022. During his undergraduate studies, his research focused on
wastewater treatment technologies and modified atmospheric packaging. He received the
Francine & James Srygley ’54 III graduate fellowship in fall 2023. His research now focuses on
developing structural battery electrolytes for low-temperature applications in aircraft and
spacecraft. He interned at NASA as a battery engineer in summer 2023 working on a battery
safety-related project to enable the safe application of lithium metal anodes in pouch cells.

Deshpande’s research also focuses on recycled plastic. Most specifically, the carbon
nanomaterials from developing applications for industrial carbon nanotubes derived from
sustainable sources.

“It’s a dream of industry to take your mission products and develop them into something
very usable for the environment and use them in electrochemistry,” Deshpande said. “We’ve
been able to develop a system that can operate safely at minus 40 degrees centigrade. We’ve
been able to share great different compositions of a system in which we created a two-phase
electrolyte.”

Jason Mangalindan is the recipient of Francine and James Srygley ’54 Graduate Fellowship.
He earned his bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and chemistry from Mapúa
University, Philippines, and performed his undergraduate research at National Cheng
Kung University, Taiwan. He then worked with the research and development team of a
semiconductor company for three years before joining the chemical engineering master’s
program at Texas A&M in 2023. He is currently working in the Catalysis and Sustainable
Technologies Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Manish Shetty. Mangalindan’s research
focuses on the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to dimethyl ether by utilizing bi-functional
catalysts.

Suraj Panicker received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Birla Institute
of Technology and Science Pilani, Hyderabad in 2021. He joined Texas A&M as a master of
science student in fall 2022. Since then, he has been a part of Dr. Manish Shetty’s research
group. His research aims to provide a potential solution for the problems faced with the
disposal of plastics by taking an alternate route of establishing a sustainable circular plastic
economy where polymer chains can be broken down into useful smaller chain alkanes. Apart
from this, he has also interned at Siemens Energy, where he worked on designing pressure
relief valves and analyzed relations between feed properties in specific cases of overpressure
scenarios.

“My research is in the field of catalysis,” Panicker said. “This work involves upcycling plastics
in a way to convert plastics into more useful products. Obviously, plastic is one of the
biggest problems today, and how we convert them into useful products, and how we can
do this effectively by utilizing the cobalt catalyst system in this. This will help in the recycling
process.”

21
 Savanah Pas received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M in December 2022 in
chemistry and applied mathematics and joined the master’s program in spring 2023. She
is working with Dr. Micah Green in the chemical engineering department. Pas’ research
interests include synthesis of Ti MXenes and their applications. Pas was an intern at Texas
Instruments in summer 2023 as a process engineer.

The variety of the students’ research expands to 2D nanomaterials from Pas, who is currently
working on 2D Carbon transition metal materials called MXenes.

“These properties of both carbon and the transition metal specifically, the one we look at
most of the time is titanium,” Pas said. “We’re looking at how the properties can be used
in industrial applications, specifically electrochemical applications, and looking at the
degradation over time and analyzing how we can prevent degradation of materials.”

Pas also acknowledged how the fellowship opportunity has given her more time in the lab for
her research, allowing more time for characterization and analysis.

Vignesh Shankar is a researcher at Texas A&M, co-advised by Dr. Micah Green and Dr.
Benjamin Wilhite. His passion lies in advancing the energy transition to cleaner sources,
particularly green hydrogen. His work includes a groundbreaking master’s thesis on laser-
induced graphene for selective separation of hydrogen gas. He also had an impactful
internship as an electrolyzer cell development co-op at Electric Hydrogen.

Additional research from Shankar includes a focus on the selective separation of hydrogen
gas using Laser Induced Graphene (LIG) membrane technology.

Ultimately the aim of Shankar’s research is to contribute to the scaling up of industrial blue
and green hydrogen production, he said. In ongoing work, Shankar plans to explore the
selectivity of hydrogen gas in the presence of higher multi-component gas mixtures.

With the recognition from this award, Shankar believes it could significantly impact his
career trajectory along with enhanced research opportunities.

“As more people become aware of my work, my opportunities for career advancement and
research funding may increase. The recognition can open doors to research opportunities
that might not have been available otherwise contribute to the expansion and diversification
of my research portfolio,” Shankar said. “It signifies that my research is of high quality and
has the potential to make a significant impact. It demonstrates that experts in my field
recognize the value and potential of my work.”

22
STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN NASA’S ANNUAL MITTIC COMPETITION
In NASA’s annual MITTIC Competition, students pick one of NASA’s patents and
create a product or service with commercial applications.
After a successful first round in the competition, Dr. and the team plans on transferring it to a terascale
Sreeram Vaddiraju and a group of chemical engineering application.
students presented their version of one of NASA’s For the second phase of the competition, the teams
patents at Johnson Space Center for round 2. Team gave a virtual preliminary pitch review before delivering
members include Arda Arikan (team lead), Sohaib their final presentation at the Johnson Space Center.
Attalla, Amy Delgado, and Aarya Patel. While there, they experienced the NASA facility tours,
After finding out about the competition through a poster session, and networking opportunities with
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, NASA employees, business partners, and subject matter
Attalla said the team believed it was an opportunity to experts.
expand their knowledge and test their skills. The experience was a way for the students to
In phase 1 of the competition, the team selected a understand what NASA does and how the technology
patent and submitted a proposal for their product. it develops can be used in other ways than space
The team used a NASA patent that would help farmers exploration.
recycle water and extract important contaminants from “The opportunities this gave the team were not only the
it, such as fertilizer and ammonia, Attalla said. This chance to tour the actual JSC, but we were also able to
process was designed to be simple and cost-effective. meet teams from across the country, NASA employees
One of the problems with ammonia is that it’s in themselves, and just learn new skills throughout the
fertilizer that people put on their lawn, and when it rains process,” Attalla said.
it causes runoffs in the water supply. When fertilizer is Although the team did not make it past the second
used in agriculture, it causes bigger runoffs. round, they received high praise for their project, and
“The idea they had is a patent to remove ammonia in they have plans for prototyping and working on it with
water and urine in space,” said Dr. Sreeram Vaddiraju, potential investors, Attalla said.
associate professor of chemical engineering and advisor “This competition was the first major extracurricular
for the team. “When you take ammonia and water, how activity I did since college started, and I’d love to
do you remove the ammonia and immediately reuse the have more people sign up for it because it really is
water, that’s the question.” a wonderful experience,” Attalla said. “Get a team
A closed system would give the team the ability to clean together, research an idea, write the proposal up
and reuse the water and lessen the runoff, Vaddiraju and you’ll have a wonderful chance to have the same
said. This patent was developed for that application experience we had.

23
 RECOGNIZING A LIFETIME OF CONTRIBUTIONS
TO PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY
Industrial Advisory Board member and faculty and working to influence positive
former visiting professor, Dr. Bruce Hook is change within the department and college.
the 2023 Ansys Particle Technology Forum
“Dr. Hook has represented Texas A&M well
Service Award winner from the American
through his leadership both in industry and
Institute of Chemical Engineers.
in AIChE, and it is exciting to see that he is
This award recognizes a forum member’s being recognized for that leadership,” said
lifetime outstanding scientific/technical Dr. Faisal Khan, interim department head.
contributions, as well as leadership “We also sincerely appreciate his continuing
in promoting scholarship, research, work with our department as a member of
development, service and/or education in our advisory board.”
the field of particle technology.
Hook has been a visiting professor in
Hook joined the Artie McFerrin Department the department twice, in 1998 and 2010,
of Chemical Engineering advisory council in teaching a particle technology class. He also
2023. His goal is to support the mission of helped recruit Texas A&M students for Dow
providing the best education and research Chemical during his 30-year career with the
possible by speaking with students and company.

24
“Dr. Hook exemplifies the kind of existing plants are due to solids handling or
leadership and excellence that Aggie particle technology issues. Often, plants can
chemical engineers bring to industry,” said lower production costs and become more
Dr. Micah Green, associate department efficient with more reliable plant designs,
head of external engagement. “He has also which require fewer interventions, he said.
been a great ally of the department by
“We do a lot of work on making plants more
collaborating in research and recruiting.”
efficient, increasing capacity for existing
Hook has been active with AIChE plants with minimal capital infusion,”
programming for most of his career by Hook said. “Most of our environmental
serving on committees and as chair/co- opportunities for the future will ultimately
chair at sessions for over 25 of the last 34 be solved by applying some form of
annual meetings. chemical engineering principles.”

He has also received 23 granted patents, Hook has 40 years of research and
several peer-reviewed publications and development and process design
given over 20 presentations at conferences experience, including work in process
or invited talks. He is also an elected optimization for new product development,
industrial liaison to the Particle Technology process scale-up, particle engineering,
Forum (PTF) executive committee. The particle coating fluidization, pneumatic
PTF is a global organization that brings conveying and solids handling. He has
researchers in the particle technology also contributed to drying and storage,
space for various manufacturing industries modeling gas-solid hydrodynamics,
together and aligns with AICHE. multiphase and heterogeneous reactor
modeling and design, catalyst development,
At Dow, Dr. Hook focused on process
and reaction kinetics for heterogeneous
development and process improvement
catalytic systems.
for a variety of chemical processes, many
dealing with particle technology.
“It’s a recognition of years of
“Particle technology is an area that
helping. Particle technology areas
continues to be underserved by most
that have those problems and that
chemical engineering departments because
was one of the reasons why this
of little instruction on material handling,
study was important,” Hook said.
storage, and transport of solid materials,
“The field is constantly expanding
which behave very differently from gasses
and finding new ways to be applied
and liquids,” Hook said.
and to innovate to make our world
Hook said most challenges with new plant a better place to live.”
startups and many operational issues with

25
 IMPROVED ENERGY:
CHARGED IN SECONDS, POWERED FOR DAYS
Amid the growing demand for renewable The team’s research underscores the potential
energy storage solutions, there is a pressing of nitride MXenes to serve as a dependable
need to enhance the performance of option for energy storage devices, with
electrochemical devices such as batteries. applications spanning from small electronics
These devices are often slow to charge and and large-scale grid storage to electric vehicles.
may pose environmental and safety concerns. Djire emphasizes that the long-term objective
Dr. Abdoulaye Djire, a chemical engineering of advancing energy storage technology is to
professor at Texas A&M University, alongside achieve rapid charging and extended lifespan.
chemical engineering undergraduate student “There’s a lot of work that remains to be done
James Kasten, is pioneering the development prior to the full realization of this energy
of new materials for improved energy storage. storage technology,” Djire said. “This is the first
This endeavor marks the initial phase toward step of more exciting research that we’re going
realizing a new generation of energy storage to be doing here at Texas A&M.”
devices that combine the benefits of current Moving forward, the team plans to continue
technologies while addressing their limitations. studying the charge storage mechanisms of the
Djire’s team focuses on a compound known nitride MXenes to optimize their performance
as MXenes, which could be a compelling to meet future energy storage demands.
alternative to conventional lithium-ion Djire anticipates that their ongoing research
batteries. Specifically, they are exploring the will have a significant impact across various
promising advantages of nitride MXenes. domains reliant on energy storage solutions.
“In this article, we demonstrated high In acknowledgment of their collaborative
electrochemical charge storage in Ti4N3Tx efforts, the team extends gratitude to other
nitride MXene using aqueous electrolytes,” contributors, including Ben Hsiao, Denis
Djire said. “We hope this work paves the way Johnson, Bright Ngozichukwu, and Ray Yoo
to the development of energy storage devices from the Djire lab, as well as Seungjoo Lee
that can be fully charged within seconds and and Dr. Ali Erdemir from the Department of
that can last for days.” Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M.

26
 electrodes,” Boyd said. “Our research is now moving from
ENGINEERING PROFESSORS TEAM UP supercapacitors to batteries.”

TO MEASURE MECHANICAL Mechanical damage limits the cycle life of batteries,

STRESSES AND STRAINS so new hardware and models are needed to interpret
experimental measurements to separate the effects
Texas A&M University researchers have discovered that
of mass diffusion, reactions, inelastic deformation and
when charging a supercapacitor, it stores energy and
mechanical damage.
responds by stretching and expanding. This finding can
Batteries and capacitors can fail through the different
be used to design new materials for flexible electronics or
effects of internal and external mechanical stresses.
other devices that must be both strong and store energy
Internal stresses occur when batteries develop a repeated
efficiently.
cycling of the device, while external stresses can result
Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, associate department head of
from impact or penetration of the device.
internal engagement and chemical engineering professor,
When these stresses happen, the battery needs to be able
collaborated with Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, professor of
to withstand the damage. Lutkenhaus said it’s important
aerospace engineering and Dr. James Boyd, associate
to understand how mechanical stress develops in the
professor of aerospace engineering in a new paper
electrochemical state of the device.
published in Matter.
“We developed an instrument that can do just that, “
“We measured stresses that developed in graphene-based
Lutkenhaus said. “By gaining this critical insight, we might
supercapacitor electrodes and correlated the stresses to
be able to design safer energy storage devices that will last
how ions move in and out of the material,” Lutkenhaus
longer.”
said. “For example, when a capacitor is cycled, each
electrode stores and releases ions that can cause it to swell The research aims to develop energy storage devices that
and contract. can bear structural loads and eventually replace carbon-
fiber reinforced plastics that act as structural panels in
Lutkenhaus said this repeated motion can cause the build-
aircraft, thus improving energy efficiency.
up of mechanical stresses, resulting in device failure. To
combat this, her research looks to create an instrument “This article is the outcome of an ongoing collaboration
that measures mechanical stresses and strains in energy between chemical engineering and aerospace engineering
storage materials as they charge and discharge. scientists,” Lagoudas said. “This research provides a
unique understanding of how nanomaterials can be used
This instrument offers insights into measuring the
for lightweight and strong energy storage devices for
mechanical behavior during an electrode’s charging and
aerospace applications.”
discharging, which can be challenging to observe in real-
time. This research was supported by the Air Force Office of
Scientific Research.
“We are pioneering experimental methods to measure the
simultaneous electrochemical and mechanical response of

27
28
TEXAS A&M BLAZES TRAIL IN
SEMICONDUCTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
From powering mobile phones to safeguarding
national defense, semiconductors have become
increasingly vital in today’s world. The growing
demand for skilled professionals calls for
semiconductor training.

Starting in Fall 2025, Texas A&M University’s

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
will introduce a new Master of Science program
focused on microelectronics and semiconductors.
This program will blend digital and analog integrated
circuit design with semiconductor manufacturing,
ensuring students are proficient in both areas and
can collaborate effectively between design and
fabrication processes. The development of this
program is made possible by a $1 million gift from
Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

Before its launch, the program must receive

approval from the state’s Higher Education
Coordinating Board and undergo authorization
within Texas A&M University.

“We at the Texas A&M System recognize the

importance of a highly educated workforce that
understands microelectronics and semiconductors,”
John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System,
said. “I think you will see Aggies leading the way
as the country increases the amount of domestic
semiconductor manufacturing.”

Learn more about the federal funding supporting

the semiconductor industry in Texas.

The new degree is in addition to the semiconductor

efforts already underway within The Texas A&M
University System. The Texas A&M System is at the
forefront of semiconductor research and training,
establishing the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute
in May 2023 to focus on the need for trained

29
 semiconductor professionals and coordinate efforts by which devices or chips are created, including
in response to federal and state CHIPS initiatives. photolithography (layering transistors and metal
The institute, in conjunction with the Texas A&M wires on silicon wafers), assembly and packaging.
Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), is committed The electromagnetic fields and microwave circuit
to collaborating with semiconductor companies, design certificate will be for any engineering or
coordinating system member research and fostering science graduate student who wants to focus
workforce training. on high-frequency circuit analysis, design and
Also, beginning in Fall 2024, electrical and computer implementation.
engineering will offer three certificates to address “We have proposed new certificates related to
the state and national need for trained experts in semiconductors given the growth of the industry as
the field of semiconductors. The certificates are well as insufficient workforce development,” said Dr.
in response to the 2022 U.S. Congress CHIPS and Jiang Hu, a professor in the electrical and computer
Science Act, a strategic approach for the country to engineering department.
be a leader in domestic manufacturing, create more
The Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical
employment opportunities, fortify supply chains and
Engineering will offer a safety in semiconductor
accelerate future research directions.
processing certificate, which will be available to
“As the demand for semiconductor expertise all engineering and science graduate students.
rises, we remain committed to training the next This certificate will be integrated with the Mary
generation of skilled professionals in this critical Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center. The center’s
sector,” said Dr. Robert H. Bishop, vice chancellor primary role is to spearhead the integration
and dean of engineering and director of TEES. of safety principles into chemical, oil and gas
“Through collaboration with industry partners and processing and, now, semiconductor manufacturing
the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute, we are and energy transition.
poised to make significant strides in semiconductor
“This certificate program gives engineers a new tool
research and education.”
to add to their existing portfolio so they can learn
The certificates include digital integrated circuit how to safely deal with chemicals and processes in
design, semiconductor manufacturing and the semiconductor manufacturing sector,” said Dr.
electromagnetic fields and microwave circuit design. Sreeram Vaddiraju, an associate professor in the
The digital integrated circuit design certificate will Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
be for graduate students in electrical and computer The electrical and computer engineering and
engineering and focus on the design stage of digital chemical engineering departments also have two
integrated circuits (IC). These are circuits designed additional certificates in the planning stages: chip
to perform specific tasks, like signal processing and design verification and analog chip design.
machine learning computing. After the design stage,
The integration of the Master of Science
the corresponding IC chips are fabricated by the
degree, certificates and training programs in
manufacturer.
microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing
The semiconductor manufacturing certificate serves to bolster the entire spectrum of
will focus on manufacturing semiconductor semiconductor companies in Texas, including
chip products and will be offered to electrical GlobalWafers, Samsung Austin Semiconductor,
and computer engineering undergraduate and Texas Instruments, NXP, Maxim, Silicon Labs,
graduate students. Students will learn the process Cypress and more.

30
RESEARCHER RECEIVES GRANT
FOR WORK ON PHASE SEPARATION
Chemical engineering Phase separation plays a role in diverse biological
professor Dr. Jeetain processes and can explain longstanding questions
Mittal has received a related to cellular organization. The first part of
National Institutes of the project will focus on the phase separation
Health grant to support of RNA-binding proteins and their role in DNA
his work on phase damage repair and transcriptional condensates
separation. formed by fusion oncoproteins.
Mittal’s research The team aims to decipher the relationships
focuses on developing between amino acid sequence, phase behavior,
a multiscale computational framework to condensate dynamics, and biological function
investigate the role of phase separation to leverage phase separation for synthetic
in biology, particularly in the formation of biology and understanding cellular function and
heterochromatin. Heterochromatin condensates dysfunction.
are membraneless organelles that help control The second part of the project will provide a
gene expression. detailed molecular picture of phase-separated
A key aspect of the proposal is the role of phase protein assemblies in chromatin organization,
separation in chromatin organization, highlighting focusing on the co-phase separation of the
the need for new models in this area. Mittal’s heterochromatin protein family.
strategy aims to elucidate the molecular origins This research changes the way scientists think
of phase separation using innovative models and about biological organization and can predict
methods tailored to relevant phase separation which biomolecules or proteins will form
systems. membraneless organelles. By building and using
According to Mittal, this research could lead computer models, the proposal aims to simulate
to insights into neurodegenerative diseases the process of phase separation in a controllable
such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s way, expanding the scope of these models.
disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Mittal believes that a combination of computer
and frontotemporal dementia. The proposed modeling and experimental techniques such
work aims to develop and utilize multiscale as NMR, microscopy, and microrheology can
computational methods, from the atomic to the provide the best path toward uncovering the
mesoscale level, to build a molecular mechanistic relationship between amino acid sequence and
framework. phase separation. The ultimate goal is to push the
“In the context of heterochromatin, you’re dealing boundaries of what is possible, gaining insights
with tightly controlled gene expression,” Mittal that will help discover new therapies and bridge
said. “This process involves the phase separation the gap between macroscopic observations and
of proteins and nucleic acids, which helps form macromolecular phase separation.
these membraneless compartments.”

31
22_3745