Page 6 - CEMS Newsletter Fall 2023

CEMS welcomes new staff & faculty
A successful faculty recruitment effort last spring added two new tenured faculty members, and a new staff member fills a critical role in student services.
Michelle May
from a fundamental understanding of material surfaces and how they interact with reactants, intermediates, and electrolyte species. They have unique capabilities in both in situ and operando spectroscopy (both vibrational and core level electron-based) to consider materials under conditions relevant to their operation, with particular emphasis in probing the electrode/electrolyte interface.
The collaborative integration of chemical engineering and materials science in the department is the ideal home for Stoerzinger’s research. She said, “I look forward to new opportunities to work together in developing solutions to big problems in energy security and responsible resource recovery. CEMS is such an inspiring and caring community that I’m thrilled to become a part of. I’m enthusiastic to join in their efforts towards creating a more equitable
and inclusive educational and research environment, and being intentional in how to best serve our educational mission.”
She continued, “On a personal note, having grown up in Inver Grove Heights, I am so excited to come back to the area that has always been home to me. I can’t wait to help educate the next generation of Gopher Engineers!”
Lynn Walker
Professor Lynn Walker comes to CEMS from Carnegie Mellon University, where she spent the majority of her academic career. She is a Fellow of the AIChE, SOR and APS. She currently serves as Associate Editor for the AIChE Journal.
Walker’s research focuses on
understanding and controlling
complex, or structured, fluids
in engineering applications.
The group uses a wide range
of experimental techniques to
characterize the nano- through micro-scale structure of soft materials in non-equilibrium environments. Problems and materials of interest have included polymer blends,
Michelle May
Michelle May started her
role as Graduate Program Coordinator in May 2023. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Education. During her undergraduate career, she was a trumpet player in the University of Minnesota Marching Band and is an avid Gopher football fan. Michelle previously worked as a Recruiter & Career Advisor for Celarity where she assisted recent college graduates
with their job searches. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, exploring Minnesota state parks and visiting local breweries.
Kelsey Stoerzinger
Kelsey Stoerzinger
Associate Professor Kelsey Stoerzinger was a tenure-track assistant professor at Oregon State University prior to her position in CEMS.
Stoerzinger’s research program designs materials and processes for the storage of renewable electricity and its use in upgrading carbon feedstocks, conversion
of waste to fertilizer, and distributed chemical production. Specifically, the
group develops catalysts that facilitate these reactions in an efficient and selective manner, designing for stability and leveraging earth abundant transition metals when possible. These materials can enable transformative approaches to producing chemicals and storing energy for a sustainable future. The group’s design approach stems
Lynn Walker
6 www.cems.umn.edu
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