Research
Chemical engineering encompasses a broad range of cutting-edge research. The diverse education that chemical engineers receive allows them to work at the intersection of a variety of different fields, including biology, chemistry, energy, physics, materials science, and other engineering disciplines.
Chemical engineering research at Northeastern is supported by multiple areas: Biomolecular & Biomedical Systems, Complex & Computational Systems, Energy & Sustainability, Engineering Education & Pedagogy, and Materials & Nanotechnology.
The College of Engineering is also home to a National Science Foundation Center for High-Rate Nanomanufacturing, as well as numerous other research centers and institutes to push the boundaries of research.
With a premier location in downtown Boston, the department is perfectly located to take advantage of a wealth of collaborations with other universities, as well as local hospitals, medical centers, and industry.
Quick Facts 2023
Recent News
Investigating the Gut-Brain Axis in Patients With Sjögren’s Syndrome
ChE Associate Professor Abigail Koppes received a 2024 Sjögren’s Foundation Pilot Research Grant for “Parsing Dysautonomia in a Dish: Neural Exposure to Exogenous Sjögren’s Patient Derived Serum.” She is developing an organ-on-a-chip to controllably study and disrupt the nervous system in the gut-brain axis environment of Sjögren’s patients typically inaccessible in vivo.
Pioneering Innovative Treatments for GI Diseases
Bouvé/ChE University Distinguished Professor Mansoor Amiji is developing innovative oral nucleic acid delivery systems to revolutionize treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases that aim to deliver genetic medicines directly to the affected areas within the GI tract.
New Modeling for Intestinal Health
Research conducted by Kyla N. Kaiser, PhD’24, chemical engineering, Jessica R. Snyder, PhD’23, bioengineering, ChE Associate Professors Ryan Koppes, and Abigail N. Koppes on “A Pumpless, High-Throughput Microphysiological System To Mimic Enteric Innervation of Duodenal Epithelium and the Impact on Barrier Function” was published in Advanced Functional Materials.
$1.27M NSF Award for Engineering Clostridia for Sustainability and Human Health
ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston, in collaboration with Tulane University and Tufts University, was awarded a $1.27 million NSF grant for “New Approaches to Rapidly Domesticate Non-model Clostridia for Applications in Sustainability and Human Health.” The research team will develop novel approaches to streamline genetic engineering of Clostridia.