Purdue University's Center for Particulate Products and Processes (CP3) recently received a new NP-400 tablet press and related components from Natoli Engineering Company, Inc., the global leader in tablet compression tooling. The new press will support innovation in the tableting industry at the Center, which is a collaborative effort between the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and the College of Pharmacy. CP3 is one of only a handful of university-based centers that allow students to study, design, and manufacture pharmaceutical tablets and other particulate products at an industrial scale.

Dr. Bryan Boudouris, the Robert and Sally Weist Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, is part of a team of Purdue researchers that will lead a U.S. Department of Energy project to develop sensors aimed at reducing the cost and environmental impact of operating a building's heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system. The project, which begins in May, is funded with a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy through its new Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition, or SENSOR, program.

Two Purdue Chemical Engineering affiliated startup companies have achieved "Gold Award" investment status from the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund. Founded by Professor You-Yeon Won and Rachel Kim, an MBA graduate from MIT Sloan, LoDos Theranostics is developing a unique nanoparticle ultraviolet radiation technology that could enhance cancer cell killing effects of radiation treatment, thus reducing radiation doses and patient side effects. Founded by associate research scientist Dr. Arun Giridhar, PinpointPharma LLC is commercializing a portable inkjet printer to produce precise, personalized medication dosages faster than conventional methods, which could improve overall drug effectiveness and decrease patient side effects.

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering assistant professor Letian Dou and a multi-institution team of researchers have recently published a paper in Nature Materials. The article, "Thermochromic halide perovskite solar cells," focuses on the team's research of the structural phase transition behaviors in mixed halide perovskite CsPbI_3-xBr_x thin films. The phase transitions result in solar cell films with two switchable characteristic states, each having distinct visible transparencies and photovoltaic device efficiencies. These films are expected to be useful in the development of smart photovoltaic windows.

Paul Seib (BSChE '58) has been named as Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This honor is presented to Dr. Seib, professor emeritus of grain science and industry at Kansas State University, for his prolific spirit of innovation. The 2017 fellows will be inducted as part of the seventh annual NAI Conference of the National Academy of Inventors on April 5, 2018, in Washington, D.C