Faculty Research Specializations
The Penn State Department of Chemical Engineering’s talented faculty members are working to improve the world we live in. Our researchers are pioneering new discoveries that aim to expand the supply of earth’s vital natural resources, improve human health, and better the environment.
The department’s primary laboratory facilities are located on the University Park campus within the Greenberg Complex, Thomas Building, Materials Research Institute, Steidle Building, and additional neighboring locations.
We invite you to learn more about our accomplished faculty members and explore their innovative research programs.
Chemical Engineering Laboratories
- Armaou Lab
Nonlinear process dynamics analysis and control - Borhan Lab
Fluid dynamics and hydrodynamics stability of multi-phase systems, interfacial transport phenomena - CurtisLab
Chemical production and protein expression from plant tissue cultures, bioreactor design for non-traditional fermentation, plant genetic engineering - Fichthorn Lab
Fluid-Solid Interfaces, Nanoscale Materials, Thin-Film and Crystal Growth, Colloidal Assembly, Wetting, Quantum Density-Functional Theory, Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo Methods - Enrique Gomez Lab
Polymers, organic electronics, organic solar cells, electron microscopy of soft materials - Esther Gomez Lab
Biomechanics and mechanobiology, biomaterials, biosensors, lipid membrane interactions - Janik Lab
Mixed oxide catalysis, electrocatalysis for fuel cells and electrolysis, catalytic methane conversion, carbon dioxide utilization, conducting polymers - Kim Lab
Surface science, nano-materials, nano-tribology, glass, biomass, catalysis - Costas Maranas Lab – Chemical and Biological Systems Optimization
Reconstruction analysis and redesign of metabolic networks: computational protein enzyme and antibody design, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, optimization theory and algorithms - Janna Maranas Lab – Soft Matter Science and Neutron Scattering
Neutron scattering and spectroscopy, atomistic and coarse-grained molecular simulation - Matsoukas Lab
Colloids, aerosols, plasma processing, population balances - Milner Lab
Polymer and complex fluids physics, applied physics of commercial polymer processes - Peeples Lab
Biotechnology of extremophiles, synthesis of specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals, removing pollution from the environment (bioremediation), creating valuable products from bio-renewable starting materials - Pester Research Group
Surface-initiated polymerization and polymer brushes, spectroscopic ellipsometry, controlled radical polymerization, chemistry in external fields - Rioux Lab
Heterogeneous catalysis, catalyst design and synthesis, photocatalysis - Salis Lab – De Novo Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology, genetic and metabolic engineering, DNA design - Savage Lab – Sustainable Reaction Engineering Laboratory
Chemical reaction kinetics, algae biofuel, catalysis, sustainability, supercritical fluids - Sheikhi Lab - Bio-Soft Materials Laboratory (B-SMaL)
Micro- and nanoengineering soft materials for medicine and the environment - Velegol Lab
Colloidal forces, electrokinetic flows, colloidal motors, particle charge nonuniformity - Wood Lab – Biofims and Biotechnology
Metabolic engineering, biofilm formation, toxin/antitoxins - Zhang Lab – Diffusion and Reaction Engineering with Advanced Materials (DREAM)
Catalysis, separation, porous materials, molecular sieves - Zydney Lab – Bioprocessing and Membrane Separations
Development of membrane separation systems for bioprocessing and medical devices
Affiliated Research Laboratories
