Ties to Industry
The chemical and biochemical engineering department has extensive ties to industry at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Iowa undergraduate and masters students go on to support many Iowa and regional employers, including Cargill, Bayer Crop Science, Proctor and Gamble, Monsanto, General Mills, Pepsico, ADM, Ingredion, Dupont, Fauske & Associates, FM Global, BakerRisk, Emerson, 3M, AbbVie, International Paper, cGMP Consulting, and others.
Ph.D. graduates from the Department find research and development positions at industrial, government, and academic institutions such as 3M, the Air Force Research Labs, Micron, the California Air Resources Board, Intel, Dow Chemical, Stratasys, Exelead, Proliant Biologicals, Abbott Nutrition, Kellogg Company, Scott Miracle-Gro, Gore, Ascus Biosciences, Native Roots, Wavefront Technology, Savannah River National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Sandia National Lab, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lovelace Respiratory Institute, and other national labs, aerospace industries, and universities. Alumni from the department serve as personal mentors to our Ph.D. and master’s students.
Our undergraduate students have to opportunity to interact extensively with assigned alumni mentors who are practicing engineers aligned with the student career goals. Many graduate students collaborate on their research with industrial representatives through cooperative research centers like the Photopolymerizations IUCRC, Radtech, and others. These close interactions help students make the connection between concepts taught in the classroom and their future careers. Our undergraduate students also have opportunities to work in different national labs (such as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Lab and Naval Research Lab) as summer interns with generous and prestigious summer research fellowships sponsored by government agencies.
Our Faculty Innovate
Faculty members have a track record of pushing the envelope of research and development. Iowa CBE faculty hold 30 patents. Along with pursuing their own ground-breaking research, Iowa faculty are constantly leading and supporting a variety of institutes, teams, and societies. Professor Wang is on the NASA science teams for the TEMPO and MAIA missions (to be launched in early 2020s) to study Earth’s climate and air quality and has established strategic partnerships across industry and academia in areas of remote sensing and precision agriculture. Professor Guymon co-directs the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Professor Carmichael co-chairs a high-level NASA committee focused on the next generation of satellites for clouds and aerosols. Professor Carmichael further chairs the Science Advisory Board for Environmental Research Programs at the World Meteorological Organization, a part of the UN. Faculty members regularly serve on panels of the National Science Foundation, NASA, DoD, Department of Energy, and National Institute of Health. Professor Mubeen works with a renewable energy startup SunHydrogen and is cofounder of PaniClean. Professor Guymon has an ongoing research project with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, and Professor Wang has an ongoing research project with Ball Aerospace & Technologies.