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Chemical Engineering BS

Plastic pollutants, the coronavirus, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the strength of nanowires, and why freshly cut grass smells the way it does—these are some of the topics students from Rochester Prep High School explored during a mentorship program with RIT faculty. They shared their projects and new perspectives during the RIT-Rochester Prep Capstone Showcase held Feb. 6 at RIT.

RIT assistant professor coauthors recent paper, “Liquid to solid transition of elastin condensates”.

A visit to Constellation Energy’s R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, New York was part of Santosh Kurinec’s teaching plan so that engineering students apply what they learn in the classroom to the world of industry.

Innovation, value, co-op education, and excellence in undergraduate teaching are among the categories in which RIT is highly ranked and listed as one of the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Scientists look to space for origins of the solar system; chemical engineers like Poornima Padmanabhan are searching for the origins of life based on minute systems of molecules. Padmanabhan recently received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for “Chirality and polymer thermodynamics: frustration and amplification.”

RIT has again been recognized as one of the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report, which also cited the university as among the most innovative, best valued, and with highly regarded cooperative education and internship programs.

As one of the leading causes of death in hospitals, sepsis becomes more complicated with the rise in bacteria most resistant to some of today’s antibiotics. If physicians can detect onset earlier, treatments could begin sooner. Ke Du, a mechanical engineering faculty-researcher, will be developing a microfluidic device to improve detection of drug resistant bacteria in blood.

Maryalice Ball, a fourth-year chemical engineering major from Buffalo, N.Y., has been part of RIT’s Orientation team for nearly three years. She works as student orientation coordinator alongside four other students.

Hira Abid crossed continents to come to RIT. The chemical engineering student from Pakistan will make another global connection when she begins graduate school in Turkey as one of RIT’s newest Fulbright awardees.

WROC-TV features Zac Bittner ’11 (microelectronic engineering), ’11 MS (materials science), ’19 Ph.D. (microsystems engineering); Nicholos Mackos ’08 (mechanical engineering); Chelsea Mackosm ’09 (microelectronic engineering), ’11 MS (materials science); and Joseph Hunt ’19 (chemical engineering).

RIT's College of Liberal Arts honored student achievements in writing with 15 writing awards on Friday, March 19. This year marks the 41st year the awards were presented, though the first time the ceremony was held virtually.

Natural gas-hydrates—crystalline compounds of gas molecules—are found in permafrost and marine sediments. While these gas hydrates can be used as alternative energy resources, they also pose a danger in terms of global warming. RIT researchers Patricia Taboada-Serrano and Yali Zhang developed a comprehensive model to better validate location of gas-hydrate deposits in marine sediments.