News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Apr17
EVENT DETAILS
lessMaking biology easier to engineer
Synthetic biology is the key to sustainable biomanufacturing. At Ginkgo, our mission is to make biology easier to engineer so that customers can achieve the performance indicators that enable economically viable production of their targets. We bring together expert scientists, bespoke software, state-of-the-art instrumentation and automation to tackle pathway optimization through iterative DBTL cycles. At the core of every cell program are the enzymes that catalyze conversion of substrate to product. Ginkgo's end-to-end Enzyme Services can be applied to identify new enzymatic activities and improve enzyme specificity, activity and stability in industrially relevant conditions. In the Bioworks foundries, we assemble these enzymes into complex metabolic pathways, optimizing expression and flux. We use highly automated strain engineering tools and high-throughput analytical capabilities to test thousands of prototypes. We recently added automated adaptive evolution and encapsulation into nanoliter reactor technologies to augment the design space we are able to explore.
This talk will discuss Ginkgo’s platform and provide some examples of projects and successes to date. I will also discuss my career trajectory and things I’ve learned as I transitioned from a career in academia to a career in industry, and from technical roles to my more recent operational and leadership role.
Cynthia Collins received her BS from the University of Toronto in Chemistry and Biochemistry and her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Caltech in the Arnold lab where she focused on the directed evolution of transcription factors involved in microbial quorum sensing and their use in synthetic biology applications. Cynthia then moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, where her group applied synthetic biology and protein engineering approaches to engineer communication and collaboration in microbial communities. She earned a NSF Career Award and was named a World Economic Forum Young Scientist. Cynthia joined Ginkgo in 2021, where she led projects in her role as a Principal Organism Engineer. She is currently a Senior Director of Organism Engineering, and leads the Microbial Engineering Operational Excellence team.
TIME Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Will Chaussee william.chaussee@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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Apr18
EVENT DETAILS
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The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present a seminar by Prashant V. Kamat from the University of Notre Dame as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
Dr. Kamat will be presenting a seminar titled "Ion Migration in Metal Halide Perovskites: Implications for Solar Cell Stability."
ABSTRACT:
The ability to tune the bandgap of metal halide perovskites through compositional alloying of the halide ion is of interest in designing tandem solar cells and light emitting displays. However, photoinduced migration of halide ions can significantly affect the device performance. One such property is photoinduced phase segregation in mixed halide perovskites (MHP), which forms bromide rich and iodide-rich domains. These domains act as charge carrier traps and lower the efficiency of perovskite-based devices. The thermodynamic and redox properties of halide perovskites provide a strong driving force for hole trapping and oxidation of iodide species. Thus, the mobility of halides and their susceptibility to hole-induced oxidation play a crucial role in determining the long-term stability of metal halide perovskite solar cells.
When Ruddlesden-Popper 2D mixed-halide perovskite films with spacer cations such as butylammonium are introduced into three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films, they can stabilize them against moisture-induced degradation at room temperature. While such passivation of 3D perovskites using 2D perovskites has been reported widely, the instability of the 2D/3D interface during long term solar cell operation can be problematic. The cation migration under light and heat can significantly alter the 2D/3D interface, thus affecting the solar cell performance. Thus, suppression of halide ion migration as well as cation migration remains a key factor in achieving long term stability and improving efficiency of perovskite solar cells and light emitting devices.
Prashant V. Kamat is a Rev. John A. Zahm, C.S.C., Professor of Science in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Radiation Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a Concurrent Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Professor Kamat has for more than four decades worked to build bridges between physical chemistry and material science to develop advanced nanomaterials that promise cleaner and more efficient light energy conversion. He has published more than 500 scientific papers that have been well recognized by the scientific community. Thomson-Reuters has featured him as one of the most cited researchers each year since 2014 (2014 -2023). He received Porter Medal in Photochemistry (2022) ACS National Storch Award (2024). He is a Fellow of ACS, MRS, ECS and AAAS. He is also a Pravasi Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. He is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Energy Letters. (URL:Kamatlab.com)
Suggested Readings:
DuBose, J. T.; Kamat, P. V. Hole Trapping in Halide Perovskites Induces Phase Segregation, Accounts of Materials Research 2022, 3, 761-771.
DuBose, J. T.; Kamat, P. V. Energy Versus Electron Transfer: Managing Excited-State Interactions in Perovskite Nanocrystal–Molecular Hybrids, Chemical Reviews 2022, 122, 12475–12494.
Chakkamalayath, J.; Hiott, N.; Kamat, P. V. How Stable Is the 2D/3D Interface of Metal Halide Perovskite under Light and Heat?, ACS Energy Letters 2023, 8, 169-171.
Szabó, G.; Kamat, P. V., How Cation Migration across a 2D/3D Interface Dictates Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency ACS Energy Letters 2024 9 (1), 193-200
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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Apr25
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present a seminar by Allison Godwin from Cornell University as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
From, “Will this be on the exam?” to “I enjoyed learning”: Motivating Chemical Engineering Education Contexts
ABSTRACT: Motivation is an essential ingredient in student learning and development. Often, traditional education methods orient students to focus on performance outcomes rather than mastery of course material. This orientation can result in students who care only about the points in a course toward their final grade (because it moves them forward in the curriculum) over developing themselves as engineers by acquiring new knowledge, skills, and abilities. These students often interpret struggle as a signal that they do not belong or that engineering is not “for them.” Mastery orientations can support learning from failure and engagement with engineering content. The challenge is often how we design to support motivation in engineering courses.
This talk will describe my research trajectory from fundamental research on student identity development and motivation in engineering education to my current efforts in studying effective pedagogies and practices in chemical engineering. The talk will outline why motivation is an important and fundamental concept in designing educational environments. Three examples of curricular redesign will be discussed. First, structural changes to a sophomore materials and energy balances course. Second, an ecological belonging intervention that reshapes student’s growth mindsets. Finally, a complete course redesign of an introduction to chemical and biomolecular engineering course around the context of food and incorporating mastery-based grading. The collective results of this trajectory will provide examples of how motivation shapes students’ engineering trajectories and provide actionable practices to support student development better.
Allison Godwin, Ph.D. is the Dr. G. Stephen Irwin ’67, ’68 Professor in Engineering Education Research in the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. Her research focuses on how identity, among other affective factors, influences diverse students to choose engineering and persist in engineering. She also studies how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belonging and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a 2016 National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning to understand engineering students’ identity development. She has won several awards for her research including the 2021 Journal of Civil Engineering Education Best Technical Paper, the 2021 Chemical Engineering Education William H. Corcoran Award, the 2022 American Educational Research Association Education in the Professions (Division I) 2021-2022 Outstanding Research Publication Award, and the 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Research.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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May2
EVENT DETAILS
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The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present a seminar by Peter Beltramo from the University of Massachusetts as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
Dr. Peter Beltramo will present a seminar titled "Interfacial colloidal interactions, dynamics, and assembly: from biomembranes to ordered 2D materials.”
ABSTRACT: Soft matter interfaces are ubiquitous across diverse technologies ranging from pharmaceuticals to chemical formulations. The presence of surfactant molecules or colloidal particles at fluid interfaces gives the interface distinct properties in response to flow, deformation, and external fields that must be measured, understood, and manipulated for desired functionalities. This talk will focus on colloidal interactions in two such systems: crowded artificial biological membranes and anisotropic particles at air-water interfaces. In the first part of the talk, we discuss the effects of increasing concentration of model membrane inclusions in an artificial cell membrane on inclusion diffusivity and the apparent viscosity of the membrane. In the second part of the talk, we highlight our recent discovery that particle surface porosity severely attenuates the capillary attraction between colloidal ellipsoids at fluid interfaces, enabling the development of ordered anisotropic 2D monolayers. By monitoring the dynamics of two particles approaching one another, we find that porous particles exhibit a strikingly shorter-range capillary interaction potential. Interferometry measurements of the fluid deformation surrounding a single particle quantitatively confirm the decrease in capillary interaction energy and point to roughness-induced changes to interfacial pinning as the mechanism for reduced attraction. Lastly, we show how this reduction in interparticle capillary attraction and alteration in interfacial pinning manifests in the overall 2D interfacial assembly of such particles, informing an approach for the development of anisotropically ordered 2D materials.
Peter Beltramo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UMass Amherst. He earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 2014, where he studied the electrokinetics and self-assembly of colloidal suspensions. Before starting at UMass Amherst in 2018, he completed a postdoc in Soft Materials at ETH Zurich. At UMass, his lab studies interfacial soft matter in contexts ranging from membrane biophysics and biomimetic materials to particle stabilized emulsions and ordered 2D materials. His recent recognitions include the NSF CAREER Award, ACS-PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award, and a Lilly Teaching Fellowship at UMass Amherst.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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May9
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present a seminar by Phillip Christopher from University of California, Santa Barbara as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
Dr. Christopher will present a seminar titled "Influence of visible photons on catalytic reactions at metal nanoparticle surfaces."
ABSTRACT: Supported metal catalysts, consisting of transition metal nanoparticles on high surface area, insulating oxide supports, are ubiquitously used in the manufacturing of chemicals and fuels, as well as pollution abetment. Efforts primarily focus on improving catalytic performance (higher rates and/or selectivity at lower temperature and pressure) by tuning the composition of the catalytic materials. Alternatively, we (and others) have observed that visible photon illumination of metal nanoparticle and single atom catalysts (Pt, Cu, Ag, Rh etc.) on insulating oxide supports (Al2O3, SiO2) can induce significant changes to catalytic reaction selectivity, rate, and apparent kinetic parameters. Mechanistic studies suggest that photons influence catalytic processes by transiently redistributing charge within adsorbate-metal bonds, thereby changing elementary step energetics, akin to photolysis of organometallic complexes.
However, there is essentially no understanding of bond specificity for the influence of visible photons on elementary step kinetics on metal nanoparticle surfaces. Further, predictive models of elementary step kinetics that include reaction temperature, pressure, and photon excitation characteristics (time dependent flux and wavelength) are missing.
In this talk I will broadly discuss experimental observations that suggest visible photon fluxes act as distinct energy sources for control catalysis on metal nanoparticle surfaces. Then, I will highlight recent efforts in our group aimed at addressing these topics of bond specificity and predictive kinetic models of photon driven chemical reactions on metal nanoparticle surfaces through analysis of the chemistry of CO and methanol on Pt and Pd nanoparticle surfaces.
Phillip Christopher earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2006 and his M.S and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Michigan in 2011 working with Prof. Suljo Linic. From 2011-2017 he was an Assistant Professor at University of California, Riverside. In 2017 he moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara where he is a Professor and Vice Chair for Undergraduate Affairs in the Chemical Engineering Department and the Mellichamp Chair in Sustainable Manufacturing. He serves as a Senior Editor for ACS Energy Letters. His research interests are in sustainable chemical conversion, heterogeneous catalysis by supported metals, dynamic behavior of catalysts, and photocatalysis by metal nanostructures. He has been given various awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), AIChE CRE Division Young Investigator Award, and Ipatieff Prize from the ACS.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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May16
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present the 35th Annual Hugh M. Hulburt Lecture with Chau-Chyun Chen from Texas Tech University as part of our Spring 2024 ChBE Seminar Series.
Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen will present a lecture titled "Adsorption Thermodynamics for Process Simulation."
ABSTRACT: Adsorptive separation offers an energy efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional thermal separation. Recent development of tailored adsorbents for selective separation of molecules has heightened interest in adsorption applications such as air separation, trace elements and heavy metals removal, CO2 capture, direct air capture, hydrocarbons processing, aqueous organic chemicals separation, among others. However, the lack of rigorous adsorption thermodynamic models for multicomponent adsorption equilibria has hampered industrial applications of adsorption technology for decades, and practitioners remain heavily relying on expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error pilot studies to develop adsorption units. Successful process simulation and development of all separation processes, adsorption included, must be built on rigorous thermodynamic models that accurately correlate and predict thermodynamic properties and phase behaviors for concerned chemical mixtures. This presentation highlights the limits and deficiencies of commonly practiced adsorption thermodynamic models such as extended Langmuir, dual-process Langmuir, and adsorbed solution theory for mixed-gas adsorption equilibria. It further presents a thermodynamically rigorous generalization of the classical Langmuir isotherm by substituting concentrations with activities, incorporating an activity coefficient model for the adsorbed phase that explicitly counts for both adsorbent-adsorbate interactions and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, extending for multicomponent competitive adsorption, and further extending for multicomponent multilayer adsorption. Requiring a minimum set of physically meaningful model parameters, the generalized Langmuir isotherm for multicomponent monolayer adsorption and the generalized Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm for multicomponent multilayer adsorption successfully address various adsorption thermodynamic modeling challenges including adsorbent surface heterogeneity, isosteric heats of adsorption, adsorption azeotrope formation, and multilayer formulation. For the first time since the advent of Langmuir isotherm, a rigorous and comprehensive adsorption thermodynamic model for multicomponent adsorption equilibria has been formulated to support process simulation of adsorptive separation.
Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen is a Horn Distinguished professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Jack Maddox Distinguished Chair in Sustainable Energy at the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, Texas Tech University. A co-founder of Aspen Technology, Inc., he is the inventor of the industry-leading process simulation software for electrolyte solutions, polymerization processes, small molecule drug solubility, CO2 capture with chemical absorption, and molecular characterization for petroleum assays. His current research focuses on molecular thermodynamics and process simulation for adsorptive and membrane-based separations, high salinity produced waters, energetic materials, and CO2 capture. He holds over 160 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters, and 20 US and international patents.
Dr. Chen received BS degree in chemistry from National Taiwan University and MS and ScD degrees in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.
About Hugh M. Hulburt
A talented administrator and teacher, Hugh M. Hulburt (1917–1987) dedicated his professional career to practicing chemistry and promoting the chemical engineering profession. After receiving his PhD in 1942, he worked in various industry positions, becoming director of research and development at the Chemical Construction Corporation and later director of chemical engineering and of physical research at American Cyanamid Company.After joining Northwestern in 1964, Hulburt served as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1965 to 1971, associate dean of the Graduate School from 1975 to 1980, and associate dean of the Technological Institute from 1980 to 1983. He chaired the committee to establish the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and fostered closer ties between industry and the University and between science and engineering.
Hulburt was editor of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Process Design and Development from its inception in 1962 until 1986, during which time it became a highly respected journal. He also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data and on the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Panel for Engineering Chemistry and Energetics. He was a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and was its Institute Lecturer in 1962.The Hugh M. Hulburt Memorial Lecture brings to campus leaders in chemical engineering research and management to lecture and interact with students and faculty, and it fosters collaboration between industry & academia in the education of future chemical engineers.
A department luncheon will follow the lecture at 12:00pm on the Tech East Patio/courtyard.
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4 (M113), Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Jennifer Young jennifer.young@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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May23
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present the annual ARDEI Lecture with speaker Christine Reyna from DePaul University.
More details to come.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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May30
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present student seminars by Ruihan Li and Kunhuan Liu as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
More details to come.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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Jun10
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessMcCormick School of Engineering PhD Hooding and Master’s Degree Recognition Ceremony
TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena
CONTACT Amy Pokrass amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Jun10
TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena
CONTACT Amy Pokrass amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science