Purdue University's Board of Trustees on Thursday, April 2 approved promotions for two Davidson School of Chemical Engineering faculty members. Dr. Bryan Boudouris and Dr. Vilas Pol were promoted to Full Professor. The promotions are effective with the 2020-21 academic year, starting August 10.

Dr. Vilas Pol, Associate Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, is a Co-Principal Investigator of a joint research effort funded by the National Science Foundation to develop advanced Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) battery technology. The project is part of a previously funded Office of Naval Research Defense University Research-to- Adoption (ONR-DURA) program led by Dr. Pol with a team of collaborators.

Dr. Chongli Yuan, Associate Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, has recently been selected as an Associate Editor of the Science Advances Editorial Board. As part of the Editorial Board, Dr. Yuan will be responsible for peer-reviewing scientific articles through the selection and publication process in order to maintain the high-level quality of content produced. Current members are also responsible for selecting the next group of editors.

Dr. Stephen Beaudoin, Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, was elected Vice Chair of the Purdue University Senate on Monday, March 23 during the governing body's first virtual meeting. Dr. Beaudoin will succeed current Chair Professor Deborah Nichols when officer terms conclude at the end of fiscal year 2021, and will serve as Chair through the end of FY 2022.

Two Purdue University-affiliated startups have received approvals for up to $250,000 each from the Purdue Foundry Investment Fund to help continue their missions of advancing life science technologies. Brightlamp, a startup led by CEO and founder Kurtis Sluss (BSChE '16), uses machine learning and computer vision to improve health care and detect concussions, received approval for $250,000 in matching investment dollars, of which approximately $130,000 has closed. Sluss received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2016.