Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Research

The Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials science provides a technology-centric research environment in several exciting areas to address significant problems of our time.

Our faculty engage students to conduct cutting-edge and impactful research in chemical engineering and materials science with applications in important areas like sustainability and healthcare. Our award-winning researchers have been awarded numerous grants from prominent agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Stevens PSEG partnership, and many others.

The department is home to various centers and laboratories, including the Highly Filled Materials Institute, the Soft Materials Laboratory, the Laboratory for Multi-Scale Imaging, the New Jersey Center for Micro-Chemical Systems, the Nano-Micro-Bio Laboratory, and the Micro-Nano Solutions for Alternative Energy Laboratory.

Research Areas

AI in Pharmaceutical Design

This research cluster applies machine learning to design and screen molecules for pharmaceutical development. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Inorganic Material Synthesis/Crystal Engineering

This research cluster focuses on understanding fundamental aspects governing nucleation, crystallization and phase transformations and engineering crystallization outcomes in functional materials for sustainable energy applications. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Multi-scale Modeling and Simulation

This research cluster is working on bridging the scale gap from the atomic level to nanoparticles and macromolecules, to complex materials, physical processes and chemical reactions. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Nanophotonics and Fiber Optics

This research area focuses on size/shape-controlled synthesis and molecular functionalization of plasmonic nanostructures, fabrication of nanostructured fiber-optic sensors, and advanced quantum detection for biomedical sensing and imaging applications. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Polymer Synthesis/Characterization/Processing

This research cluster investigates new soft materials to understand structural-property relationships and advance materials’ performance through various processing methods for engineering applications in medicine, sustainable energy and systems for extreme conditions. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Reaction Engineering

In this research area, we apply the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, momentum, heat, and mass transfer, kinetics, as well as catalysis to the design of chemical reactions and reactors of relevance to renewable and sustainable energy. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Tissue and Cancer Engineering

This research cluster explores tissue engineering approaches to enable regenerative medicine and understand cancer. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Healthcare Applications

This research cluster investigates new materials to understand cell-material interactions (tissue engineering), bacteria-material interactions (infection-resisting implants), and advanced molecular diagnostics as well as microfluidic models of complex biological systems (organ on a chip) to advance healthcare an human well being. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Sustainable Energy Applications

This interdisciplinary research cluster is dedicated to addressing issues in green technology by developing novel materials, designing reaction processes, and fabricating practical devices for energy conversion, harvesting, and storage. Click the names of faculty below to learn more about their research experience and expertise.

Research Video Library

Learn more about research in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Visit our YouTube channel playlist.