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ChE Head Candidate Seminar |  |
| | | Dear All, On behalf of Purdue University's College of Engineering and the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, we are pleased to announce the upcoming School Head Candidate Seminar. We invite you to join us! Thank you! ChE Main Office Team | | .png) | | Dr. Jacinta "Jaci" Conrad | Frank M. Tiller Professor | Department of Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering, | University of Houston | |
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| | Bio: | Dr. Jacinta Conrad is a chemical engineer studying transport and dynamics within soft, complex materials and matrices. Using microscopy, rheology, scattering, and computational methods, her group seeks to understand how microscale particles, including colloids, nanoparticles, bacteria, viruses, and proteins, explore and/or transport through confined and crowded environments. Insights gained from fundamental studies of these non-equilibrium processes inform the design of materials for preventing fouling and
corrosion, for remediating environmental damage, and for sensitively diagnosing disease. She earned an SB in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and MA and PhD degrees in Physics from Harvard. Dr. Conrad worked as a postdoctoral associate in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before starting her faculty position at the University of Houston (UH). Currently, she is the Frank M. Tiller Professor of Chemical Engineering at UH, an Executive Editor at ACS Applied Nano Materials, and a Fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Physical Society (APS), and the Society of Rheology. She co-founded and continues to promote the Texas Soft Matter Meeting, which regularly attracts 100+ academic and industrial participants at all levels from around Texas. |
| | "Building on Strengths to Move the Davidson School into the Top Ten" | October 27, 2025 | 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. ET | FRNY 3059 | |
| Abstract: | The Davidson School of Chemical Engineering excels in training undergraduate and graduate chemical engineers, fostering strong connections with alumni
that have generated substantial financial support for research and training activities. The School is internationally known for its leadership in the fields of reaction engineering, catalysis, and process engineering, and its support has launched the successful careers of its junior faculty across disciplines. These capabilities provide the sturdy foundation on which to strengthen the national reputation of the Davidson School. In this seminar, Dr. Conrad will describe her vision for moving the School into the top ten programs in chemical
engineering in collaboration with its faculty, with other programs at Purdue, with the College of Engineering, and with Indiana’s broad industrial base and its state stakeholders. Specifically, she will discuss plans to attract students by expanding teaching and research by establishing programs in Chemical Engineering at Purdue in Indianapolis and in online education; to amplify the School’s national and international profile through a sustained focus on communications, faculty recognition, and external visibility; and to strengthen and
incentivize connections to adjacent programs at Purdue (inside and outside Engineering) to increase opportunities for research and funding in emerging areas of chemical engineering. Dr. Conrad will highlight how her experiences in roles at her institution and in professional societies inform and support this vision to raise the School into the top ten and further Purdue Engineering’s goal to become the nation’s most consequential engineering college. |
| | Davidson School of Chemical Engineering
chemain@purdue.edu
(765) 494-4050 | | |
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