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Our Changing Department

In the 110 years that a chemical engineering (CHEN) curriculum has been offered at CU-91������, a lot has changed.

The CHEN curriculum was first offered in 1904 through the Department of Mechanical Engineering. While the first two CHEN BS degrees were granted in 1908, it was not until 1936 that CU-91������’s Department of Chemical Engineering was established.

The number of undergraduate students enrolled in the department wavered in the 150-350 student range for decades prior to 2006; that year, a second department degree, Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBEN), was offered to students. Since then, department undergraduate enrollment has increased 150%, going from 278 students in 2006 to 695 students in 2014. These new enrollments now make ChBE one of the top ten largest departments in the nation.

Undergraduate female enrollment in the department has held relatively steady in the past 25 years, ranging from 30%-45%. These values greatly exceed those of the College of Engineering and Applied Science (24%) and the nation (20%).

Interestingly, there is a significant gender disparity between the CBEN and CHEN degrees, with the former 40%-50% female and the latter 25%-35% female since 2007. The current 153-person ChBE freshman class, in fact, is 55% female in CBEN and 38% female in CHEN.

>>Read about our changing PhD program.

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Undergraduate Lab Opens with Tube-Shattering Ceremony

The department completed its multi-stage move into the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building late last fall with the transition of the undergraduate laboratories from the Engineering Center to JSCBB.

To inaugurate the new Chevron Teaching Lab, Chevron and ChBE members froze tubing using liquid nitrogen and shattered it in a proverbial ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Junior Lab classes are being conducted in the Chevron Teaching Lab this semester, while Controls Lab is being held in the Broida Family Bioengineering Teaching Lab. The adjacent 30-seat lab classroom is also being used extensively.

In addition to the undergraduate laboratories, two JSCBB auditoriums were completed in the fall and are in use. With these new 68- and 126-seat spaces augmenting the previously completed 200-person auditorium, all ChBE classes except Computing and Chemistry for Engineers are now being held in the building.

Pictured: Cynthia Murphy and Mike Wirth of Chevron use liquid nitrogen to freeze tubing.

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Prashant Nagpal: Advancing Personalized Medicine

As a specialist in nanomaterials and spectroscopy, ChBE Assistant Professor Prashant Nagpal may have found a way to make personalized medicine a reality.

Along with fellow ChBE Assistant Professor Anushree Chatterjee, Nagpal has launched PRAAN Biosciences to develop their method of quickly and cheaply sequencing a human genome using a single molecule. Current methods require larger samples sizes and more time and money.

“We utilize a single-molecule Quantum Molecular Sequencing (QM-Seq) technique using unique electronic and optical fingerprints to directly determine the sequence of single molecules of RNA, DNA and other biomolecules,” says Nagpal.

Bone cancer in one person may be caused by a different gene mutation than bone cancer in a different person, and so the same treatment will not work for both. Using QM-Seq, Nagpal and Chatterjee can scan for gene mutations and, when found, tailor treatments. The work has earned them a $1M Keck Foundation Research Award.

The methodology involves using nanoelectronic detection methods to measure the molecular orbitals of nucleic acids, allowing for identification. This work is just one research thrust of Nagpal, whose expertise lies in nanomaterial synthesis and optical/electron spectroscopy.

>>Read about Nagpal’s work improving solar cells and artificial photosynthesis.

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Patent Lawyer Vern Norviel Helps CU Start-Ups

When the founders of OPX Biotechnologies were formulating the company, they turned toVern Norvielfor help. A patent lawyer who specializes in life science companies and the development of their IP programs, Norviel has been integral in helping launch CU-based startups such as OPX Bio, Click, Suvica, AmideBio and BiOptix. He has also endowed a department professorship and is a mentor in the ChBE Mentor Program.

After graduating from CU with a BS in chemical engineering in 1981, Norviel received a Masters from the University of Santa Clara and then attended the University of San Francisco School of Law. Now a Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Norviel leads the patents and innovation counseling practice and has been named aNorthern California Super Lawyerand honored among the “Top 25 Intellectual Property Portfolio Managers” in California for the past 3 years. He shared some thoughts on his field and beyond.

On a typical day: Almost all of my work is in assisting young, entrepreneurial life science companies. My legal focus is on patents, but ultimately most everything I do is in helping the company get financed, get their products on the market, and get them sold. Many of these companies have real treatments or diagnostics for things like cancer, Parkinson’s and other vexing health care problems.

On endowing a ChBE professorship: This was an easy decision for me. I was relatively poor when I was growing up, and I received a number of scholarships that paid almost all of my bills in college. This support made my entire life possible. Someone helped me then, so it is obvious I owe a lot back.�� Hopefully the things I do will help young professors and students in the same way.

>>Read about Norviel’s work with CU start-ups and advice for students.

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Teaching Middle School Students about Membranes

Associate Professor Adjunct Hans Funke and Brennan Coffey (ChemEngr '15) volunteered to teach middle school students about zeolite membranes and their use in separating gases. The media? Video. The organization? , which aims to cultivate big dreams and help students turn these dreams into reality by demystifying science and technology.��

A thief has stolen a zeolite membrane to suck out the atmosphere’s oxygen and hold the world hostage. Watch to find out what happens.

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Mentor Program Happy Hour Mixes Students with Alumni

ChBE students and alumni mentors met in February at Fate Brewery in 91������. From left, Andrew Darress (ChemBioEngr '15), Adrienne Blum (ChemEngr ‘11), Richard Noack (ChemEngr '16), Ryon Tracy (ChemEngr ‘12), and Joe Poshusta (ChemEngr PhD‘99).

The ChBE Mentor Program started last February has united 108 alumni-student pairs; get involved as a student or alumni mentor!

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Class Notes

Let us know what you've been up to!��Send us a class note or update your contact information using our��easy .

Rick Blankmeier (ChemEngr’05) is featured in the article, .

Melinda (Cushing) Riter (ChemEngr PhD’06) currently lives in Hood River, OR, a town in the middle of the Columbia River Gorge with some of the region's finest wine, waterfalls, biking, and breweries. Academically, she has an appointment at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU), where she sees patients in Portland, OR who have severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. She also see patients at Mid Columbia Medical center (MCMC) in the small town of The Dalles, OR. Melinda married Charlie Riter on November 1, 2014. She would be happy to see any CU grads that want to come visit the Gorge!

Kat (Potter) Brookhart (ChemEngr'10) recently moved to California for a new position at BioMarin, which develops treatments for rare diseases. She works in the commercial manufacturing group, where she focuses on the downstream purification process of the target enzyme. She also celebrated her marriage in September.

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Faculty, Staff & Student Awards

Distinguished Professor Kristi Anseth received the 2015 Bayer Distinguished Lectureship from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. She was also elected to the chair line of the MRS.

Distinguished Professors Christopher Bowman and Kristi Anseth received a patent for biodegradable cell scaffolds for use in next-generation tissue engineering applications.

Assistant Professor Joel Kaar received an NSF CAREER Award.

Assistant Professors Prashant Nagpal and Anushree Chatterjee received a three-year, $1M award from the W.M. Keck Foundation for “Quantum Sequencing (Q-Seq): Using Charge Tunneling for Biochemical Assay of Single Molecules.”

Professors Rich Noble and Doug Gin received a two-year, $900,000 award from Arizona State University, with the DOE as the prime sponsor for “Energy Efficient Electrochemical Capture and Release of Carbon Dioxide.” They were also issued a patent for used to make a “green” replacement for polar organic solvents, which are commonly used in cleaning, reactions, and processing in many industries.

MD/PhD student Balaji Sridhar accepted the Katherine M. Swanson Young Innovator Award for his company,

Former NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless presented senior Jeni Sorli with a .