This November AIChE® Annual Meeting is held in Boston, MA. Learn how Texas ChE is showing up

08.19.25 News AICHE Newsletter

The AIChE® Annual Meeting, held this November 2-6, 2025 in Boston, MA, brings academic and industry researchers together–from all career stages–who are seeking innovation and professional development. Here is a quick look at this year's Texas ChE participation: 

TEXAS CHE ANNUAL RECEPTION

Details forthcoming.  

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT BOOTH

Details forthcoming. 

FACULTY LECTURES, ABSTRACTS, SESSIONS + INVITED TALKS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Assistant Professor Joaquin Resasco, Beata Kilos (Dow Inc) and Nicholas Brunelli (The Ohio State University)

Controlling Electrocatalytic Performance Beyond Actice Site | Invited Talk
Pioneers of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering
Monday, November 3 | 8-10:30AM, session: 9:30AM 
102 (Hynes Convention Center)

Professor Hal S. Alper, Mattheos Koffas (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Whitney Stoppel (University of Florida) and Lawrence Stern (University of South Florida)

Celebration of Greg Stephanopoulos’ 75th Birthday II
Beyond the Test-Tube: Metabolic Engineering in Next-Generation Applications
Monday, November 3 | 12:30-3PM 
301 (Hynes Convention Center) 

Professor Nicholas Peppas

The Cato T. Laurencin Regenerative Engineering Society Founder’s Award  
Celebration of Regenerative Medicine: Two sessions in honor of Nicholas Peppas' 50 Years of Research
Monday, November 3 | 12:30-3PM and 3:30-6PM
(details forthcoming)

Professor Venkat Ganesan 

Engineering Ion Selectivity in Polymer Membranes | Invited Talk
Polymer Simulations, AI/ML, and Data Analytics III 
Monday, November 3, 2025 | 12:30-3PM, session: 12:45PM 
Back Bay Ballroom A (Sheraton Boston) 

Assistant Professor Ilias Mitrai and Wentao Tang (NC State University)

Learning Lyapunov Functions Via Constrained Symbolic Regression
Advances in Process Control I, Computing and Systems Technology Division
Monday, November 3 | 3:30-6PM, session 3:48PM
110 (Plaza Level) Hynes Convention Center 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Assistant Professor Ilias Mitrai and Nikolaos Sahinidis (Georgia Tech)

Automated Discovery of Optimization Algorithms
Advances in Process Optimization I, Computing and Systems Technology Division
Tuesday, November 4 | 8:30-10:30AM, session 9:03AM
111 Plaza Level (Hynes Convention Center)

Professor Nicholas A. Peppas

Structure-Guided Solute Transport in Hydrogels: Diffusion Modeling in Multi-Arm PEG and Semicrystalline PVA Systems for Drug Delivery Applications | Invited Talk
Fluids and Transport in Biological Materials
Tuesday, November 5 | 3:30-6PM, session 3:30PM
301 (Hynes Convention Center)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Assistant Professor Ilias Mitrai and Graduate Research Assistant Jiyong Lee

Understanding the Solution of Optimization Problems Via Explainable Artificial Intelligence
Advances in Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems II, Computing and Systems Technology Division
Wednesday, November 5 | 8-10:30AM, session 9:24AM
110 Plaza Level (Hynes Convention Center) 

Professor Michael Baldea, Professor of Practice Thomas Badgwell, alumnus B. Wayne Bequette, Ph.D. 1986 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), alumnus Tyler Soderstrom, Ph.D. 2001 (Exxonmobil) and Yinlin Huang (Wayne State University).

In Honor of Tom Edgar’s 80th Birthday - Alumni, colleagues and friends are gathering on Tom Edgar’s 80th birthday to celebrate his contributions to engineering leadership, education and research. 
Computing and Systems Technology Division 
Wednesday, November 5 | 12:30-3PM 
111 Plaza Level (Hynes Convention Center) 

Professor Venkat Ganesan and Scientist Associate Zidan Zhang

Topology, Mechanical and Fracture Properties of Polymer Networks Formed Under Free Radical and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerizations 
Polymer Networks and Gels I: Mechanics and Topology
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 | 12:30-3PM, session 2:30PM
Back Bay Ballroom C (Sheraton Boston)

Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanoja, Professors Joan Brennecke, Professor Benny Freeman, Post-Doc Aaliyah Dookhith, Ph.D. 2024 (Columbia University) and Graduate Research Assistants Justin Rosenthal and Tiffany Jeng.

Granular Double Networks As a Material Platform for Mechanically Tough and Permselective Olefin-Paraffin Separation Membranes
Polymeric Membranes for Gas and Vapor Separation
Wednesday, November 5 | 3:30-6PM, session 3:48PM
209 (Hynes Convention Center) 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanoja, Graduate Research Assistant Anthony Arrowood and Matteo Ciccotti (ESPCI Paris)

Unraveling the Interplay between Viscoelasticity and Damage in Soft Polymer Networks: The Case of Interfacial Fracture
Polymer Mechanics, Processing and Rheology II: Theory, Modeling, and Experiments

Thursday, November 6 | 8-10:30M, session 10:15AM
Back Bay Ballroom B (Sheraton Boston) 


TEXAS ChE ALUMNI AWARDS

Professor Jim Rawlings, B.S. 1979, (University of California, Santa Barbara)

2025 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecture - recognized for his research devoted to the theory and application of chemical process modeling and predictive control of chemical industry processes.
Wednesday, November 5 | 11:15AM-12:15PM 

Professor Haiqing Lin, Ph.D. 2005, (State University of New York at Buffalo)

Institute Award for Industrial Gas Separations - recognized for sustained contributions that have advanced the frontier of industrial gases technology

Previous Texas ChE recipients: Michael Baldea, 2019 | Don Paul, 2013 | Gary Rochelle, 2012 | Benny Freeman, 2008 | Keith Johnston, 2004 

Tom Karjala, Ph.D. 1993, principal research scientist (Dow)

2025 AIChE Process Development Practice Award - recognized for his inventive approaches to innovative reactor design, reaction engineering, and piloting for the commercializtion of new polyolefin products