Purdue University Chemical Engineering

We're proud to congratulate Vilas Pol on his induction into the inaugural Purdue Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors! 🎉

Pol leads the Vilas Pol Energy Research (ViPER) group here in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, where his team works to develop next-generation battery technologies — from extreme-temperature charging to thermal safety innovations. During his time at Purdue, he has been granted 19 U.S. patents through the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/43RgCQS

🎉 Congratulations to graduate student Marcus Condarcure on earning the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!

Marcus is one of just 2,277 fellows selected nationally this year — and one of 24 from Purdue, placing us among the top 30 institutions in the country.

His research focuses on designing and optimizing photobioreactors to produce valuable biochemicals, work that could shape the future of sustainable manufacturing. We're proud to have him in the Davidson School family!

🔗 https://bit.ly/4fWYdt3

Earlier this spring, Purdue's Process Safety & Assurance Center (P2SAC) held its 24th Spring Conference — and it was our biggest yet! 🎉

Over three days (May 5–7), 90 attendees and leaders from 34 companies across the chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries came together on Purdue's campus to collaborate, share research, and tackle some of the most pressing challenges in process safety today.

From AI applications in hazard detection, to battery safety, to pharmaceutical process safety culture — the conversations in the room were exactly why we do this work.

A huge thank you to our incredible sponsors who make P2SAC possible, and to everyone who traveled to West Lafayette to be part of this community. See you at the Fall conference! 🙌

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4xhAday

Congratulations to Xiaoping Bao, the William K. Luckow Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, on being named a 2026 Showalter Faculty Scholar!

The Showalter Faculty Scholar designation recognizes Purdue University Faculty Scholars whose research advances the life sciences. Bao's lab engineers human pluripotent stem cells as platforms for modeling disease and developing cell and gene therapies with potential applications in heart disease, cancer and blood disorders.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4vgLbeD

The future is in great hands! 🖤💛 We had such an incredible time celebrating our Chemical Engineering graduates at Purdue Commencement. The smiles, the caps and gowns, the proud families — it was a day none of us will forget. Huge congratulations to the Class of 2026! We want to see YOUR celebration — tag us in your graduation photos so we can share your big moment. 🎉

Why is Kim Underhill (BS Purdue University Chemical Engineering ’87) a Purdue Engineering hero?

She spent 33 years at Kimberly-Clark, beginning in 1988 and steadily progressing through various leadership roles within research and engineering, supply chain and brand management.

On May 11, 2018, she was named group president of Kimberly-Clark North America, a position she held until December 2021. In this role, she was fully responsible for the division’s $8 billion consumer products portfolio, including well-known brands like Kleenex, Cottonelle and Huggies. Prior, she had served as global president since 2014, leading the $3.5 billion B2B (business-to-business) division.

In 2021, Underhill joined the Boston Consulting Group, showcasing her versatility and expertise as a senior advisor/executive coach. She also sits on the boards of Glanbia (Dublin, Ireland) and Menasha Corporation.

Please join us in welcoming Kaustav Bera, Ph.D., to the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University as an assistant professor!

Bera’s research combines biomaterials, organoids and advanced tissue models to study how physical forces influence cell behavior, tissue function and diseases such as cancer. His work aims to advance new approaches in regenerative medicine, drug discovery and therapeutic development.

Prior to Purdue, Bera conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado Boulder and earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University after completing his undergraduate education at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

We are excited to welcome him to Purdue Chemical Engineering and look forward to the impact of his research, teaching and mentorship.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3QMgQWn

We are Ever Grateful 💛🖤

Thank you to everyone who supported the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering during Purdue Day of Giving! Your generosity helps create more opportunities for students, fuels research and strengthens our community.

Every gift made an impact—and we couldn’t do it without you. Boiler up! 🚂

To learn more, visit https://bit.ly/4d0jCyE.

The next Boilermaker victory starts with you. And starts now!

Make your gift at https://bit.ly/4ubfq6b.

Tomorrow is your opportunity to be a Boilermaker hero.

begins at midnight ET! Get all of the details at https://dayofgiving.purdue.edu/info/participants, and keep up with the excitement by following on X.