Annual Report
2025-2026
This past year, the Department of Chemical Engineering advanced solutions to some of the world’s most pressing resource, environmental, and health challenges. Our faculty developed new ways to recover critical minerals and rare earth elements from industrial and mining waste, traced the global journey of oil and plastic pollutants, designed catalysts for cleaner fuels, and earned national recognition for innovation in biofuels and biomedical engineering. Our students and alumni published cover-featured research and launched ventures that took top honors in startup competitions.
I invite you to explore our digital annual report, where you’ll find more stories of discovery, collaboration, and innovation, along with key statistics that capture the breadth of our accomplishments in 2025–2026.
Thank you for your continued support of the College of Engineering and the incredible work happening here at Northeastern.
Rebecca Willits
Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering
Top Stories
ChE Professor Debra Auguste was elected as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025 Fellow in the Engineering section for seminal contributions to the field of biomaterials, particularly in the study of chemical and mechanical methods to enhance targeted delivery.
Associate Professor Ben Woolston earned two early-career honors: a $500,000 ARPA-E IGNIITE award for biofuel innovation and the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Early Career Award.
Bouvé/ChE University Distinguished Professor Mansoor Amiji has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors, one of the highest recognitions in academia meant to honor the nation’s most impactful inventors.
Rebecca Kuntz Willits, chairperson and professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern University, has been named a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the organization’s highest membership grade.
Stats
Total Enrollment (Fall 2024)
50% of undergraduates and 34% of PhD students are women
Young Investigator Awards
including 11 NSF CAREER Awards
External Research Awards (2022-2024)
Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty
Research for a Healthier, More Sustainable World
ChE/COS Assistant Professor Damilola Daramola developed a method using chemical treatments and microwave reactors to extract rare earth elements from coal tailings two to three times more efficiently than standard approaches.
ChE Associate Professors, Abigail Koppes and Ryan Koppes, recently patented a technique that can turn nasal stem cells into Schwann cells, which are used to repair damaged nerves. While doctors often damaging existing nerves to create Schwann cells, this method only involves an outpatient procedure from the patient’s own nose, also reducing the risk of rejection.
ChE Assistant Professor Damilola Daramola and PhD student Qudus Rafiu published a study in Joule revealing that extracting critical minerals like lithium and magnesium from industrial wastewater could cleanly power the green energy transition.
ChE Assistant Professor Bryan James is the lead author of a new study on “Long-range transport of oil by marine plastic debris: Evidence from an 8500 km journey,” which was published in Environmental Science & Technology.
ChE student Lawrence Ajayi, PhD’28, received the Certificate of Merit (CoM) from the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Division of Environmental Chemistry (ENVR) for his research on “Effect of alkali-treatment on microwave-assisted rare earth elements extraction from coal mine tailings.”
Faculty Leadership
ChE Associate Professor Abigail Koppes was selected by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) as one of nine Emerging Leaders in recognition of her distinguished achievements in medical and biological engineering.
ChE Associate Professor Joshua Gallaway was elected as the Chair of the New England Section of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), a significant regional leadership role within the international professional society dedicated to advancing electrochemistry and solid state science.
Research on the Cover
Zhao’s Research Featured on Cover of Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Shaping Engineering Education
ChE Teaching Professor Courtney Pfluger, in collaboration with Kirsten Davis from Purdue University, was awarded a $159,103 grant for “Exploring Learning Pathways in the Formation of Socially Responsible Chemical Engineers” from the NSF’s Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF) program.
Advised by COE Distinguished Teaching Professor Luke Landherr, ChE students Sydnie Bayles, E’27, and Marissa Darcangelo, E’26, were awarded the first-place trophy in the Education and Other category at the AIChE National Student Conference for their poster on “Drawn to Chemical Engineering – Comics As a Visual Learning Tool for First-Year Chemical Engineering Students.”
Graduate Student Honors
Lawrence Ajayi, ChE PhD’27, advised by Assistant Professor Damilola Daramola, earned a DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Award for research at Brookhaven National Laboratory, NSBE’s Ramboll Flourish Scholarship, and the ACS Environmental Chemistry Division’s 2025 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry.
Stephen Adepoju, ChE PhD’27, won two significant honors: the 2026 Merck Next Gen Leaders in Chemistry award and the 2026 ACS Future Pharma Innovators distinction.
Justin Hayes, ChE PhD’25, founder and CEO of Concordance Therapeutics, took first place at Boston Shark Night 2.0. Boston Shark Night 2.0 is a high-energy startup pitch competition hosted by the Babson Acceleration Club in collaboration with Silicon Valley Bank.
Student Spotlights
Victus Kordorwu, PhD’26, chemical engineering, is a graduate researcher at the Advanced Drug Delivery Research and Lustig Lab at Northeastern. Driven by grit and a belief in science as a force for human good, he hopes to bridge academic research and industry experience to make an impact in the biopharmaceutical field—in the United States, Ghana, and beyond.
Natesan Mani, PhD, chemical engineering, reflects on how the courses from the LEADERs Program impacted his professional development, preparing him for his internship at Amgen. These experiences enriched his research skillset and opened doors to opportunities and paths he had never seen before.
Joshua Mantey, PhD’29, is a chemical engineering researcher at Northeastern’s SymBioSys Lab, where he applies machine learning and molecular dynamics simulations to improve how oral drugs are absorbed through the intestinal mucus barrier. He aims to take the knowledge and experience from his research to create a lasting beneficial impact on human health.
Warisha Tahir, PhD’27, chemical engineering, currently works at Dennis Lab under Professor Alison Dennis. With a focus on positive human impact, Tahir will use her skills and experience to develop new innovations in the public health realm.
Aniketh Tathachar, MS’25, pharmaceutical engineering, became highly interested in the pharmaceutical industry after completing his first internship. Through Northeastern’s pharmaceutical engineering master’s program, Tathachar has expanded his knowledge of the industry and developed the skills necessary for a successful career.
