Chemical Engineering at Caltech has a long tradition. Started as applied chemistry by Arthur Amos Noyes, the department led the famous Project 37 of the American Petroleum Institute that provided much of the basic knowledge on thermodynamics and phase equilibria in hydrocarbon systems. Subsequent developments, under the able guidance of a series of distinguished educators and scientists, have led the department to the forefront of research and teaching in chemical engineering. At the present time, the chemical engineering faculty at Caltech is one of the most distinguished and innovative in the world, actively leading chemical engineering research into new areas of application and involvement.

Faculty Search

Zhen-Gang Wang, Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded the 2008 Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Caltech's most prestigious award for teaching, it is awarded annually to honor a professor who demonstrates unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or lab teaching. A committee of previous Feynman prizewinners, students, and faculty select each year's winner. To read more, see the press release.

++++

Frances Arnold, the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Prof. Arnold is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. She is one of only 8 persons elected to all three branches of the National Academies, and the only woman awarded this distinction.

Professor Arnold is also the recipient of the 2007 Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB) Excellence in Science Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by women in biological science.

Prof. Arnold was also awarded the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal of the American Chemical Society (2005) in recognition of her pioneering work in directed evolution that has effected a fundamental change in the way that industrial and academic laboratories engineer biological systems.

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Chemical Engineering. The appointment will be contingent upon completion of all requirements for a Ph.D. in chemistry or a closely related field. Outstanding candidates who have strong commitments to research and teaching are encouraged to apply.

We expect to make an appointment at the assistant professor level, but extraordinary candidates may qualify for appointment at the associate or full professor levels. Applications were due by December 15, 2007.

Other Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division open faculty positions

The California Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Women, minorities, veterans, and disabled persons are encouraged to apply.

David A. Tirrell has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, (2008) for his "pioneering contributions to bioengineered materials and the synthesis of novel artificial proteins." Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Professor Tirrell, also Division Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. He received the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society in 2007.

++++

Christina Smolke, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, has been named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. Sloan Research Fellowshps "identify those who show the most outstanding promise of making fundamental contributions to new knowledge."

Chemical Engineering Senior Vivek Narsimhan has received a Churchill Scholarship for 2008-09. He will study Advanced Mathematics (Maths Part III) at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. This award will cover all university and college tuition & fees, plus allowances to cover cost of living and travel. Only 13 were awarded this year.

Vivek's work at Caltech includes modeling the behavior of soft biomaterials, with an eye to developing shape-changing replacement lenses to be used for cataract patients. Professor Julie Kornfield is his advisor.

Vivek has also received the Robert Byrd Scholarship for outstanding academic achievement and the Caltech Upperclass Merit Award. He has served as the vice president of Caltech's AIChE chapter.

John F. Brady, Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering, was named the 2007 recipient of the Society of Rheology Bingham Medal for his outstanding contributions to the field of rheology. The award was presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology in Salt Lake City, October 2007.

++++

Richard C. Flagan, Executive Officer, Irma and Ross McCollum Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, received the 2006 Fuchs Award in recognition of his seminal contributions to aerosol research and education, and his outstanding service to the aerosol community.

Professor Flagan has also been awarded the American Chemical Society's 2007 Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology.

++++

Mark E. Davis was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. He is the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering.

Our 2007-08 named lectures have been announced:

The 41st annual Lacey Lecturer is L. Gary Leal, Chair of the Chemical Engineering department at UC Santa Barbara. He presented talks on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 (technical lecture) and on Thursday, April 24, 2008 (general lecture). See the Lacey Lectureship page for more.

Our 2008 Vaughan Lecturer is David V. Schaffer, of UC Berkeley. His talk was on Thursday, March 13, 2008. Go here for more information.

The 2007 Economou Prize winner is Yvonne Chen, a grad student in the Smolke research group. That lecture took place on Thursday, January 17, 2008. For more details, click here.

For upcoming Chemical Engineering seminars, see our Seminars page.