Welcome to
the McKetta Department of
Chemical Engineering

#5

Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Program

$2.5M

Awarded in Scholarships

#8

Graduate Chemical Engineering Program

Spotlights

Explore more at the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering

Research Group Website

Educational Qualifications

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Colorado, Boulder (2013 – 2017)
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2013)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2007)

Courses Taught

CHE 372 Reactor Design and Analysis
CHE 210 Introduction to Computing
CHE 379/384T Molecular Principles of Biomaterials

Focus

Biomolecular and biomimetic materials, hydrogel development, cell-matrix interactions, dynamic materials

Research

We study and develop dynamic polymer systems to engineer complex biological microenvironments. In processes such as disease or tissue development, there is an active interplay between cells, the extracellular matrix, and precise chemical and physical signals that change over time. Engineered materials that capture these dynamic properties can shed insight to biological mechanisms and address problems in human health. Using principles from chemical engineering, materials science, and biology, we pursue the following research goals:

  • Fundamental understanding of polymer structure-property relationships, especially biomimetic and stimuli-responsive polymers
  • Development of synthetic hydrogels that actively probe cell-matrix interactions
  • Engineering new material platforms for disease models

Awards & Honors

  • 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, 2022
  • Dean’s Award for Outstanding Engineering Teaching by an Assistant Professor, 2022
  • ACS Polymers Au Rising Star, 2021
  • McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering TEAChE Award, 2021
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awardee, 2021
  • NIH Early Stage Investigator Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), 2020
  • Journal of Materials Chemistry B Emerging Investigator, 2020
  • McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering TEAChE Award, 2019
  • The Alcalde Texas Ten Teaching Award, 2019
  • American Chemical Society (ACS) Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Young Investigator Award, 2019
  • Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator, 2019
  • US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium selected participant, 2018
  • UT Senate Spring 2018 Professor of the Semester, 2018
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface (CASI), 2016

 Selected Publications

Autry C. Stevens Building

From Tin Shacks to State-of-the-Art Green Facility

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Kent Zheng MRS Award

Kent Zheng receives MRS Science and Technology Award for Renewable Energy

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Research Areas

  • Advanced Materials, Polymers & Nanoengineering Advanced Materials, Polymers & Nanoengineering

    Design and synthesis of inorganic and polymeric materials at the molecular level to achieve desirable properties for a wide range of applications

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  • Bioengineering Bioengineering

    Applying chemical engineering principles for the development of biochemical processes and biomedical applications

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  • Energy Energy

    The development of photovoltaics, catalysts for fuels from sunlight, and electrical energy generation and storage systems engineering for energy efficiency

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  • Environmental Engineering Environmental Engineering

    Programs to understand the fundamental science and engineering of air and water pollution, and to develop data for informed policy decisions. Process development for CO2 capture and sequestration

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  • Process Engineering Process Engineering

    Design, modeling, optimization, and control of petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and microelectronic processes

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  • Theory & Simulation Theory & Simulation

    The development and application of multiscale models and high performance computational simulations spanning atomic to continuum time and length scales

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News

UT Seniors Run Bottled Espresso Startup

Saja Drinks introduces Texas Hybrid to a new brew.

Texas ChE senior Jason Wang and exercise science senior Catie Nunn met during their Texas 4000 for Cancer—a non-profit organization aiming to raise money for research through biking from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska—training days. Fueled by a drive to eliminate single-serve coffee cups, Saja Drinks was born. 

Published by: The Daily Texan

3D Printing Breakthrough Builds Realistic Human Hand Model

A new 3D printing method, called Crystallinity Regulation in Additive Fabrication of Thermoplastics (CRAFT), offers a superior alternative to medical cadavers by simulating the connections between bone, ligament, and muscle within a single model. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, alongside Sandia National Laboratories, have designed this method that turns a single, cheap liquid into a material chameleon. 

Published by: Interesting Engineering

Department of Energy Selects Joaquin Resasco for Early Career Award

Assistant Professor Joaquin Resasco has been selected to receive the prestigious Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Research Award. 

One-of-a-Kind Pilot Plant Research Facility

Just north of UT’s main campus sits the J.J. Pickle Research Campus—a sprawling 475-acre site dedicated to advancing research. It's also home to one of the most unique pilot plant facilities on any college campus, anywhere in the United States...