News

New single-dose, temperature-stable rabies vaccines could expand global access

Susan Glairon — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 20:49:34 +0000

New single-dose, temperature-stable rabies vaccines could expand global access Susan Glairon Fri, 09/05/2025 - 14:49

�� researchers, led by Ted Randolph, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, have developed a groundbreaking temperature-stable rabies vaccine that combines multiple doses into a single shot—an innovation that could vastly improve global access to life-saving immunization.

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Kristi Anseth named Forbes "50 over 50" for "Innovation"

Susan Glairon — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:37:13 +0000

Kristi Anseth named Forbes "50 over 50" for "Innovation" Susan Glairon Tue, 08/12/2025 - 09:37

Professor Kristi Anseth is known for developing tissue substitutes that improve treatments for conditions like broken bones and heart valve disease. She recently made key discoveries about sex-based differences in cardiac treatment outcomes. Anseth is also among the few innovators elected to all three national academies: Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

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Professor Kim See joins Chemical and Biological Engineering

Susan Glairon — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:50:33 +0000

Professor Kim See joins Chemical and Biological Engineering Susan Glairon Mon, 08/11/2025 - 12:50

See is advancing new technologies to boost the performance of future sustainable batteries.

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New cancer therapy clings to tumors, with inspiration from gecko toes

Susan Glairon — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 21:15:45 +0000

New cancer therapy clings to tumors, with inspiration from gecko toes Susan Glairon Tue, 07/22/2025 - 15:15

A gecko-inspired technology developed by the Shields Lab, in collaboration with doctors at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, uses a specially designed material that adheres to tumors inside the body and steadily releases chemotherapy drugs over several days—potentially allowing for fewer but longer-lasting therapies.

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Scientists develop method to build tiny custom microrobots

Susan Glairon — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 23:04:14 +0000

Scientists develop method to build tiny custom microrobots Susan Glairon Mon, 07/07/2025 - 17:04

Photo caption: Stencil printed with a CU-shaped cutout for controllably depositing metal onto the particle that is underneath

Researchers at the �� have created a new way to build and control tiny particles that can move and work like microscopic robots, offering a powerful tool with applications in biomedical and environmental research.

The study, published in Nature Communications, describes a new method of fabrication that combines high-precision 3D printing, called two-photon lithography, with a microstenciling technique. The team prints both the particle and its stencil together, then deposits a thin layer of metal, such as gold, platinum or cobalt through the stencil’s openings. When the stencil is removed, a metal patch remains on the particle.

Kendra Kreienbrink , a materials science and engineering
PhD student in the Shields Lab, is the paper's first author.

The particles, invisible to the naked eye, can be made in almost any shape and patterned with surface patches as small as 0.2 microns — more than 500 times thinner than a human hair. The metal patches guide how the particles move when exposed to electric or magnetic fields, or chemical gradients.

“The shape of surface patches gives particles information about where to go,” said Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields, one of the paper’s authors. “We've not had good methods to control the shape of those patches until now.”

With this control, these particles could potentially help improve how drugs spread through human organs, improving the drug’s overall effectiveness, or aid in the removal of pollutants from contaminated environments.

The research team includes first author Kendra Kreienbrink, a materials science and engineering PhD student in the Shields Lab, along with two undergraduate students: Zoe Cruse, majoring in chemical and biological engineering and computer science, and Alisha Kumari, in biomedical engineering.

“This paper not only represents the exciting things that can be accomplished in active particles and microrobots using non-conventional microfabrication,” Shields said, “but that the inclusion and mentorship of undergrads early in research can lead to innovative outcomes.”

The tiny particles could potentially help enhance drug distribution in human organs, improving the drug’s overall effectiveness, or aid in removing pollutants from contaminated environments.

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Two chemical engineering PhD students earn major NSF fellowships

Susan Glairon — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:49:34 +0000

Two chemical engineering PhD students earn major NSF fellowships Susan Glairon Mon, 06/30/2025 - 13:49

Annette Thompson's research could lead to more sustainable ways to make everyday products like medicines and fuels without petroleum-based processes; Nolan Petrich's work could help develop therapies that help repair or replace damaged tissues or organs by using the body’s healing abilities for intestinal diseases.

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Advancing super strong and lightweight next generation carbon-based materials

Susan Glairon — Fri, 30 May 2025 14:15:43 +0000

Advancing super strong and lightweight next generation carbon-based materials Susan Glairon Fri, 05/30/2025 - 08:15

Jeff Zehnder

Materials researchers are getting a big boost from a new database created by a team of researchers led by Professor Hendrik Heinz. The initiative, now available online to all researchers, is a database containing over 2,000 carbon nanotube stress-strain curves and failure properties.

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Ankur Gupta named to C&EN’s prestigious "Talented 12" list

Susan Glairon — Fri, 23 May 2025 14:22:09 +0000

Ankur Gupta named to C&EN’s prestigious "Talented 12" list Susan Glairon Fri, 05/23/2025 - 08:22

Assistant Professor Ankur Gupta was named to Chemical & Engineering News' prestigious Talented 12 list, which honors early-career scientists who use their chemistry know-how to make a real-world impact.

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Ocean microbes offer clues to environmental resilience

Susan Glairon — Fri, 16 May 2025 14:33:39 +0000

Ocean microbes offer clues to environmental resilience Susan Glairon Fri, 05/16/2025 - 08:33

Susan Glairon

A guide RNA strand, in purple, guides CRISPR to a DNA strand. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Andrew Hren, PhD student

Researchers at the �� and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new way to identify genetic changes that help tiny oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments. The findings outline a new experimental approach for learning how microbes and other types of cells, including human cells, respond and adapt to environmental stress.

Their research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will also help scientists engineer faster-growing synthetic strains of microbes that could be used to develop new bio-derived fuels, chemicals and materials.

The multidisciplinary group of engineers and biochemists used a gene silencing system called CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to turn down the activity of every gene in the genome of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, an ocean-dwelling cyanobacteria species. Cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis, much like plants.

“Because these organisms produce a large share of the Earth's oxygen, understanding how they respond to a changing climate is critical,” said Andrew Hren, a PhD student in the Fox Group and the paper’s first author.

The team explored how cyanobacteria responded to different light and temperature conditions found at various ocean depths. They discovered that making small changes in how certain genes are turned on or off can help the cells adapt better to extreme environmental conditions like heat, cold or drought.

Associate Professor Jerome Fox

"Our work shows how small genetic changes can yield large improvements in fitness when we push microbes to the edge of their comfort zone,” said Jerome Fox, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at the �� and a co-lead author on the study with Carrie Eckert at ORNL, a former senior scientist fellow in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). “Our findings also highlight the value of using CRISPRi to turn the activity of genes down, but not off, as intermediate adjustments tended to provide the greatest survival advantage in extreme conditions.”

The work was inspired by the late Jeff Cameron, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and fellow at RASEI, Fox said.

“Jeff’s enthusiasm for cyanobacteria was infectious,” Fox added “He taught us everything we know and served as a critical resource on experimental design.”

The researchers plan to continue studying cyanobacteria to further understand how the microbes absorb light and convert it into energy to develop new technologies—such as engineered microbes that produce renewable chemicals and other useful products.

Researchers at the �� and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to identify genetic changes that help oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments.

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Three ChBE alumni receive CU Engineering awards

Susan Glairon — Wed, 14 May 2025 22:11:37 +0000

Three ChBE alumni receive CU Engineering awards Susan Glairon Wed, 05/14/2025 - 16:11

Greg Bunker, ChemEngr'95, was honored with the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, and Brittany Earle,ChemEngr’15, was honored with the Recent Alumni Award. Joe Poshusta, PhDChemEngr’00, received an Alumni Engagement Medal Award.

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