FALL 2023

At WVU's Statler College, a group of engineers is betting on the combined promise of two paths to carbon-neutral power: hydrogen and biomass. GE Plastics Material Engineering Professor Debangsu Bhattacharyya is spearheading research that creates hydrogen energy from biomass feedstocks with the support of roughly $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

A team led by a WVU biomedical engineer is working to ramp up and reimagine how medical professionals diagnose tick-borne infections such as Lyme disease. Srivastava’s project was recently awarded $1.2 million as a joint initiative between the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. 

WVU engineers, led by research assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering and principal investigator of the project Yuxin Wang, hope to debottleneck the remaining challenges for recycling of single-use plastic packaging by upcycling them into petrochemicals. Funded by a $859,136 grant from the REMADE Institute, a public-private partnership established by the U.S. Department of Energy, and Braskem, the team aims to increase the recycling rate of single-use plastics by converting plastic waste into valuable aromatics that are used to create petrochemical materials.

Bhattacharyya and Bennewitz, faculty in the chemical and biomedical engineering department have been recognized as Outstanding Researcher and Educator of the Year.

The 2023-2024 Chemical Engineering Academy Scholars were announced and recognized at the annual Academy Induction Ceremony and Awards Banquet on April 14, 2023. The 2023-2024 Academy Scholars are Dayne E. Gibson, Joshua M. Swecker and Ha Ngoc Ngan Tran.

Senior chemical and biomedical engineering students presented their capstone projects to peers faculty and the Statler College community in April.

During 2022-2023, 38 students received bachelors degrees in chemical engineering, 46 students received bachelors degrees in biomedical engineering, 4 students received masters degrees and 11 students received doctoral degrees. View the Ceremony | Recent Graduate testimonials Caiola-Daniszewski and Brown

Dear Alumni and Friends,

It is hard to believe that I am finishing my second year as department chairperson at WVU. Throughout this newsletter you’ll see why I am very proud of my students, staff and faculty.

The Department continues to grow and our research expenditures are over $5 million per year. Our NSF ranking on research expenditures has increased from 62 last year to 39 this year, placing us in the top 50 in the country for the first time. Significant research awards have been granted to multiple faculties including Drs. John Hu, Debangsu Bhattacharyya, Wenyuan Li, Oishi Sanyal, Fernando Lima, Yuxin Wang, Soumya Srivastava, Moriah Katt, Stephen Cain, and Margaret Bennewitz.

And even though the department and the university are undergoing significant changes through the Academic Transformation, I believe that this initiative will result in a stronger department in the future. This provides an incredible opportunity to take a leadership role in innovative and purposeful research and adopt a future-focused approach to address evolving work force needs. I expect that these changes will drive progress and prosperity in the region and provide a learning lab for our students to solve real-world problems impacting West Virginia and the world.

I look forward to sharing more accomplishments from our students, faculty, and staff with each of you next year!

MAILING ADDRESS:
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering | West Virginia University
1306 Evansdale Drive | P.O. Box 6102 | Morgantown, WV 26506-6102
PHONE: 304-293-2111 | EMAIL: Statler-CBE@mail.wvu.edu

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