The Faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering
Susan Celia Roberts
Professor and Department Head
To me there is nothing more exciting than watching a student learn and develop and there is no greater privilege than having the title of professor. My favorite part of my job is being able to mentor and teach students in a research context – be that in a biochemical engineering course or laboratory, through supervising undergraduate IQP/MQP projects or by advising doctoral students in their thesis work. There is no greater satisfaction than to watch a timid, insecure student gain confidence through knowledge and practice. ... View Profile
Laila Abu-Lail
Assistant Teaching Professor
Terri Anne Camesano
Prof & Dean of Grad Studies
Email: terric@wpi.edu
Office: 60 Prescott St. (currently remote, please contact via email)
Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x5380
Terri A. Camesano has been the Dean of Graduate Studies at WPI since 2014, and was the inaugural full-time Dean of Graduate Studies. In her current role, she oversees Graduate Admissions, Graduate Student Professional Development, Online Graduate Education, and Professional Education. Dean Camesano is also the primary advocate for our 2000+ graduate students, and oversees Master's, PhD, and Certificate programs in all areas of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and Business. Dean Camesano is also faculty in Chemical Engineering, and has been at WPI since 2000.
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N Aaron Deskins
Associate Professor
Students here at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have a lot of enthusiasm and ambition, and it certainly is contagious. Teaching brings a lot of joy because of this, and I find myself often trying just to keep up with the students! WPI is also a place where you have a chance to collaborate with people of many different backgrounds and technical interests. This is exciting. For my research, I work in the area of molecular modeling: trying to understand and solve energy and environmental problems using high-powered computer simulations. ... View Profile
David DiBiasio
Professor- Engineering
My research involves educational scholarship: investigating how students learn chemical engineering and how the curriculum can be modified to optimize learning. That includes understanding learning in hands-on labs compared to virtual or remotely operated labs; learning in international contexts; and how safety, ethics, and social responsibility can be effectively integrated into the chemical engineering curriculum. WPI is a great place to conduct this type of work because of our project-based program, our extensive Global Projects Program, and our philosophy of student-centered learning. View Profile
Anthony G. Dixon
Professor
My research is in the general area of reaction engineering and energy, in particular steam reforming and hydrogen production. A strong component of this work is the use of scientific computing methods to investigate transport and reaction in chemical reactors and porous media. ... View Profile
Nikolaos K. Kazantzis
Professor
I believe strongly in the primacy of the quality of the student-teacher relationship, its mutually precious intellectual and emotional rewards, and its key role in the attainment of educational objectives such as the development of the student's critical thinking, the capacity for self-exploration, and independence of judgment. Furthermore, at WPI both undergraduate and graduate curricula are creatively designed to highlight the many nuanced forms and features of the inherently complex, value conflict-laden and contextually rich interaction between science, technology, culture, and society. ... View Profile
Stephen J. Kmiotek
Professor of Practice
As a Professor of Practice, my focus is to bring my 30 years of experience in the chemical and environmental industries to the undergraduate classes. My focus through most of my career has been on Chemical Process Safety, Environmental, Health and Safety, and, Air Pollution Engineering. These fields draw on virtually every part of chemical engineering, including transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and reaction kinetics. They also draw very heavily on legal documents, particularly governmental regulations and technical design standards, so I have often worked in multidisciplinary teams inv ... View Profile
Elizabeth Jeanne Stewart
Assistant Professor
My research utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to explore and exploit the physical properties of biological soft matter systems. Through investigating the biophysical properties of cells, multicellular communities and their microenvironments, my group seeks to reveal connections between the physical properties of living systems and their disease states and to utilize these findings to develop biological control strategies, therapeutics and diagnostics. We are particularly focused on using our soft matter approach to address bacterial infection prevention and control. ... View Profile
Andrew R Teixeira
Assistant Professor
Andrew is a classically trained chemical engineering with with specialties in the fields of chemical reaction engineering and materials science. He received his B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2009, and continued to pursue his Ph.D. with Professor Dauenhauer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014, before finally completing his postdoctoral studies with Professor Jensen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016 when he joined the department of chemical engineering here at WPI. ... View Profile
Michael T. Timko
Associate Professor-Engineering
Sharing that “ah hah” moment with a student struggling and suddenly mastering a difficult concept; helping expand the intellectual horizons of an aspiring engineer; tackling and solving problems that challenge the energy, economic, and environmental security with passionate students; sharing my passion for engineering science: these are the reasons that I am a professor of chemical engineering. WPI students understand the importance of translating their engineering talents into technologies and knowledge that benefit others. ... View Profile
Eric Mosher Young
Assistant Professor
Email: emyoung@wpi.edu
Office: GP4037, Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center, Gateway Park
Phone: +1 (508) 8316398
My research is in the broad, interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to biology. Within this field, we apply chemical engineering tenets to reprogram the DNA of yeasts, bacteria, and fungi so their metabolism produces interesting molecules. By treating these cells as "chemical factories," we can approach and solve problems in biofuels, biomaterials, and biosensors from a chemical engineer's point of view. ... View Profile
H Susan Zhou
Associate Professor
Professor Zhou’s research specializes in the versatile field of biosensors. Specifically, her research includes the application of microfabrication and nanotechnology to the development of biosensors based on Electrochemical (EC), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Her team seeks to use these technologies to advance the understanding of biological systems and processes. ... View Profile
Walter Peter Zurawsky
Associate Teaching Professor
Emeritus Faculty
Ravindra Datta
Affiliate Professor
I happened upon teaching and research by accident. I had gone to the University of California, Santa Barbara, for a MS in chemical engineering, with the intention of returning to my engineering job at Larsen Toubro, Bombay. Research hooked me, however, and I stayed on for a PhD, and, in fact, never left academia after that. Indeed, my world has remained virtually unchanged over the last three decades, continuing to work on applying the principles of kinetics, catalysis, and reaction engineering to energy challenges, surrounded by bright young people eager to do the same. ... View Profile