News

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering graduate students Jason Bates, Philip Kester, Arthur Shih, and Juan Carlos Vega-Vila recently took top awards for poster and oral presentations at two annual meetings held at local catalysis clubs of the North American Catalysis Society.

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Professor Stephen Beaudoin is one of 12 inductees announced by the Purdue University Teaching Academy. Teaching Academy Fellows are selected in recognition of their outstanding and scholarly teaching in graduate, undergraduate, or engagement programs. Candidates were identified by their individual department or college/school based upon evidence of excellence in teaching, innovation in teaching methodology, teaching-related service, and scholarship in teaching and learning. Further details on the fall induction ceremony will be announced later.

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering alumna Kimberly Underhill (BSChE '87) has been named Group President Kimberly-Clark North America. In her new role, Underhill will lead Kimberly-Clark's nearly $8 billion North American consumer business, with trusted brands such as Huggies, Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Depend. Underhill is a 2016 Outstanding Chemical Engineer and received Distinguished Engineering Alumni in 2018.

Spiro Therapeutics, LLC, a start-up co-founded by ChE Professor You-Yeon Won; Kyle Kim, a recent PhD graduate; and Davis Arick, a graduating senior, will participate in the entry second round of the 2018 MassChallenge Boston, a commercialization accelerator active from June to October. The startup bypassed the first round of the competition due to a partnership between Purdue and MassChallenge that allowed the Burton D. Morgan Business Model Competition's Open Track and Social Entrepreneurship Track winners to move directly to the second round.

Researchers led by Purdue Chemical Engineering associate professor Dr. Vilas Pol have discovered how to tackle plastic landfills while improving the lifespan of lithium-sulfur batteries. Their process, recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, shows that putting sulfur-soaked plastic in a microwave, including transparent plastic bags, transforms the material into the ideal substance for increasing the life span of the forthcoming batteries to more than 200 charging-discharging cycles.