Faculty Awards
Susan Daniel, the William C. Hooey Director and Fred H. Rhodes Professor, was elected as a fellow for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Matt DeLisa, the William L. Lewis Professor, received the 2024 Charles Thom Award from the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.
Allison Godwin, was promoted to the Dr. G. Stephen Irwin ’67, ’68 Professor in Engineering Education Research.
Vibha Kalra was promoted to the Fred H. Rhodes Professor of Chemical Engineering.
Sijin Li, assistant professor, received a Faculty Early Career Development Awards from the National Science Foundation. She was also is a recipient of the 2024 Schwartz Research Fund Grant from Cornell University.
Rong Yang, assistant professor, received the Individual Biomedical Research Award from the Hartwell Foundation. She was also awarded a 2024 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.
Fengqi You, the Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor in Energy Systems Engineering, received the 2024 Lawrence K. Cecil Award in Environmental Chemical Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the 2024 Dorothy and Fred Chau Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Project Supervision from the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell.
Graduate Student Awards
Aditi Seshadri received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for her research developing generative machine learning models to design novel electrolytes for energy storage. The followship recognizes outstanding graduate students who are “anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large,” according to the program.
Seshadri is a member of the Yue Research Group, which focuses on developing physics-inspired machine learning models and multi-scale simulations of electrolytes and solid-liquid interfaces for energy storage and separations.
Hooey Awards given for research in CO2 capture, energy storage
The Austin Hooey Graduate Research Excellence Recognition Award is the highest award given to a graduate student by the Smith School. It recognizes outstanding contributions to scholarship, service and research toward a Ph.D., and is given in honor of the late Austin O. Hooey, whose father, William C. Hooey, earned his degree in chemical engineering in 1912. Both father and daughter, deeply valued higher education and Cornell University. The 2023-24 awardees are:
Kyle Kersey
Kersey, originally from Louisville, KY, joined Cornell in 2019 to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering under professor Yong Joo. His research focuses on developing electrospun polymer fibers with encapsulated sorbents for efficient CO2 capture, a crucial area in the push for decarbonization. Kersey’s work explores innovative materials such as non-aqueous liquid-like nanoscale organic hybrid materials and metal-organic frameworks, offering scalable, energy-efficient solutions to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Kersey is an active leader in Cornell’s chemical and biomolecular engineering community. He has held roles as treasurer, president and professional development chair for the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association. His commitment to mentorship extends outside Cornell, where he serves on the VIPER Alumni Board at the University of Pennsylvania and participates in Tech for Tomorrow, a leadership initiative promoting technology literacy in Ithaca.
Will Tait (Spring 2024)
Tait is a Ph.D. candidate in the Wiesner Group, where his research focuses on designing innovative energy storage materials using block copolymers. His work explores new approaches to structuring functional materials for applications in energy storage, with a particular focus on developing 3D battery architectures. Tait’s research aims to revolutionize conventional battery design by creating interpenetrating electrode structures that are separated on the nanoscale, a departure from traditional stacked-film architectures. He also emphasizes the use of organic cathode materials, which offer a more sustainable alternative to conventional inorganic options.
Beyond his research, Tait has been a part of the Smith School’s Diversity and Inclusion Program since 2019 and has served as its coordinator since 2022, fostering an inclusive environment through various initiatives and events. His work reflects his dedication to contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Fleming Scholars paving way for advances in antibody glycoengineering, proteolysis therapeutics
With a generous gift from Nancy and Samuel Fleming ‘62 to support graduate student research in the biomolecular program, the school selects talented students each year to be named Fleming Scholars. This year’s scholars are:
Myriam Belen Sotomayor
Sotomayor focuses on developing a more efficient method for producing glycosylated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in bacteria, specifically E. coli. mAbs, used to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders, require N-linked glycosylation to enhance stability, half-life, and activity. Traditionally, mAbs are produced in mammalian cells, but this process is costly, complex, and prone to viral contamination. Sotomayor’s work aims to address this by engineering bacterial systems for mAb production, which are simpler and cheaper. By modifying E. coli to utilize glycosylation machinery from Desulfovibrio marinus, Sotomayor achieved the first instance of full-length IgG glycosylation in bacteria. Sotomayor further refined the bacterial glycans into human-compatible forms through in vitro enzymatic processing. This breakthrough opens the door for more accessible and scalable mAb production, with significant implications for therapeutic glycoprotein engineering.
Souvik Ghosal
Ghosal’s research focuses on improving the delivery and potency of peptide-based proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PepTACs) for intracellular protein degradation, a promising therapeutic approach for difficult-to-treat diseases such as cancer. PepTACs are designed to target and degrade specific proteins, but their in vivo application faces challenges like poor serum stability and limited cell internalization. To address these issues, Ghosal employs two strategies: using lipid nanoparticles for enhanced delivery, and covalent modification of PepTACs with a cell-permeable oligothioetheramide construct. These approaches improve PepTAC stability, intracellular delivery, and potency by up to 50-fold. The research targets oncoproteins β-catenin and CREPT, which are overexpressed in Wnt-activated cancers. By developing an in-house lipid library and applying machine-learning techniques for peptide optimization, Ghosal aims to create more effective PepTACs for clinical use.
Undergraduate Awards
Austin Kwan
- AIChE’s Donald F. Othmer Sophomore Academic Excellence Award
Recognizing his achievement of attaining the highest scholastic grade-point average during sophomore year as an active member of the AIChE student chapter - Outstanding Research by an Undergraduate
In recognition of his demonstrated record of ability, leadership, and professional promise - Genetech Outstanding Student Award
Recognizing students who excel in disciplines related to the field of biotechnology
Catalina Zaloj
AIChE ConocoPhillips Scholarship
For exceptional academic achievement with professional potential in the oil and energy industry
Aodhan W. Beattie
Scheele Outstanding Junior Award
Recognizing him as a leader and achiever – likely to have an impact in chemical engineering practice
Merrill Presidential Scholar
For outstanding academic achievement strong leadership ability, and potential for continued contributions to society
Outstanding Research by an Undergraduate
In recognition of his demonstrated record of ability, leadership, and professional promise
Julianne L. Klurfeld
Diversity Scholar Award
Recognized by Diversity Programs in Engineering for involvement in DPE programs, student organizations, project teams and her goals as an engineer
Malak A. Abuhashim
Induction into the Quil & Dagger and Der Hexenkreis Senior Honor Society
Burke Combs
Award for Outstanding Service to the School
For his continued support to improve the professional and social community
Sophia J. Janoyan
Chemical Engineering Outstanding Scholar Award
For her outstanding scholarship, mastery of chemical engineering fundamentals, demonstrated application in capstone laboratory and design courses and professional promise
Leah Zhao
Chemical Engineering Outstanding Scholar Award
For her outstanding scholarship, mastery of chemical engineering fundamentals, demonstrated application in capstone laboratory and design courses and professional promise
Shuxian Diana Wen
Ferdinand Rodriguez Outstanding Student Award in Polymers and Electronic Materials
For her outstanding research in polymers and electronic materials by an undergraduate
Austin Vollweiler
Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Award
For dedicated and exemplary teaching in
- Engrl 1120: Introduction to Chemical Engineering
- EngrD 2190: Chemical Process Design and Analysis
- ChemE 3230: Fluid Mechanics
- ChemE 3900: Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design”