Page 2 - CEMS Summer 2022 Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD
C. Daniel Frisbie
Dear CEMS Alumni and Friends,
Advanced computation has been an integral part of research and teaching in CEMS since the days when Neal Amundson was building the department in
the 1950s and 60s. The next frontier in engineering computation involves “big data”, i.e., massive data sets based on process variables, reaction networks, or materials properties, for example, that in principle can be analyzed to provide solutions to complex, often intractable problems. Analysis requires the
use of sophisticated machine learning algorithms to identify correlations and trends, and most importantly to make predictions. Many companies who recruit from CEMS have told us in the last several years that
they are eager to hire engineers who have training in data science, computer programming, and machine learning. These companies span a wide range of industries from chemicals and materials, to semiconductor chips, food resources, and biotechnology.
In response to this need from industry and based on our own assessment of the intellectual depth and long term impact of data science methods on chemical and materials engineering, we have decided to launch a new degree in CEMS beginning Fall, 2023: the Master’s in Data Science for Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, or M.S. DSCEMS. You can learn more about this new degree on page 10 of this newsletter. The MS is the first new degree offered by CEMS
in decades. It is also our first joint degree in ChE and MSE, perhaps a harbinger for the future evolution of our curriculum. We look forward to training both experienced engineering professionals and recent undergraduates in engineering data science in the years ahead!
Coupled with the MS degree is a broad research thrust called the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advanced Design Initiative, which is the brainchild of CEMS Professor Prodromos Daoutidis. The AI ADI has been launched with the generous support of Dr. Cynthia Arnold, a member of the CEMS External Advisory Board, who has been a champion for the expansion of CEMS into data science (see page 15). The broad goal of the AI ADI is to advance sustainable engineering of chemicals and materials using advanced data science and AI methods. We will seek both industrial and federal funding to expand this important new effort at the nexus of sustainability and data science.
As the 2022-23 academic year starts, we are pleased to welcome two new assistant professors to our ranks. Natalie Boehnke is an expert in nanoparticle- based drug delivery approaches to fight cancer and other diseases. She starts in August after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical engineering at MIT. Chris Bartel, who has finished a postdoc at UC-Berkeley, brings timely knowledge and expertise in machine learning and materials properties analysis. We look to him to help us launch our MS degree and AI initiative described above.
I hope to see some of you this year when you come to campus. As always, CEMS is deeply grateful for your support.
C. Daniel Frisbie, Head
SUMMER 2022
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE HEAD
C. Daniel Frisbie
Courtney Billing Gayle Gabrielski Mary Kosowski
CEMS News is published semi- annually by the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science for alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the department.
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