Dr. Xiaoping Bao, Assistant Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, has been selected to receive the 2020 Showalter Trust Research Award for his research in human pluripotent stem cells, or hPSCs, for cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Ray Mentzer, Professor of Engineering Practice and Executive Director of the Purdue Process Safety and Assurance Center in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, is leading a team of Purdue researchers examining the wide spectrum of industries which have experienced severe or catastrophic process safety incidents. Industries examined include agriculture, food, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, in addition to oil, gas and chemicals, et al. The researchers reviewed 81 significant incidents in 14 industries to identify the contributing factors, to measure the most common per each of the industries, and to determine the most prevalent across all industries examined. Their results were recently published in Process Safety Progress, a publication of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Purdue University is offering a new series of three online engineering courses to students aiming for a career in the health care industry and people currently employed in the field. The courses are developed by Davidson School of Chemical Engineering faculty Dr. William Clark, Dr. Gintaras Reklaitis, and Dr. Alina Alexeenko. The courses will provide an opportunity for both new entrants and professionals already working in biomedical and health care positions to extend their technical knowledge, potentially accelerating career advancement.

Several Davidson School of Chemical Engineering undergraduate students were recently honored for their excellence in scholarship, leadership, research, and academic achievement in 2019-2020.

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Associate Professor Julie Liu is leading research in cartilage tissue engineering, which is the development of a temporary construct that promotes tissue regeneration through the use of a scaffold, cells, and bioactive factors. Cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have an important role in the future of medicine. Dr. Liu is featured in a recent Purdue Engineering Medium blog post.