Microkinetic modeling sheds light on mechanisms for oligomerizing olefins (Broadbelt)

Microporous metal-organic framework-supported Ir-catalyst transforms with high selectivity (Farha)

Engineering ribosomes offer opportunities for understanding & engineering biocatalytic systems for medicines & materials (Jewett)

From supported metals to hybrid materials, catalysts are designed for more sustainable chemistry (Kung)

Single atom control gives insight into catalysis (Notestein)

Nanostructured catalysts are developed for selective catalytic reactions (Notestein)

Electrocatalytic processes harness renewable electricity sources to drive sustainable production of fuels and chemicals (Seitz)

Computational discovery of rules for selective oxidation (Snurr)

Catalyzed release of phosphate from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on a ferrihydrite surface (Aristilde)

Laser-induced CVD growth of SWNTs from metal nanoparticles on Si micropillars patterned using polymer pen lithography (Mirkin)

A quantum chemical model of Mo oxide on carbon sheds light onto its unique reactivity with ethanol. (Schatz)

Research
/
Areas of Research
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

The discipline of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) seeks to control and understand the networks of reactions that occur in ‘reactors’ ranging from cellular compartments up to world-scale industrial facilities, and includes reactions may be activated by heat, light, electrical, or chemical energy. Because of this broad remit, CRE is interested in intricate biochemical pathways, pollution remediation, and the production of anything from fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals, to fuels, monomers, and polymers. CRE at Northwestern is highly interdisciplinary and often takes place in globally recognized, collaborative centers.

Research Areas

Our researchers study catalysts that may be small molecules, biological macromolecules, or solid materials, which harness light, electricity, or thermal energy as inputs. An important area of research is to understand how catalysts can work cooperatively or be arranged in space and time to carry out reactions with high selectivity or to synthesize molecules and materials with new properties. We also have strengths in the development of reactions for sustainable chemistry and in the modeling and synthesis of new catalysts and reaction environments, including engineered cellular environments, metal organic frameworks, single-site catalysts, and multicomponent oxides.

Faculty

_Core

	Linda Broadbelt _{Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor} _{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Associate Dean for Research} _{Novel computational approaches to address hurdles facing the biomass industry in the transition to more sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials.}

	Michael Jewett _{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence} _{We are creating a new paradigm for understanding and engineering biocatalytic reaction systems using cell-free biology.}

	Harold Kung _{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Develop understanding of molecule-surface interactions, reaction mechanisms, and synthesis methodology to enable catalysts by design for sustainability.}

	Tobin Marks _{Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering and (by courtesy) Materials Science and Engineering}

	Justin Notestein _{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Designing and interrogating all types of catalysts and catalytic processes, especially for large scale chemical processes and novel applications in sustainability.}

	Linsey Seitz _{Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Electrocatalysis, in situ spectroscopy, dynamic catalyst materials, and reactor design towards renewable production of fuels and chemicals.}

	Randall Snurr _{Chair of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{John G. Searle Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Computational catalysis modeling, data science in catalysis, natural gas conversion, oxidation catalysis, catalytic destruction of toxic compounds.}

	John Torkelson _{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering}

	Danielle Tullman-Ercek _{Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Director, Master of Science in Biotechnology Program} _{Coupling modeling and experiments to explore the impact of enzyme sequestration and organization on biochemical reaction performance.}

_Courtesy

	Ludmilla Arstilde _{Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Probing the heterogeneous catalysis of nutrient recycling by natural mineral oxides by coupling spectroscopic analyses with molecular simulations.}

	Omar Farha _{Associate Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{Design and synthesis of catalysts supported on porous materials with atomically precise structures for energy-, environment- and national defense-related applications.}

	Kimberly Gray _{Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering} _{Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

	Chad Mirkin _{George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering} _{Mirkin develops nanomaterial megalibraries (>1 million features) for the high-throughput screening and discovery of energy-relevant catalysts.}

	Milan Mrksich _{Vice President for Research} _{Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical Engineering} _{Professor of Chemistry} _{Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology}

	George Schatz _{Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering} _{The Schatz group uses a density functional theory and molecular dynamics calculations to study catalytic reaction mechanisms.}

Chemical & Biological Engineering

Research
/
Areas of Research
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

Research Areas

Faculty

_Core

Linda Broadbelt

_{Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor}
_{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Associate Dean for Research}

Michael Jewett

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence}

Harold Kung

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Tobin Marks

_{Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering and (by courtesy) Materials Science and Engineering}

Justin Notestein

_{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Linsey Seitz

_{Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Randall Snurr

_{Chair of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{John G. Searle Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

John Torkelson

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering}

Danielle Tullman-Ercek

_{Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Director, Master of Science in Biotechnology Program}

_Courtesy

Ludmilla Arstilde

_{Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Omar Farha

_{Associate Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Kimberly Gray

_{Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering}
_{Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

Chad Mirkin

_{George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering}

Milan Mrksich

_{Vice President for Research}
_{Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical Engineering}
_{Professor of Chemistry}
_{Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology}

George Schatz

_{Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

More in this section

Contact Info

Research / Areas of ResearchCatalysis and Reaction Engineering

Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

Research Areas

Faculty

Core

Sarah Rebecca Roland ProfessorProfessor of Chemical and Biological EngineeringAssociate Dean for Research

Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological EngineeringCharles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence

Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering and (by courtesy) Materials Science and Engineering

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Chair of Chemical and Biological EngineeringJohn G. Searle Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering

Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological EngineeringDirector, Master of Science in Biotechnology Program

Courtesy

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering

Associate Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering

Chair of Civil & Environmental EngineeringProfessor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering

George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering

Vice President for ResearchHenry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical EngineeringProfessor of ChemistryProfessor of Cell and Molecular Biology

Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering

More in this section

Contact Info

Research
/
Areas of Research
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

_Core

_{Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor}
_{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Associate Dean for Research}

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence}

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering and (by courtesy) Materials Science and Engineering}

_{Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Chair of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{John G. Searle Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering}

_{Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering}
_{Director, Master of Science in Biotechnology Program}

_Courtesy

_{Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Associate Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering}
_{Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}

_{George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering}

_{Vice President for Research}
_{Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical Engineering}
_{Professor of Chemistry}
_{Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology}

_{Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering}