News
Four CBE Graduate Students Receive the 2026 RPI Founders Award
The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) congratulates four of our outstanding graduate students who have been honored with the prestigious 2026 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Founders Award of Excellence.
Prof. Nitash P. Balsara (Ph.D. ’88) at UC Berkeley has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his groundbreaking work on block copolymer electrolytes and solid-state batteries.
Prof. Cramer will discuss the interplay between in silico modeling and high-throughput experimentation to expediate process development and purification for advanced therapeutics.
Prof. Plawsky describes a short history of the Coonley Lounge, the central place of the department, and shares his memories with the CBE community.
The Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering is proud to share that alumna Dr. Camille Bilodeau has been honored with the prestigious AIChE 35 Under 35 Award.
The excellence of the CBE graduate research program was once again on display at Pat’s Barn on August 20, 2026. During the 10th Annual Graduate Student Research Retreat, Ph.D. researchers shared their progress and vision through 17 oral and poster presentations. Spanning advanced separations, material design, synthesis and upcycling, heat transfer, and quantum computing, the presentations showcased both the breadth and depth of our graduate research.
We have two online information sessions coming up this fall – click on one of the links below to register. Note that interested attendees will receive an application fee waiver.
Congratulations to Wayne Bequette for receiving the 2026 CAST Distinguished Service Award!
Prof. Ji-Young Kim has been selected by the U.S. Chapter of the Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers (KIChE) as the recipient of the KIChE President Young Investigator Award. As a recipient of this award, she will be invited to present a research talk at the KIChE Open Forum during the 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting.
Prof. Helen Zha’s research group works to innovate new bio-inspired materials and processes that meet demands of the our modern day society while being environmentally benign from cradle to grave. Learn more about her research interests, as well as the important role that graduate and undergraduate students play in her group: https://youtu.be/Co5PL4-UFLA?si=mcyLhGZmRdXZwOJ9