Department of Chemical Engineering

Lecturer, Chemical Engineering

Technical communication is an active and growing subfield of engineering, as the importance of being able to communicate technical information clearly and concisely is of the utmost importance in business and industry today. The field has expanded over the years to include such topics as engineering communication, writing across the . . .

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

Research and Teaching Interests

Particulate processing, chemistry and thermodynamics of metals extraction; physical separation processes, sustainable raw materials production, oxidative and reductive bioleaching of metals.

Materials such as fly-ashes scrubber sludges, metallurgical slags, machining wastes, and many other similar materials present a significant disposal problem, which can be much reduced if . . .

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

My research group uses natural and artificial molecular recognition to improve human health. This work includes discovering small peptides or chemicals that bind specifically to proteins and engineering devices that utilize the binding property.

A biotherapeutic is any product that is made to improve human health and comes from a biological . . .

Department Chair, Chemical Engineering

S. Komar Kawatra joined the faculty at Michigan Tech as an associate professor in 1977. He was promoted to Professor in 1985 and chaired the Department of Mining and Materials Processing Engineering from 2000-2002 when its programs were merged into other academic departments. He has served as chair of the . . .

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

Our research is at the interface of science and engineering. With the world’s increasing energy demand, the depletion of “easy” oil and gas fields, and the impact of CO₂ emissions on the Earth’s climate, people have been forced to seek clean and sustainable energy resources. Lignocellulosic biomass can significantly reduce our dependence on . . .

Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Ceramics, fine particles, and engineered nanostructures

In the area of ceramics and particle technology, we are learning to make novel nanoscale structures for use as electrodes, catalysts, biomaterials, and membranes. Specific current research includes the development of polymer/inorganic nanofibers for tissue scaffolds, electrosynthesis of new hybrid materials, porous carbon electrodes for battery and fuel . . .

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Dr. Peng started his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California in Chemical Engineering Department and later on promoted to associate professor with tenure. He then joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the National Taiwan University with the rank of full professor. In 2008, he . . .

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Research interests are in the areas of sustainability, life-cycle environmental assessments, environmental transport processes, and forest-based biofuels.

Life Cycle Assessment/Sustainability
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method that allows for a comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts for a product or process. The scope of the assessment is over the entire life cycle; starting with extraction of . . .

Professor, Chemical Engineering

My research interests are in the area of composite materials. Specifically, my interests often focus on adding various carbon fillers to typically thermoplastic polymers to produce electrically and thermally conductive resins.

Increasing the thermal and electrical conductivities of typically insulating polymers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon, has the potential of greatly . . .

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

My research is focused on using and advancing computational systems biology and engineering to better understand and further improve complex chemical and biochemical processes to address problems related to bioenergy production and environment protection. The complexity of processes involved in these problems necessitates systematical approaches. The ultimate goal is to . . .