Ferguson Faculty Fellow in Chemical Engineering Cong T. Trinh talks about his research in engineering modular cells for industrial biotechnology and combating rapidly evolving and resistant pathogens.
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Zawodzinski to Lead Department of Energy Fuel Cell Project
The US Department of Energy has chosen a project led by UT–Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Electrical Energy Conversion and Storage Thomas Zawodzinski as one of 10 recipients of Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) grants.
The grants are part of the agency’s focus on research that can provide a minimum of 100 hours of power to the grid as part of its Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS) program.
For his part, Zawodzinski’s team is taking a new approach to an old problem—efficiency—by changing a critical reaction.
“It has long been a goal to make a regenerative fuel cell, a single device that functions as both a fuel cell and an electrolyzer,” Zawodzinski said. “However, such devices have previously suffered from poor overall efficiency. The new project uses an alternative approach by changing one of the chemical reactions in the cell and bypassing the efficiency bottleneck.” Continue reading
Three Undergraduates Win Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
UT undergraduates Kimberly Bress, Christopher Neal, and Andrew Wintenberg have been named 2017–18 Goldwater Scholars.
One of the most prestigious scholarship programs for undergraduates, the Goldwater Scholarship Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater. It was designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.
Since 2006, UT has had 17 students named Goldwater Scholars.
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Scent of Success: UT Students Honored in Genetic Engineering Competition
Take an industrial byproduct, treat it with the E. coli bacteria, and create a usable fragrance product for use in pharmaceuticals and other applications.
That genetic engineering concept was golden for a team of UT students who recently participated in the annual iGem Competition Giant Jamboree in Boston.
The UT students, from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, received a gold medal designation in the competition sponsored by the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGem) Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field through education, competition, and collaboration. The iGem Competition is a premier international competition for undergraduate students in the field of synthetic biology.
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