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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://che.northeastern.edu
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260403T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260403T190000
DTSTAMP:20251117T194455Z
CREATED:20251117T194455Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251117T194455Z
UID:5867-1775235600-1775242800@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering 2026 Annual Awards Ceremony
DESCRIPTION:This is the annual event for our community to celebrate the department\, College\, University\, and external awards and achievements given over the past year. \n**Parking is available for a fee at Gainsborough and Renaissance Park Garages. There are also meters on Columbus Ave. Lyft and Uber are also suggested. MBTA commuters can take the Orange Line to the Ruggles stop.**
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-2026-annual-awards-ceremony/
LOCATION:Alumni Center\, 716 Columbus Ave\, 6th Floor\, Boston\, MA\, 02120\, United States
GEO:42.3376775;-71.0852898
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Alumni Center 716 Columbus Ave 6th Floor Boston MA 02120 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=716 Columbus Ave\, 6th Floor:geo:-71.0852898,42.3376775
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T163000
DTSTAMP:20260325T195037Z
CREATED:20260325T185409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260325T195037Z
UID:6031-1775575800-1775579400@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE MS Thesis Defense: Richard Gyamfi Atta
DESCRIPTION: Name: Richard Gyamfi Atta \nTitle: Understanding Mucus-Bile Salt/ Phospholipid Mixed Micelle Interactions \nDate: 04/07/2026 \nTime: 03:30:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Steve Lustig (Advisor)\nProf. Rebecca Carrier\nProf. Srirupa Chakraborty\nDennis Leung \nLocation: Forsyth 128 \nAbstract:\nBile salt–phospholipid mixed micelles play a central role in gastrointestinal transport of lipids and poorly water-soluble drugs\, yet their interactions with mucin networks remain poorly understood at the molecular level. Here\, we combine time-resolved ATR-FTIR spectroscopy\, two-dimensional correlation analysis\, diffusion modeling\, and isothermal titration calorimetry to resolve the sequence\, energetics\, and transport behavior of micelle–mucin interactions. The mucin network is first shown to relax into an equilibrium state governed by a glycan-dominated structural hierarchy. Upon exposure to mixed micelles\, this equilibrated network undergoes a distinct sequence of reorganization initiated by perturbation of hydrogen-bonding interactions\, followed by peptide backbone rearrangement and eventual glycan decoupling. Diffusion analysis reveals that micellar assemblies penetrate the mucin network with effective diffusivities on the order of 10⁻⁶ cm²/s despite ongoing structural evolution. Notably\, the ability of a constant-diffusivity Fickian model to accurately describe transport under these conditions indicates that molecular-scale reorganization does not substantially alter the effective transport resistance over the measurement timescale\, establishing a direct connection between spectroscopic dynamics and macroscopic transport behavior. \nCalorimetric measurements further demonstrate a concentration-dependent transition from localized\, enthalpy-driven binding at low micelle concentrations to cooperative\, entropy-dominated network disruption at higher loadings associated with higher-order micellar aggregates. Together\, these results show that bile salt micelles actively remodel mucin networks rather than traversing a static barrier\, while maintaining effective diffusive transport. This work provides a molecular-level framework for understanding mucus- mediated transport and its implications for physiological processes and drug delivery. \n\nRichard Gyamfi Atta is a Master’s candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, where he conducts research in the Carrier and Lustig laboratories on transport phenomena across biological barriers. His work focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms governing interactions between bile salt–phospholipid assemblies and mucin networks\, with the goal of improving drug transport across the gastrointestinal mucus layer. By integrating time-resolved ATR-FTIR spectroscopy\, two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy\, diffusion modeling\, and calorimetry\, he develops mechanistic frameworks that connect molecular-scale interactions to macroscopic transport behavior in complex biopolymer systems. In addition to his academic research\, Richard has industry experience in gene therapy process development\, where he contributed to downstream purification strategies for adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors\, including optimization of chromatography and filtration processes to improve product recovery and quality. His research interests are centered on pharmaceutical drug delivery\, particularly the design of biomaterials and carrier systems that enhance the transport of poorly soluble drugs and biologics across mucosal and other physiological barriers. He aims to develop mechanistically driven approaches that bridge molecular interactions\, material design\, and transport phenomena to enable more effective and predictable drug delivery systems.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-ms-thesis-defense-richard-gyamfi-atta/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T130000
DTSTAMP:20260324T190936Z
CREATED:20260324T190936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T190936Z
UID:6023-1775649600-1775653200@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE MS Thesis Defense: Sofia Roger
DESCRIPTION:Name: Sofia Roger \nTitle: Development and Evaluation of Learning Tool for a Global Review of Mineral Commodities \nDate: 04/08/2026 \nTime: 12:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Luke Landherr (Advisor)\nProf. Joshua Gallaway\nProf. Alexis Prybutok \nLocation: Ryder 205 \nAbstract:\nEngineering is a highly collaborative\, intersectional practice that depends on transforming raw materials. Despite this relationship\, it is difficult to explain how engineers’ decisions in industrial settings affect the rest of the world. The consequences of sourcing materials for technological advancement may not always be explicit. The effects of engineers consuming material can have cascading consequences or be so removed that they fall outside design concerns. To promote discussion of the socioeconomic effects of raw material consumption in engineering\, this work aimed to develop a website-based learning tool\, www.wherematerialscomefrom.com. The tool provides context on the mining processes used to obtain raw materials. Through survey data collection\, the tool was evaluated for its ability to help users understand how raw materials are acquired. \n\nSofia Roger completed her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University and has since decided to pursue her master’s also in Chemical Engineering as part of Northeastern’s plus one program. She completed two co-ops\, during which she participated in the research and design of solid-state sulfur-chalcogen batteries at Avanti Battery Co. and the development of conductive ceramic for high-temperature reactor design at Lydian Labs. Her experience in materials engineering for sustainable technology motivated her to explore which environmentally sound raw materials can be used to innovate. This motivation gave rise to the educational tool developed in her thesis work.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-ms-thesis-defense-sofia-roger/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T100000
DTSTAMP:20260310T181021Z
CREATED:20260310T181021Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T181021Z
UID:5982-1775811600-1775815200@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:Wonder Week: Chemical Engineering
DESCRIPTION:During Wonder Week\, you’ll have the chance to learn how the top-ranked Graduate School of Engineering at Northeastern University combines rigorous academics with experiential learning and convergent research. You’ll also see how our unique learning model better prepares the next generation of engineering leaders to address the complex challenges of global society. \nPrograms discussed include chemical engineering and pharmaceutical engineering.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/wonder-week-chemical-engineering/
LOCATION:Virtual
ORGANIZER;CN="Graduate School of Engineering":MAILTO:coe-gradadmissions@northeastern.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T140000
DTSTAMP:20260408T203215Z
CREATED:20260408T203215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260408T203215Z
UID:6045-1775826000-1775829600@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE MS Thesis Defense: Austin Breed
DESCRIPTION:Name: Austin Breed \nTitle: Fabrication of Na-ion Intercalation Materials for Kinetic Energy Harvesting \nDate: 04/10/2026 \nTime: 01:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Joshua Gallaway (Advisor)\nProf. Sanjeev Mukerjee\nProf. Magda Barecka\nEnock Nagelli\, PhD \nLocation: Snell Library 001 \nAbstract:\nThis work investigates ion-solvation switching as a mechanism for electrochemical kinetic energy harvesting (EKEH) in low-power\, confined environments\, motivated by the growing demand for sustainable energy sources for distributed electronics. Long-term stability\, confined area design\, and unsteady current output limit contemporary harvesting designs\, often hamstrung by material engineering shortfalls. Copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) is a Prussian blue analogue (PBA) promising new active material under investigation in long-term storage and kinetic harvesting devices due to its face-centered cubic (FCC) structure conducive to ion-intercalation\, adequate theoretical capacity\, and stability comparative to traditional Prussian blue cathodes. However\, CuHCF still experiences notable capacity fade and mechanical degradation during prolonged exposure to aqueous electrolyte. This study fabricated copper CuHCF electrodes\, evaluated their structure using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and\, for varying fabrication parameters\, used electrochemical methods including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)\, cyclic voltammetry (CV)\, and open-circuit potential (OCP) power cycles to benchmark performance and\ndurability impacts. \nResults confirm that CuHCF-based systems can reproduce switching potentials on the order of ~0.40 mV. Though consistent with prior reports\, this work demonstrated prolonged voltage saturation time\, highlighting evidence of kinetic and diffusional limitations. Material composition strongly influenced electrochemical performance\, where Fe(II)-rich CuHCF exhibited improved reversibility and reduced overpotentials\, suggesting enhanced charge-transfer kinetics and structural stability\, albeit with a modest reduction in capacity. Electrolyte concentration further impacted performance\, reinforcing its importance as a design parameter. Thermal annealing degraded electrochemical initial performance\, likely due to the loss of interstitial water and disruption of ion transport pathways. \nThis work elucidated the sensitivity of performance and stability to various fabrication parameters in Na-ion intercalation materials for this ion-solvation switching applications.\nFurthermore\, this study highlights key trade-offs between stability\, capacity\, and voltage saturation in CuHCF-based ion-solvation switching systems and identifies critical areas for improvement\, particularly in materials engineering and electrolyte optimization\, to enable practical implementation of next generation electrochemical energy harvesting technologies. Understanding the causal relationships between fabrication methods and these measured quantities will drive future work towards mitigating these failure modes and limitations. \n\nAustin Grant Breed\, BS\, EIT Austin is currently pursuing a Master of Science (MS) in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston\, conducting research in the Gallaway Lab focused on electrochemical kinetic energy harvesting. He completed his undergraduate training in Chemical Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. During his time at West Point\, he conducted research in hemorheology\, developing stochastic models of large amplitude oscillatory shear forces in human blood\, and participated in a waste-to-energy demonstration project involving synthetic gas production via rotary kiln gasification. He also interned at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory\, where he analyzed the kinetic and aerodynamic effects of nanotechnology integrated into solid chemical propellants. Austin earned his EIT status in 2017. Prior to graduate school\, Austin served over seven years as a commissioned U.S. Army Aviation Officer\, accumulating approximately 750 flight hours across multiple rotary- and fixed-wing platforms including the CH-47F Chinook. His most recent military culminated in command of an aviation maintenance company in the 2-501st General Support Aviation Battalion at Fort Bliss\, where he oversaw maintenance operations for a 34-aircraft fleet and over 175 soldiers. He also served in several leadership roles supporting NATO deterrence operations in Europe and Korea. Austin’s service was recognized with the Meritorious Service Medal\, the Honorable Order of St. Michael\, and several other distinctions. Last year\, Austin served as a project lead at Storion Energy in Wilmington\, MA\, directing the development and assessment of a novel continuous vanadium electrolyte production process — work that also forms the basis of his thesis defense through Northeastern University’s Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership fellowship. After completing his MS\, Austin plans to continue working towards his PhD in chemical engineering with the Gallaway Lab while instructing within the chemical engineering department at West Point.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-ms-thesis-defense-austin-breed/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T140000
DTSTAMP:20260504T135009Z
CREATED:20260504T135009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260504T135009Z
UID:6071-1778245200-1778248800@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Kevin Yang
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nKevin Yang \nTitle:\nStructural Investigation of Single-Atom Catalysts in HCl Electrolysis\, CO₂ Reduction\, and Li-S Batteries \nDate:\n05/08/2026 \nTime:\n01:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Sanjeev Mukerjee (Advisor)\nProf. Joshua Gallaway\nProf. Hannah Sayre\nProf. Magda Barecka \nLocation:\nEXP 202 \nAbstract:\nTransition metal single-atom catalysts have emerged as a promising class of materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage due to their high atomic utilization\, tunable electronic structure\, well-defined active sites\, and use to high earth abundant metals. Metal nitrogen carbon (M-N-C) catalysts are practical in a wide range of electrochemical systems. However\, the development of M-N-C catalysts into industrial systems still requires much effort\, in part\, due to the lack of durability and stability studies. M-N-C catalysts can be used in oxygen depolarized cathode (ODC) HCl electrolysis\, CO2 reduction\, and lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Understanding the mechanisms of M-N-C degradation\, durability\, and effects of modifications to such catalysts would ultimately benefit their implementation in each electrochemical system.   Chapter 1 introduces M-N-C catalysts and the various electrochemical systems they will be used in (ODC HCl electrolysis\, CO2 reduction\, and Li-S batteries). \nIn chapter two\, we investigate the durability of the Fe-N-C catalyst in ODC HCl electrolysis. Fe-N-C exhibits high oxygen reduction activity and strong resistance to chloride poisoning relative to most noble metal catalysts. However\, its durability and degradation mechanisms in HCl electrolysis are not well studied. Through a combination of durability studies\, accelerated stress tests\, and multimodal spectroscopic techniques\, we identified two main degradation pathways: an operational demetallation of Fe-N4 active sites under sustained polarization and a carbon-corrosion-induced demetallation that occurs during the transient conditions of uncontrolled shutdown. Spectroscopic analysis reveals one unstable FeN4 moiety and two stable Fe-N-C moieties that can withstand the HCl electrolysis operating conditions. These findings establish a mechanism for Fe-N-C degradation to drive future catalyst design. \nIn chapter three\, we modify Fe-N-C catalyst and Ni-N-C catalyst with heteroatom dopants to observe their effects on CO2 reduction activity\, product selectivity\, and the correlation with the changes in electronic and coordination structure. Using a post-pyrolysis treatment process\, we dope the environment around the metal active center either by introducing an axial ligand or binding to the carbon structure. Utilizing in situ/operando XAS\, we found that the dopants are generally not stable and can introduce a site-blocking effect at low overpotentials. Through these findings\, we find that the axial ligand dopants are not durable during CO2 reduction and do not make large contributions to the activity or product distribution of Ni-N-C and Fe-N-C in CO2 reduction. \nIn chapter four\, we investigate the effects of metal centers for M-N-C in polysulfide conversion and the changes in the active site structure after operation. The catalytic activity of M-N-C catalysts varies largely with different metal centers and coordinating environments.  We find that Co-N-C and Fe-N-C favor the oxidation of short-chain polysulfides to elemental sulfur\, while Sn-N-C and Ni-N-C make a larger contribution to the reduction of elemental sulfur to short-chain polysulfides. Mo-N-C\, which had the presence of Mo nanoparticles\, exhibited the lowest increase in performance compared to the others. This finding emphasizes the catalytic capability and importance of synthesizing purer M-N-C catalysts. All M-N-C catalysts were able to impact the conversion of lithium polysulfides to gain performance greater than baseline carbon. X-ray spectroscopic methods were used to analyze the structure of the M-N-C catalyst at various cycles to find that the active site structure of Fe-N-C undergoes a partial change to form Fe2O3\, while Co-N-C and Ni-N-C remain relatively stable. This change in the active site could be a cause of capacity decay in Li-S batteries. \nChapter 5 summarizes the findings and offers suggestions for future work. \n\nKevin Yang is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, where his research focuses on understanding structure–property relationships in single-atom catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. His work spans multiple electrochemical systems\, including oxygen depolarized cathodes for hydrochloric acid electrolysis\, CO₂ electroreduction\, and lithium–sulfur batteries\, with an overarching emphasis on how catalyst active sites evolve under operating conditions and how those structural changes govern activity\, selectivity\, and durability. Kevin’s research combines electrochemical engineering with advanced multimodal characterization\, including in situ and ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES/EXAFS)\, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy\, Raman spectroscopy\, electron microscopy\, and electrochemical diagnostics. Through this work\, he has developed mechanistic insights into active site degradation pathways in Fe–N–C and other transition metal–nitrogen–carbon single-atom catalysts\, helping bridge fundamental catalyst chemistry with practical reactor operation.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-kevin-yang/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260603T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260603T160000
DTSTAMP:20260527T193616Z
CREATED:20260527T193616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260527T193616Z
UID:6092-1780495200-1780502400@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering GSC CV/Resume Workshop
DESCRIPTION:The Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Council is inviting fellow students to attend an upcoming CV/Resume Workshop designed to help you strengthen your academic and professional applications. \nPlease RSVP \nThis workshop will cover: \n\nResume and CV formatting\nTailoring applications for internships\, fellowships\, and jobs\nCommon mistakes to avoid in CV/Resume\n\nWe encourage all graduate students to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to improve their professional documents.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-gsc-cv-resume-workshop/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260624T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260624T133000
DTSTAMP:20260608T185600Z
CREATED:20260608T185600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260608T185600Z
UID:6108-1782304200-1782307800@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Natesan Mani
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nNatesan Mani \nTitle:\nA Tale of Two Fcs: Investigating Furin cleavage in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Glycan Effects in IgG Fcs \nDate:\n06/24/2026 \nTime:\n12:30:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Srirupa Chakraborty (Advisor)\nProf. Francisco Hung\nProf. Sunny Zhou\nDr. Alla Polozova \nLocation:\n409 Robinson Hall \nAbstract:\nThis dissertation examines critical structural dynamics in viral infection and antibody-mediated immune response using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. We investigated two distinct but fundamentally related systems: the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein with emphasis on Furin cleavage (the antigen Fc)\, and the IgG1 Fc-CD16a receptor interaction with varying glycosylation profiles (the antibody Fc). \nAntigen Study: The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein’s furin cleavage site (FCS) is a defining feature that distinguishes it from its predecessor SARS-CoV and is critical to viral infectivity. While extensive vaccine research has utilized stabilized Spike constructs with mutated or deleted FCS\, physiologically\, the cleavage occurs during viral particle formation. Using large-scale atomistic MD simulations of both Furin Cleaved and Uncleaved Spike proteins in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) Open and Closed conformations\, we demonstrate that furin cleavage fundamentally alters the Spike protein’s conformational dynamics. We observe increased correlated motions between the RBD and N-terminal domain (NTD) in the Furin Cleaved systems\, enhanced RBD sampling of exposed conformations favorable for ACE2 binding and altered glycan clustering patterns on key N-linked glycans. These observations provide quantitative evidence that cleavage primes the Spike protein for membrane fusion and enhances receptor accessibility. These findings provide a mechanistic foundation for designing immunogens and therapeutics targeting not only SARS-CoV-2 but also emerging Sarbecoviruses and related viral families. \nAntibody Study: IgG1 is the predominant antibody subclass used in therapeutic applications\, with its Fc region mediating critical effector functions including antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) through CD16a receptor engagement on natural killer cells. The glycosylation profiles of both the IgG1 Fc and CD16a receptor play essential roles in determining binding affinity and immune response magnitude. Using MD simulations of 22 distinct glycoform combinations\, we systematically examine how variations in core fucosylation and terminal galactosylation affect Fc-CD16a complex formation and stability. We evaluate the structural impact of asymmetric binding between the two Fc arms and the receptor\, calculate binding affinities and correlate structural observations with binding energetics. Our results validate known trends (afucosylation enhancement) while revealing nuanced effects of galactosylation and chain-specific glycan positioning. Together\, these findings and the accompanying mechanistic framework provide a foundation for the glycan-informed rational design of next-generation antibody therapeutics with enhanced immune potency \nTogether\, these studies demonstrate how atomistic molecular dynamics can bridge gaps between structural biology and functional outcomes\, providing quantitative frameworks for designing improved viral vaccines and enhanced therapeutic antibodies. The methodologies and insights presented here have broad applicability to understanding glycoprotein-receptor interactions across biological systems. \n\nNatesan Mani is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, where he expects to defend in June 2026. He completed his M.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Houston in 2020 and earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University in India in 2019. His doctoral research in the SimBioSys Lab at Northeastern University focuses on developing physics-informed computational tools that combine molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and machine learning to predict molecular properties and guide the design of high-affinity antibodies\, work conducted in direct collaboration with Amgen’s Pivotal Attribute Sciences team. Natesan has gained significant industry experience through internships at Amgen\, where he modeled antibody-receptor interfaces and developed GPU-accelerated simulation pipelines\, and at Prescient Design (Genentech)\, where he built multi-modal biological data frameworks to inform therapeutic design decisions. He has authored one first-author manuscript in Protein Science\, has two manuscripts under review\, and has presented his research at over five national conferences\, including BPS\, AIChE\, and ACS. He is also the creator of F.A.D.E (Fully Agentic Drug Engine)\, a prize-winning integrated modelling framework recognized at the Broad Institute ML Symposium and selected for presentation at ACS SciMix and ACS COMP. Beyond his research\, Natesan is an active leader in his academic community. He founded the Northeastern Biophysical Society student chapter and served as its President in 2025. He also served as a Treasurer of the ChemE Graduate Student Council. He has been recognized with numerous honours\, including the LEADERs Fellowship\, NSF ACCESS Award\, multiple travel grants and recognition from both the Department of Chemical Engineering and the University.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-natesan-mani/
LOCATION:409 Robinson Hall\, 360 Huntington Ave\, 409 RB\, Boston\, MA\, 02115\, United States
GEO:42.3401758;-71.0892797
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260727T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260727T120000
DTSTAMP:20260715T205639Z
CREATED:20260715T205639Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260715T205639Z
UID:6131-1785150000-1785153600@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Sevy Harris
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nSevy Harris \nTitle:\nAutomated Methods for Improving Microkinetic Models through Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis \nDate:\n07/27/2026 \nTime:\n11:00:00 AM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Richard West (Advisor)\nProf. Steve Lustig\nProf. Qing Zhao\nProf. Franklin Goldsmith \nLocation:\n222 Hayden Hall \nAbstract:\nMicrokinetic modeling is an invaluable technique for investigating new fuels in pursuit of cleaner combustion devices. These models\, specifying a network of reacting species and elementary reactions\, use physically meaningful parameters to predict how systems will react over a wide range of conditions. Automated mechanism generators\, like Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG) can systematically build microkinetic models by reacting species together according to predefined templates. These are necessary to handle the complexity of combustion mechanisms\, which can have hundreds of intermediate species and thousands of reactions\, but the first result is rarely accurate enough to be useful. Human intervention is generally required to analyze the model\, identify important parameters\, and then improve their values with experimental results or quantum chemistry calculations. This work introduces a highly automated workflow for automatically building and improving mechanisms. It uses automated uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to rank the most important parameters to improve upon\, and then uses quantum chemistry calculations to compute the most important thermokinetic parameters. The workflow is applied to propane and butane models for ignition delay\, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of this method of automated model improvement. \nThe automated uncertainty analysis portion of the improvement workflow was implemented by earlier work of Gao\, Liu\, and Green. They assigned uncertainties to every input parameter by looking up the source RMG used to estimate the value (e.g. a trusted library entry from the literature\, or a less trusted rate rule estimation)\, and then applying a default uncertainty for that source. They accounted for certain parameter correlations by keeping track of parameters estimated with the same source. However\, the previous implementation did not allow for the underlying sources themselves to be correlated\, and some new additions to the RMG database include correlation data. The previous implementation also applied the same default uncertainty to all the underlying data in the RMG database\, even though certain values are known to be higher quality than others. This work expands and improves upon the existing RMG uncertainty framework to incorporate correlated source data and to apply more specific uncertainty assignments based on information already available in the database. It also extends the uncertainty suite to handle surface-phase mechanisms and enables the easy export of uncertainty covariance matrices so that RMG users can conduct global uncertainty analysis entirely outside the RMG framework. A case study of propane in a jet-stirred reactor shows how these extensions enable global Monte Carlo and Sobol uncertainty analyses\, with error bars that are an improvement on previous estimates. \nAmmonia is being considered as a possible alternate fuel to traditional hydrocarbons\, but when it reacts inside a stainless steel reactor\, the nitrogen will\, under certain conditions\, form nitrides that degrade the steel and shorten its lifespan. A multiscale model of the nitridation of stainless steel was built in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to predict the conditions under which nitridation occurs. In the first stage of the multiscale model\, the thermodynamics of the reacting surface species are computed using machine learning models. In the second stage\, those thermodynamic parameters are used to build a microkinetic model of species reacting on the steel surface. In the third stage\, surface concentrations from the second stage inform a transport model that computes how nitrogen and oxygen diffuse into the steel bulk. The end result is a model which translates microscale phenomena into macroscale observables that can be compared to experiments by MHI. \n\nSevy Harris is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University. She received her BS in Electrical Engineering in 2014 from Ohio State and her MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford in 2016. She worked at Microsoft for three years\, designing flexible printed circuits and later writing test software to characterize a VR depth camera. She joined the Computational Modeling group at Northeastern in 2020 to study kinetic modeling and how these models can be used to investigate alternate fuels for cleaner combustion.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-sevy-harris/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260729T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260729T150000
DTSTAMP:20260722T135945Z
CREATED:20260722T135945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260722T135945Z
UID:6142-1785333600-1785337200@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Svilen Kolev
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nSvilen Kolev \nTitle:\nSpatiotemporal Imaging and Quantitative Analysis of Early Gut Microbiome Assembly in C. elegans \nDate:\n07/29/2026 \nTime:\n02:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Rebecca Carrier (Advisor)\nProf. Sara Hashmi\nProf. Erel Levine\nProf. Javier Apfeld \nLocation:\n610 EXP \nAbstract:\nUnderstanding host-associated microbiomes requires explaining not only which microbes are present\, but how community states are created and lost. Entry\, growth\, transport\, aggregation\, dispersal\, and clearance occur within a host environment shaped by immune\, physiological\, and ecological selection. Endpoint measurements collapse these processes into composition or abundance\, leaving the underlying interactions and sources of inter-host heterogeneity unresolved. Caenorhabditis elegans and its model microbiome provide a tractable opportunity to observe these dynamics directly. \nTo observe these processes\, we integrated large-scale microfluidics and programmable environmental control with hardware-synchronized fast microscopy and automated acquisition\, enabling us to image gut bacterial populations in hundreds of individually confined worms for up to 20 h. The resulting heterogeneous dataset created an annotation bottleneck: gut-resident particles had to be distinguished from external bacterial signal\, but exhaustive manual labeling was impractical. A data-centric workflow combining experimentally generated gut pseudolabels\, task decomposition\, and iterative human correction produced a reliable segmentation model for extracting longitudinal measurements of bacterial load\, particle size\, and position. \nAlternating-label experiments followed three bacterial isolates separately across four host backgrounds. Population loads became high and broadly distributed\, while single-worm trajectories fluctuated rapidly around slower trends. Within- and between-worm variation contributed substantially to total variance\, supporting partial individuality rather than fixed highand low-load classes. Label-chase dynamics showed that high load did not imply stable residence: most of the load turned over rapidly\, while a minority of worms retained elevated load. Particle-resolved measurements showed that small objects dominated counts and their signal cleared rapidly\, whereas rare large aggregates carried disproportionate signal and were enriched in the retained tail. Aggregation did not guarantee persistence: aggregate-positive entry and later detection were distinct\, microbe- and host-dependent probabilities\, consistent with stochastic fragmentation\, clearance\, and retention. \nTogether\, these results suggest that early assembly reflects isolate-dependent accumulation coupled to rapid turnover and stochastic aggregate-associated transitions. This process-level single-isolate baseline provides a foundation for asking how host and microbial genotypes\, aging\, environmental change\, and additional community members reshape microbiome assembly. More broadly\, it demonstrates that microbiome heterogeneity is best understood through the dynamics that generate it. \n\nSvilen Kolev is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 and will defend his doctoral dissertation in August 2026. His dissertation\, Spatiotemporal Imaging and Quantitative Analysis of Early Gut Microbiome Assembly in C. elegans\, combines microfluidics\, microscopy\, machine learning\, and quantitative analysis to study bacterial population dynamics inside living hosts. His work reflects a broader interest in interdisciplinary engineering and in building experimental and computational tools for quantitative biology. Svilen values collaboration and mentorship and has mentored several undergraduate researchers. Outside of research\, he enjoys basketball\, hiking\, skiing\, board games\, dinner parties\, and spending time with friends and family.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-svilen-kolev/
LOCATION:610-A EXP\, 360 Huntington Ave\, 610-A EXP\, Boston\, MA\, 02115\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260806T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260806T140000
DTSTAMP:20260729T133907Z
CREATED:20260729T133907Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T133907Z
UID:6145-1786021200-1786024800@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Alexander Kaltashov
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nAlexander Kaltashov \nTitle:\nTemporal and Spatial Control of Structure and Rheology in Binary Colloidal Gels \nDate:\n08/06/2026 \nTime:\n01:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Safa Jamali (Advisor)\nProf. Sara Hashmi\nProf. Craig Maloney\nProf. Steven Lustig \nLocation:\nHayden Hall 424 \nAbstract:\nColloidal gels are soft materials formed when attractive interactions between nanometer-to-micrometer scale particles dispersed in a fluid phase drive their self-assembly into a percolated network. Traditionally\, the structure and mechanical properties of single-component colloidal gels are tuned through control of inter-particle interactions and particle concentration. The introduction of additional components into a system expands the range of accessible gel architectures\, which can be further tailored through multiple coexisting inter-particle interaction types\, as well as size disparity and component stoichiometry. Beyond these conventional control parameters\, the design space can be expanded further by treating the self-assembly pathway itself as an independent variable. Specifically\, temporal control through sequential gelation protocols and spatial control through prescribed composition gradients enable binary colloidal gel architectures with structural characteristics beyond those achievable through conventional controls alone. Yet\, despite their promise as routes to engineering novel materials\, these concepts remain underexplored in colloidal gels. This dissertation presents a series of computational studies that explore pathway-dependent design strategies for binary colloidal gels. Sequential gelation is first examined as a temporal control mechanism for programming network formation and structural evolution\, followed by an investigation of composition gradients as a spatial control strategy for creating heterogeneous gel architectures. Collectively\, these studies establish the self-assembly pathway as an independent design parameter for engineering multicomponent colloidal materials with tailored morphologies and properties. \n\nAlexander I. Kaltashov is a doctoral candidate in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University\, where he conducts computational studies of the structure\, dynamics\, and rheology of multicomponent colloidal gels. His doctoral research focuses on understanding how temporal and spatial controls over self-assembly pathways can be used to control the architecture and mechanical properties of binary colloidal networks. His work combines particle dynamics simulation\, rheological modeling\, and structural analysis to investigate the relationship between colloidal interactions\, self-assembly processes\, and structural/material properties. Prior to his doctoral studies\, Alexander received a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal\, Canada\, in 2020. During his undergraduate studies\, he conducted research across a variety of fields\, including the development of a low-cost\, large-area UV photolithography system\, investigation of protein phase separation\, and oxygen mass transfer studies in laboratory-scale bioreactors. His current research interests broadly include soft materials\, colloidal assembly\, rheology\, and computational modeling.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-alexander-kaltashov/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260818T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260818T110000
DTSTAMP:20260805T152715Z
CREATED:20260805T152715Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T152715Z
UID:6148-1787047200-1787050800@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Erin Heeschen
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nErin Heeschen \nTitle:\nTemporal and Spatial Control of Structure and Rheology in Binary Colloidal Gels \nDate:\n08/18/2026 \nTime:\n10:00:00 AM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Magda Barecka (Advisor)\nProf. Marion Börnhorst\nProf. Damilola Daramola\nProf. Richard West \nLocation:\nBehrakis Health Sciences Center 424 \nAbstract:\nChemical production plants contribute to a significant portion of global carbon emissions\, making them a key target for decarbonization efforts. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) electrolysis is a promising pathway towards decarbonization that utilizes renewable energy to convert emitted CO₂ into valueadded chemicals. While the environmental and industrial incentives to support this technology are apparent\, further progress toward large-scale implementation remains constrained by inconsistent performance. \nElectrolyte flow within CO₂ electrolyzers influences crucial parameters such as local velocity and pressure\, interfacial pH gradients\, and gas bubble accumulation\, which can be controlled through flow-field design. Neighboring fields of electrochemistry\, including fuel cells\, redox flow batteries\, and water electrolyzers\, have identified uniform catholyte flow as a vital parameter to enhance electrochemical stability and energy efficiency. Despite the importance of catholyte flow fields\, flow field geometries are rarely reported in the CO₂ electrolysis literature\, and it is unknown how uniform catholyte flow influences cell performance. \nThe hypothesis investigated in this dissertation is that understanding the relationship between catholyte flow uniformity\, reproducibility\, and the electrochemical performance of CO₂ electrolyzers can allow us to design flow fields that allow for better flow control\, better selectivity\, and more predictable outcomes of electrochemical reactions. To address this hypothesis\, this dissertation includes a workflow to design\, simulate\, 3D print\, validate\, and experimentally test four catholyte flow field geometries for use in flow-based CO₂ electrolyzers. Liquid flow is simulated through each catholyte flow field at four inlet flow rates using ANSYS Fluent to analyze electrolyte uniformity distribution and pseudo-boundary layer thicknesses. Each design was 3D printed and the simulations validated using a novel instance segmentation program for use in volumetrically small cells. Finally\, two of the investigated catholyte flow field geometries are deployed in a liquid-liquid CO₂ electrolyzer. Results indicate that uniform catholyte distribution strongly enhances experimental reproducibility. However\, it is challenging to achieve the highest single-product selectivity without losing flow uniformity. Based on these findings\, general design rules are established to support the further development of electrolyzers amenable to scale-up and industrial application. \n\nErin Heeschen is a 4th year Chemical Engineering PhD Candidate in the College of Engineering at Northeastern University dedicated to sustainability focused technologies. In August 2026\, she will be defending her doctoral thesis in the field of Chemical Engineering with a specialization in CO2 electrolysis and reactor design. Erin was nominated to Sigma Xi\, the Scientific Research Honor Society\, and is an active member of the New England section of the Electrochemical Society. In addition to recognized excellence in research\, Erin is an established science communicator for cutting edge research in field of sustainability and electrochemistry. She designed and headed a booth for the Barecka Lab’s Airthanol project at the 2026 ARPA-E Energy Summit in San Diego\, CA (winning honorable mention for best booth) and 2026 Sustainability Innovation Week Expo at Northeastern University; she placed 2nd in the Graduate Student Research Presentations at the Northeastern University Poster Showcase Presentation Competition (2023) and was nominated best elevator pitch by her cohort (2023); she also presented her research at numerous conferences such as MRS (Material Research Society)\, ACS-GCI (American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute) Pharmaceutical Roundtable\, and AIChE (American Institute for Chemical Engineers) in Boston. Outside of her research\, Erin is a longtime boardgame enthusiast (even going so far as to open a board game store when she was 17!) who will never turn down a long hike through the woods.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-erin-heeschen/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T130000
DTSTAMP:20260903T144707Z
CREATED:20260903T144707Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260903T144707Z
UID:6164-1790769600-1790773200@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering Fall Seminar Series: Trevor Sherwood
DESCRIPTION:Discovery of BMS-986526\, an EP4 agonist for the treatment of IBD using a direct-to-biology platform \nLocation: 108 Snell Engineering Center \nAbstract: This seminar will cover a brief overview of medicinal chemistry and the discovery of an EP4 agonist for IBD. The EP4 receptor is a GPCR expressed in multiple tissues. In the intestines\, the activation of EP4 is linked to restitution of the intestinal epithelial barrier and anti-inflammatory effects on immune cells\, making it a target of interest for IBD. However\, EP4 expression in other tissues complicates the utility of EP4 agonists. For instance\, EP4 agonism in systemic circulation has been shown to result in changes in heart rate and blood pressure. We set out to identify selective EP4 agonists with minimal systemic exposure outside of the gastrointestinal tract. Our campaign began with a high throughput screen which identified a triazine chemotype that was elaborated into a lead compound which demonstrated high circulating exposure. To identify compounds with lower exposure\, a direct-to-biology campaign leveraging a nanosynthesis platform was undertaken\, enabling us to rapidly explore novel chemical space and identify BMS-986526\, a lead that was subsequently nominated as a development candidate. This presentation will describe our lead chemotype\, the execution of our nanosynthesis and direct-to-biology campaign\, and the in vivo profile of BMS-986526 and other related lead compounds. \n\nTrevor Sherwood is a Scientific Associate Director in the Bristol Myers Squibb Discovery Chemistry group in Princeton\, NJ. He earned his B.S. in chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2008 and then earned his Ph.D. in 2013 with Prof. Scott Snyder at Columbia University where he completed multiple total syntheses of alkaloid and polyphenolic natural products. In 2013\, Trevor joined BMS where he has performed research in immunology\, oncology\, and neuroscience and has led multiple drug discovery programs. He is passionate about LGBTQ representation in chemistry and co-organized a session at the 2024 Spring ACS National Meeting featuring presentations from LGBTQ medicinal chemists.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-fall-seminar-series-trevor-sherwood/
LOCATION:108 SN
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