Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and Northwestern University have created the first synthetic fragment of tau protein that acts like a prion. The “mini prion” folds and stacks into strands, or fibrils, of misfolded tau proteins, which then transmit their abnormally folded shape to other normal tau proteins. Misfolded, prion-like proteins drive the progression of tauopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases — including Alzheimer’s disease — characterized by the abnormal accumulat...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
For the 24th year in a row, the chemical engineering graduate program at UC Santa Barbara has ranked among the top ten public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Graduate Engineering Schools report, which was released on April 8. The graduate school rankings were based entirely on peer surveys submitted by department heads at public and private universities across the country. The UCSB chemical engineering program ranked No. 9 among public universities and No. 14 overall ...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the world’s largest organization for chemical engineering professionals, has awarded one of its most prestigious honors to UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor James B. Rawlings, selecting him for the 2025 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer Award, an accolade given to a distinguished member who has made significant contributions to chemical engineering in their field of specialization. The selection committee highl...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor Rachel Segalman has received a distinguished honor within the scientific community by being elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a commendation bestowed upon less than 1 percent of AAAS members each year. She is among 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators who comprise the 2024 Class of AAAS Fellows. The association is the world’s largest general scientific society and publishes the Science ...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
From helping students thrive in the classroom and in campus housing, to conducting undergraduate research at UCSB and at a national laboratory, Chandraki Chatterjee has remained extremely active while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara. Recently, a committee in the Chemical Engineering Department selected the fourth-year senior as the 2025 recipient of the Amy Lutz Smiley Scholarship in recognition of her excellent academic performance and contributio...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
Chemical engineering faculty at UC Santa Barbara have awarded fifth-year PhD student Anukta Datta the department’s prestigious Schlinger Fellowship for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Research for the 2024-‘25 academic year. Established through a generous gift from Warren and Katharine Schlinger, the award recognizes a fourth- or fifth-year doctoral student in the department who has made outstanding progress in research projects, demonstrated by publications, submitted manuscripts, and...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor M. Scott Shell has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with nearly sixty thousand members from more than one hundred ten countries. The institute’s highest grade of membership, achieved only through election by the Board of Directors, recognizes Fellows for their significant professional accomplishments and contributions to en...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
The UC Santa Barbara Chemical Engineering Department recently honored Professor Michelle O’Malley for her pioneering research and appointment to the Cliff R. Scholle Endowed Chair with an inaugural lecture and investiture. The chair was established through a generous gift from Cliff R. Scholle, as a way to honor early leaders in the department: Professors Duncan A. Mellichamp, John E. Myers, Robert G. Rinker, and Orville C. Sandall, who had a profound influence on him and generations of stu...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu
“Research without walls” isn’t just a phrase at UC Santa Barbara; it is the very foundation of the university’s academic endeavors. This is especially true within the College of Engineering, where new discoveries have been made and impactful technologies designed through interdisciplinary research. The college has long embraced a culture of collaboration and is home to numerous world-renowned institutes and centers, such as the Materials Research Laboratory; the Institute for Energy...| www.chemengr.ucsb.edu