News

Jun 29
2023
UC Santa Barbara’s Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) has received its seventh consecutive major grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund six years of operation as an NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). Widely regarded as one of the top five materials research facilities in the world, the MRL, which obtained its first MRSEC... read more »
Jun 25
2023
Evan Pretti, a fourth-year chemical engineering PhD student at UC Santa Barbara, has received a prestigious Software Fellowship from the Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) in support of research that could provide insight into neurodegenerative diseases such as  Alzheimer’s disease. The fellowship provides funding for tuition and fees for one... read more »
Jun 15
2023
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor Michael Gordon has been named a fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Fellowship recognizes members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions in areas of interest to the AVS. Gordon, who will become chair of the Chemical Engineering Department on July 1, was cited... read more »
Jun 13
2023
The results for end-of-year awards are in. The graduating seniors from the Chemical Engineering Department have spoken, selecting the 2022-'23 Faculty and Teaching Assistant of the Year. In addition, the College of Engineering recognized the graduating seniors with the highest cumulative grade point average in each degree program. Read about the award recipients below.... read more »
Jun 1
2023
Michael Gordon, the Robert G. Rinker Founder’s Chair, has been appointed the new chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at UC Santa Barbara by Tresa Pollock, interim dean of the College of Engineering. Gordon will begin his new role on July 1, 2023.  “I’m excited and deeply honored to lead the Chemical Engineering Department,” said... read more »
May 1
2023
Joe Chada, an assistant teaching professor in the Chemical Engineering Department, has received the UC Santa Barbara Academic Senate’s 2022-’23 Distinguished Teaching Award for demonstrating excellence in teaching and contributing to the teaching mission of the university. “I was shocked when my friend, Vanessa Woods, an associate teaching professor at... read more »
Apr 27
2023
Probably the greatest barrier to recycling plastics is that the quality of the end product is far inferior to the quality of the original product, which disincentivizes would-be recyclers from investing time and resources into the process. But what if there was a way to create high quality plastic from the original material? In the latest installment of video series “... read more »
Sep 15
2022
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering PhD student Ethan McGarrigle has received the Mitsubishi Chemical Fellowship, a prestigious honor that provides financial support from 2022 through 2025. The endowed fellowship is made possible through a generous gift from the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to encourage outstanding doctoral students to solve the most... read more »
Aug 15
2022
Daniel Arnold, a fourth-year PhD student in UC Santa Barbara’s Chemical Engineering Department, has received the CSP Technologies Teacher-Scholar Fellowship for 2022-‘23. As a result, he and a faculty mentor will co-teach an undergraduate chemical engineering course during the upcoming academic year. Arnold said that he was thrilled and honored to receive... read more »
Jul 1
2022
Just days after winning the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, the Department of Energy’s highest honor for mid-career scientists, Rachel Segalman, professor and chair of UC Santa Barbara’s Chemical Department, has received one of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) most prestigious prizes, the Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress... read more »
Jun 21
2022
Rachel Segalman, professor and chair of UC Santa Barbara’s Chemical Engineering Department, recently received a memorable phone call. The caller identification on her cellular phone read “DOE,” standing for the Department of Energy, which piqued the interest and nerves of the Edward Noble Kramer Professor.  “I answered the call with trepidation, because I... read more »
Jun 8
2022
There will be plenty to celebrate when UC Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering hosts its first in-person Commencement on Saturday, June 11 from 3-4 p.m. on Commencement Green. During the 2021-’22 academic year, 402 engineering bachelor’s degrees have been awarded, including 49 in chemical engineering.  Read about some of the end-of-the-year awards given to and awarded... read more »
Jun 8
2022
Chemical engineering major Vedika Shenoy is the recipient of UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering’s 2022 Tirrell Award for Distinction in Undergraduate Research. The annual award, named in honor of the college’s former dean, Matthew Tirrell, recognizes a graduating senior who showed excellence and promise as a researcher during his or... read more »
May 5
2022
Chemical engineering professor Glenn Fredrickson, an elected member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, was recently featured in an issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviwed journal of the NAS. The profile, written by science writer Farooq Ahmed, details... read more »
May 3
2022
Mentoring graduate students is an essential component of the mission of a research institution such as UC Santa Barbara. For faculty, mentoring involves training graduate students for careers in academia and industry and preparing them to meet the highest ethical and professional standards. Chemical engineering professor M. Scott Shell is one of three... read more »
May 3
2022
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor Michael Doherty is among 261 new fellows and international members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). The new members join a distinguished group of individuals previously elected, including Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Margaret Mead,... read more »
Apr 7
2022
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering graduate students, Michelle Baldini, Norleakvisoth Lim, and Elizabeth Schauer, and undergraduate Claire Wu have received prestigious 2022 graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Fellows in NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) receive... read more »