Even for graduate school applications in the US, research experience is not enough.

Your
service, leadership, and volunteering experience do count!
PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering
Our department's research environment is vibrant and growing, and holds more promise with
the recently-formed PhD program in chemical and biological engineering. This program is
different from the majority of chemical and biological/biomolecular engineering (i.e., CBE)
departments across the country. Generally, CBE departments require PhD students to take the
core chemical engineering graduate courses for their degree, and provide elective courses in
biology, microbiology, biotechnology, etc., to supplement the training of students focusing on
biological-related dissertations. In our program, students are required to take both chemical
engineering and biology/biological engineering graduate courses to fulfill their degree
requirement. At a minimum, students will take two courses from the following biological
engineering topics: biochemical engineering, industrial microbiology and biotechnology,
metabolic engineering, biocatalysis, bioseparations, and molecular biology. This structure
ensures that graduates have the foundation and skill set to be proficient as both a chemical and
biological engineers.

In 2008, the department was awarded status as the lead site for a National Science Foundation
Industrial/University Cooperative Research Center (NSF I/UCRC), formally titled the Center for
BioEnergy Research and Development (CBERD). Furthermore, the biological-research
component of our department has received a significant boost from another NSF/DOE funded
center – the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) – in Lead, South Dakota,
approximately 50 miles from campus. In the area of polymers and materials, department
researchers take advantage of the school’s Composite and Polymer Engineering Laboratory
(CAPE), a 9,500-plus-square-foot facility for advanced research and development of polymer
and composite processing, prototyping, and tooling. Current research activity covers a range of
areas, including bioenergy, biofuels, polymers/nanocomposites, combustion synthesis of ceramic
and intermetallic powders, biochemical engineering and bioseparations, bioremediation and
extremophiles, nano-structured materials, catalysis and reaction engineering, and molecular
modeling. Current funding in the department exceeds $1M per year, with an average level of
support of more than $200K/faculty.
For more information on the PhD degree, please see the catalog links page.
For questions regarding the South Dakota Mines CBE graduate programs, please contact the
graduate program coordinator:
Dr. Travis Walker
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
501 East Saint Joseph Street
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701
(605) 394-2543
Travis.Walker@sdsmt.edu

Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

About Karen M. Swindler
Chemical Engineering (ChE) is an optimal combination of the molecular sciences (chemistry
and biology), the physical sciences (physical chemistry and physics), the analytical sciences
(math and computer programming) and engineering. The Bachelor of Science in Chemical
Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET and focuses
on the description and design of processes that combine engineering principles of heat and fluid
flow with chemical reactions and molecular separations to produce high-value products useful
to humankind from multiple raw material sources. Chemical Engineers do this while always
insuring that the processes they design, build and manage are safe, environmentally benign and
economical.
Examples of such processes include:

 Artificial organs and biomedicine

 Bioenergy production
 Biological fermentation
 Biopharmaceuticals
 Ceramic manufacturing
 Energetic materials production
 Food processing
 Microprocessor manufacturing
 Mineral and ore refining
 Oil and natural gas refining
 Paper manufacturing
 Pharmaceutical design and manufacturing
 Polymer production
 Polymer composites production
  Nanomaterials manufacturing

Designing and modeling such processes requires a strong fundamental understanding of the
chemical and biological phenomena at work. ChE students develop a wide range of problem
solving skills grounded in mathematics and computer analysis techniques. ChE graduates are
recruited for their technical engineering knowledge as well as their problem solving, systems
analysis, and communication skills.

Research
The SD Mines CBE faculty are active in several areas of research, summarized below.
Click on any category title for more information. Names of participating faculty showed below.
Bio- and Renewable Energy and Fuels

Bang, Benjamin, Dixon, Gilcrease, Groven, Menkhaus, Sani, Shende, Winter

Biomaterials
Salem, Sani, Walker, Winter

Biomedical Engineering

Shende, Walker
Bioprocessing and Biochemical Engineering

Gilcrease, Menkhaus, Sani

Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

Benjamin, Gilcrease, Groven, Shende

Complex Fluids and Soft Solids

Walker

Computer Simulation and Modeling

Benjamin, Walker

Environmental and Remediation

Dixon, Gilcrease, Sani

Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Bang, Sani

Nanotechnology
Groven, Salem, Shende, Walker, Winter

Polymers
Dixon, Salem, Walker, Winter

Separations
Dixon, Menkhaus

Thermodynamics
Benjamin, Dixon

Faculty and Staff

Zhengtao Zhu
Interim Department Head
Email: Zhengtao.Zhu@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-2447
Office: CBEC 2206
B.S., Fudan University
M.S., Fudan University
Ph.D., State University of New York at Binghamton

Dr. Zhengtao Zhu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Applied
Biological Sciences at SDSM&T. He received his PhD in Materials Chemistry from the State
University of New York at Binghamton in 2002. Prior to joining SDSM&T in 2006, Dr. Zhu was
a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University (2002-2004) and University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (2004-2006).

Our research seeks to understand and exploit interesting properties of multi-functional hybrid
materials of conjugated polymer and inorganic nanostructure. Our group focuses on developing
novel synthesis and fabrication methods, understanding the structure-property relations of the
hybrid materials at the nanometer scale, and exploring the applications of these materials in
flexible electronics and biomedical sensors. The research scope covers the multidisciplinary
fields of chemistry, materials, applied physics, and nanotechnology. Current research projects
include flexible/wearable electronic devices and sensors for human health monitoring and
nanomaterials/device physics of dye-sensitized solar cells and photocatalytic environmental
remediation. Our research has been supported by NSF, NASA, ACS PRF, and Research
Corporation Cottrell College Science Awards, etc.

Research Overview
Our research seeks to understand and exploit interesting properties of multi-functional hybrid materials
of conjugated polymer and inorganic nanostructure. Our group focuses on developing novel synthesis
and fabrication methods, understanding the structure-property relations of the hybrid materials at the
nanometer scale, and exploring the applications of these materials in flexible electronics and biomedical
sensors. The research scope covers the multidisciplinary fields of chemistry, materials, applied physics,
and nanotechnology. Here are a few examples of our work.
 Synthesis and fabrication of conducting polymer nanomaterials
 Dye-sensitized solar cells based on electrospun TiO2 nanofibers and organic dyes
 Flexible and wearable devices based on nanomaterials

1. Synthesis and fabrication of conducting polymer nanomaterials

Conducting polymers are new class of polymers with interesting optical and electronic
(semiconducting or conducting) properties. Synthesis and preparation of conducting polymers,
as well as their properties, have been studied extensively. Conducting polymers are also
considered to have a great technology potential in flexible and wearable electronics. In recent
years, we have developed novel methods for preparation of hybrid materials of conducting
polymer and nanostructure. Through these research projects, we seek to develop and understand
the methods to prepare the nanomaterials of conducting polymers as low temperature, which are
compatible with the flexible substrates, and further explore their applications in flexible
electronic devices and sensors.

“One-pot” synthesis of stable Pd/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate)

(Pd/PEDOT:PSS) colloid. In the synthesis, the Pd/PEDOT:PSS aqueous dispersion was formed
by simultaneous oxidationreduction reaction between Pd(NO 3)2 and ethylenedioxythiophene
(EDOT) at room temperature. The electric response of the Pd/PEDOT:PSS film to ammonia is
investigated.

Synthetic Metals, 160, 1115 (2010).

 Low-temperature seeding and hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorod on poly(3,4-
ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid). This work develops a low-
temperature seeding process for hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on flexible
polymeric materials. The process involves decomposition of zinc (II) amine complex
below 100 ◦C to form ZnO seeds, followed by hydrothermal growth using zinc nitrate
hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine under 90 ◦C. The method enables the growth of
ZnO nanorods on the polymeric film (e.g. PET) or the p-type conducting polymer
poly(3,4ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) film to form
ZnO/PEDOT:PSS heterojunction. The electric response of the heterojunction to the UV
light is explored.

Materials Letters, 183, 197 (2016).

  Electrospun conducting polymer nanofibers. Electrospinning technique is a simple,
efficient, and economic method for producing nonwovens composed of continuous and
randomly overlaid fibers; these fibers have diameters typically in the range from tens of
nanometers to several micrometers (commonly known as electrospun nanofibers). We
have prepared the nanofibers of conducting polymers (such as Polythiophene and MEH-
PPV) by electrospinning and studied the effect of nanoscale confinement and alignment
on the optical properties of conducting polymers.

Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21, 444 (2010).

2. Dye-sensitized solar cells based on electrospun TiO2 nanofibers and organic dyes
Materials and technologies for next-generation renewable energy are the key areas to the
environmental sustainability of human development. Compared with the conventional silicon-
based solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have the advantages of simple fabrication
process, low-cost, low energy input, and environmentally friendly. We have worked on
understanding the effects of materials on DSSCs.

 Charge transport in electrospun TiO2 nanostructure. We have used electrospinning

technique to prepare one-dimensional TiO2 nanostructures with different morphologies
including nanofibers, nanotubes, and high-surface area TiO2 nanostructures. We have
further studies the charge transport of these materials as photoanode in DSSCs by IV,
photocurrent transient, and photovoltage transient characterization, and discovered that
the one-dimensional structure significantly improves the charge transport of the
photoanode.
 Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 117, 1641 (2013).

 Metal-free organic dye. We have also investigated four new donor-(π-spacer)-acceptor

organic dyes using triarylamine or carbazole as the electron-donating group,
cyanoacrylic acid as the electronwithdrawing anchoring moiety, and naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-
b’]dithiophene as the linker for DSSCs. The performance of DSSCs based on novel
metal-free organic dyes as sensitizers suggests that the rigid and planar structure of
naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b’]dithiophene may be a valuable spacer group to design donor-π-
acceptor molecular dyes and fine tuning of the chemical structures is needed for high-
efficiency DSSCs. Additionally, we have investigated the effects of surface modification
on the recombination and transport of DSSC based on donor-(π-spacer)-acceptor
organic dyes.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 6, 1926 (2014).

 Thermal-durable, transferable, and flexible substrate of metal oxide. We have developed

a universal dual-spinneret electrospinning method to prepare a thermal-durable,
transferable, and freestanding mat of metal oxides for flexible DSSCs and photosensors.
By simultaneously electrospinning of polycrystalline metal oxide (e.g. TiO2) with
amorphous SiO2 using dual-spinneret setup followed by pyrolysis, the hybrid mats of
metal oxide nanofibers that combine functionality, flexibility and high temperature
durability can be prepared. We have demonstrated the flexible photosensors and
 photoanodes of DSSCs based on the dual-spinneret electrospinning method. In the
composite photoanode, the TiO2 nanoparticles enhance the dye loading, the
TiO2 nanofibers improve the electron transport, and the SiO2 nanofibers provide the
mechanical strength/flexibility. The freestanding composite mat of TiO2 nanoparticles
and electrospun TiO2/SiO2 nanofibers, as well as the preparation methods reported
herein, not only is ideal for flexible DSSCs, but also can be applied for a broad range of
flexible and low-cost energy conversion devices.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 6, 15925 (2014).

3. Flexible and wearable devices based on nanomaterials

Flexible electronics, i.e., electronic devices and sensors that are adaptable to a variety of
substrate materials and surfaces covering large areas, will be a key enabling technology for
next-generation aerospace applications, consumer electronics, and medical devices. For
example, wearable systems consisted of conformable and lightweight biomedical and strain
sensors, power sources, and wireless modules have great application potentials in human
motion monitoring, medical, human-machine interface, safety, and soft-robotics. Development in
this field is still in its infancy. The major challenge is that the conventional fabrication process
of inorganic semiconductors for microelectronics is not compatible with the substrates and
active materials for flexible and wearable devices. In recent years, my group has done several
exploratory projects in the field of flexible and wearable electronics and sensors. Our research
in this area focuses on combination of nanoscale fibers and soft materials (such as elastomers
and hydrogels) to design multi-component and multi-functional composite materials as active
components for wearable systems.
 Stretchable strain sensors. Highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors are in great
demand for human motion monitoring. This work reports a strain sensor based on
electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs) embedded in polyurethane (PU) matrix. The
piezoresistive properties and the strain sensing mechanism of the CNFs/PU sensor were
investigated. The results showed that the CNFs/PU sensor had high stretchability of
strain up to 300%, high sensitivity of gauge factor as large as 72, and superior stability
and reproducibility during the 8000 stretch/release cycles. Furthermore, bending of
finger, wrist, or elbow was recorded by the resistance change of the sensor,
demonstrating that the strain sensor based on the CNFs/PU could have promising
applications in flexible and wearable devices for human motion monitoring.

RSC Advances, 6, 79114 (2016).

 Stretchable conductors. We have demonstrated a scalable and facile preparation of all-
organic nonwoven that is mechanically stretchable and electrically conductive.
Polyurethane (PU) fibrous nonwoven is prepared via the electrospinning technique; in
the following step, the electrospun PU nonwoven is dip-coated with the conducting
polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). This
simple method enables convenient preparation of PEDOT:PSS@PU nonwovens with
initial sheet resistance in the range of 35~240 Ω/sq (i.e., the electrical conductivity in the
range of 30~200 S m-1) by varying the number of dip-coating times. The resistance
change of the PEDOT:PSS@PU nonwoven under stretch is investigated. The
PEDOT:PSS@PU nonwoven is first stretched and then released repeatedly under
certain strain (denoted as pre-stretching strain); the resistance of PEDOT:PSS@PU
nonwoven becomes constant after the irreversible change for the first 10 stretch-release
cycles. Thereafter, the resistance of the nonwoven does not vary appreciably under
stretch as long as the strain is within the pre-stretching strain. Therefore, the
PEDOT:PSS@PU nonwoven can be used as a stretchable conductor within the pre-
stretching strain. Circuits using sheet and twisted yarn of the nonwovens as electric
conductors are demonstrated.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 9, 30014 (2017).

 Three-dimensional and ultralight conductive sponges. We have developed a general

method to prepare three-dimensional (3D), highly porous, and conductive sponge with
tunable conductivity for tactile pressure sensor. The 3D conductive sponge is prepared
by assembly of shortened/fragmented electrospun nanofibers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN),
polyimide (PI), and PAN-based carbon. The nanofibers of PAN, PI, and carbon are
dispersed in water/ethanol with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and then freeze dried to form a
3D conductive sponge. Subsequently, the sponge is thermally treated at 230 oC; and the
dehydrated PVA acts as a binder to uniformly bond electrospun carbon nanofibers
(CNFs) on the mechanically resilient 3D scaffold of PAN/PI. Upon varying the amounts
of CNFs, the resistance of the 3D nanofibrous sponge is readily tailored from 260 kΩ to
200 Ω. The resistance change of the 3D conductive sponge under the cyclic compressive
strain is investigated, and the results are correlated with the unique interconnected and
 hierarchically structured pores in the sponge. A tactile pressure sensor array composed
of 25 devices of conductive sponges is demonstrated.

Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 5, 10288 (2017).

Research Funding

 “Wireless body area network in space: Development of wireless health monitoring

system with flexible and wearable sensors.” Administrative PI: Edward F. Duke; Science
PI: Yanxiao Zhao; Co-PIs: Zhengtao Zhu, Hao Fong, Charles Tolle, Moses Ikiugu,
Hyeun Joong Yoon, Manki Min. Total Award Amount: $750,000. Source of Support:
NASA EPSCoR. Total Award Period Covered: 01/01/2018–12/31/2020.
 “Center for advanced sensors (CAS).” Principal Investigator (PI): Qiquan Qiao; Co-
PIs: David Aaron, Hao Fong; Aaron Franzen; Timothy Hansen, Dennis Helder, Huitian
Lu, Zhen Ni, Yunpeng Pan, Sung Shin, Alevitina Smirnova, Songxin Tan, Reinaldo
Tonkoski, Myounggyu Won, Hyeun Joong Yoon, Zhengtao Zhu. Total Award Amount:
$65,350. Source of Support: SDBOR. Total Award Period Covered: 07/01/2016–
05/31/2017.
 “Flexible electronics for space applications: Development of new materials and device
processing technologies.” Administrative PI: Edward F. Duke; Science PI: Zhengtao
Zhu; Co-PIs: Steve Smith, Phil Ahrenkiel, Haeyeon Yang, Qiquan Qiao, Cheng Zhang,
David Galipeau. Total Award Amount: $750,000. Source of Support: NASA EPSCoR.
Total Award Period Covered: 01/01/2013–12/31/2016.
 “Fluoride-ion battery prototype development.” PI: David Salem; Co-PIs: Steve Smith,
Haiping Hong, Phil Ahrenkiel, Zhengtao Zhu. Total Award Amount: $25,000/month.
Source of Support: Trion (formerly Waterford Energy Solutions Corporation.) Total
Award Period Covered: 03/01/2015–12/31/2016.
 “MRI: Development of novel instrumentation to probe nanoscale charge carrier
dynamics with high temporal and spatial resolution.” PI: Qiquan Qiao; Co-PIs:
Zhengtao Zhu, Cheng Zhang, and David Galipeau. Total Award Amount: $450,065.
Source of Support: National Science Foundation. Total Award Period Covered:
09/01/2014–08/31/2017.
  “A disposable electrochemical field-effect sensor based conducting polymer hydrogel for
detection of tear film MMP-9 inflammatory marker.” PI: Zhengtao Zhu; Co-PI: Steve
Smith. Total Award Amount: $38,128. Source of Support: BioSNTR. Total Award Period
Covered: 03/01/2015–06/30/2016.
 “Electrochemical laboratory for R&D in power generation and storage.” PI: Alevtina L.
Smirnova; Co-PIs: Zhengtao Zhu, Hao Fong. Total Award Amount: ~$100,000. Source
of Support: SD BOR FY14 Research and Development Innovation Grant. Total Award
Period Covered: 01/01/2014–01/31/2015.
 “MRI-R2: Acquisition of a thin-film deposition glovebox system for organic electronics
and energy-related nanoscience research and education.” PI: Zhengtao Zhu; Co-PIs:
Hao Fong, Rajesh Shende, Steve Smith. Total Award Amount: $163,438. Source of
Support: National Science Foundation. Total Award Period Covered: 03/01/2010–
02/28/2012.
 “Probing the interactions between conjugated polymer and ZnO nanostructure through
nanostructure surface engineering.” PI: Zhengtao Zhu. Total Award Amount: $40,000.
Source of Support: Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Awards. Total Award
Period Covered: 08/31/2009–06/30/2012.
 “Development of an advanced photovoltaic materials research cluster in South Dakota.”
Administrative PI: Edward F. Duke; Science PI: Steve Smith; Co-PIs: Qiquan Qiao,
David Galipeau, Zhengtao Zhu, Phil Ahrenkiel, Xingzhong Yan. Total Award Amount:
$750,000. Source of Support: NASA EPSCoR. Total Award Period Covered:
10/01/2009–09/30/2012.
 “Charge transfer and charge transport in nanofibers of conjugated polymer/ZnO
nanoparticles.” PI: Zhengtao Zhu. Total Award Amount: $40,000. Source of Support:
American Chemical Society–Petroleum Research Fund. Total Award Period Covered:
09/01/2007–08/31/2010.
 “Chemical sensors based on conducting polymer and nanoparticle composites.” PI:
Zhengtao Zhu. Total Award Amount: $5,000. Source of Support: Nelson Research
Award. Total Award Period Covered: 07/01/2007–06/30/2008.
 “Flexible chemical sensors based on nanocomposite of conjugated polymer/ZnO
nanoparticle transistors for aeronautic and space applications.” PI: Zhengtao Zhu. Total
Award Amount: $10,000. Source of Support: South Dakota NASA EPSCoR Research
Initiation Grant. Total Award Period Covered: 01/01/2008–08/31/2008.

Research Facilities
Lab Equipment:

 MBraun Glovebox system equipped with thermal evaporator and spincoator

 Sample cleaning setup (oxygen plasma, Laminar-flow hood, 18MΩ DI water system)
 Chemical synthesis setup for air-sensitive reactions (Schlenk lines)
 Newport 150W Solar Simulator and monochromator for IPCE measurement
 Laboratory-produced photovoltage and photocurrent transient setup for photovoltaic
cells
 Keithley 2612 dual channel source meter, Keithley 2000 source meter for electric
characterization
  Probe station for probing the electronic devices
 Perkin-Elmer LS-55 fluorescence spectrometer
 Perkin-Elmer Lambda-650 UV/Vis spectrometer
 Metrohm Potentiostat with impedence module
 Dark room for simple lithographic patterning
 KLA-Tencor D100 profilometer
 Nanoimprint Technology CNI nanoimprint tool

Major Instruments Available at the SDSM&T for Material Characterization

 Zeiss Supra 40VP field-emission Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) including a

Tracor-Northern (Noran Instruments) energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer for elemental
analysis
 High-resolution JEOL JEM-2100 LaB6 transmission electron microscope (TEM)
 Hitachi H-7000 FA Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), that includes an H-7110
scanning transmission (STEM) module and a Kevex energy-dispersive X-ray
spectrometer
 Quantasorb BET Surface Area Analyzer
 Digital Instruments Nanoscope IIIa Multi-Mode Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
 Philips PANalytical X’Pert Pro X-ray Diffractometer (XRD)
 Renishaw 100 micro-Raman Spectrometer (with 633 nm He-Ne laser and 782 nm diode
laser) and Olympus BH2-UMA microscope, Renishaw Wire Video Viewer software
 TA Instruments, Q100 Differential Scanning Calorimeter
 TA Instruments, Q400 Thermal Mechanical Analyzer
 GE QE Plus 300 MHz NMR Spectrometer
 Microtrac 3100, Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer (Range: 0.02 to 3000 micron)
 Atomic Force Microscopy combined with SPM, KFM, etc
 Mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)
 Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (300 MHz NMR)

Personal Webpage

Kenneth M Benjamin
Associate Professor
Email: Kenneth.Benjamin@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-2636
Office: CBC 2202E
B.S., University of Michigan
M.S., University of Colorado at Boulder
PhD., University of Michigan

David J Dixon
Professor/Robert L Sandvig Professor

Email: david.dixon@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-1235
Office: CBEC 2209
B.S., M.S., South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Ph.D., University of Texas

Research Expertise
Dr. Dixon’s current primary research is in the area of applied alternative energy generation,
including a focus on solar PV/Thermal energy generation as well as waste heat energy recovery.
This work includes using and developing models that can help better understand ways to make
the systems work more efficiently, as well as determining ways to best optimize the systems
based on varying energy needs and requirements. Another area of research is focused on using
natural media to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from natural and waste water sources.
The federal standard for arsenic in drinking water was lowered from 50 parts per billion (ppb)
to 10 ppb in 2006. This research is attempting to develop and commercialize a low-cost,
effective solution, especially targeted to remediation in mining waste water sources as well as
rural drinking water systems. Previous research projects have been in the areas of polymer
modifications, with a particular focus on use of supercritical fluids as solvents or non-solvents.
A part of this research studied how adjusting the supercritical fluid properties or processing
conditions may be used to tailor the specific polymer-fluid interactions, which subsequently then
allowed for a specific polymer modification. Past work has examined polymer dyeing, surface
modification, and foaming using supercritical CO2. Additionally, work was focused on using
high pressure CO2 or mechanical/physical/ chemical pretreatment to create certain specific
changes in natural polymer matrices. Use of twin-screw extrusion was studied for biomass
pretreatment, prior to conversion to ethanol. Other work was centered on formation and
characterization of modified tri-block copolymer membranes for barrier materials to gaseous
chemical warfare agents. Enhanced water vapor permeation was also a desired feature of these
barrier membranes. Funding for this research has come from sources such as, the Department
of Defense (USAF and Army), the National Science Foundation, the EPA, and industrial
sponsors.
Brief Bio
Dr. Dixon attended and graduated from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with BS
and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering. During his BS studies he was awarded a ROTC
scholarship and after graduation spent more than 4 years on active duty with the US Army,
primarily in Germany and CONUS, as an engineering officer. He worked for the Dow Corning
Corporation as a Development Engineer in process engineering. After earning his PhD in
Chemical Engineering from the University of Austin in Austin, TX, he began his academic career
at SDSMT. Currently he is a faculty member in the Chemical and Biological Engineering
Department. Previously he has served as the department chair, and was awarded a Fulbright
Scholar grant, where he taught and developed a university level partnership with the Technische
Universität Darmstadt, in Germany. He works with SDSMT students to setup short-term and
longer study abroad opportunities, including most recently helping senior ChE students attend
an Advanced Design Project course with our industrial chemistry partners at the TU Darmstadt.
Dr. Dixon is an active member and has held leadership roles within professional organizations
such as AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) and the ASEE (American Society for
Engineering Education). He continues to serve as an active member on the National Chem-E-
Car Competition organizing committee.

Teaching
Dr. Dixon has had the opportunity to teach nearly all of the core courses and laboratories
offered within the BS ChE curriculum as well as some of the core MS courses. Most recently he
offers courses including; equipment design and safety, equilibrium separations, process control,
capstone senior design, and a short-term study abroad capstone senior design course. He has a
passion for finding new ways to deliver chemical engineering course material and innovative
chemical engineering laboratory experiences. His work has examined how design and process
simulation can be integrated across the chemical engineering curriculum, with increased
learning and knowledge retention. Novel, hands-on, design-simulate-build-test laboratories
were developed through NSF and industrial funding. State-of-the-art process control and data
acquisition computer systems continue to be integrated throughout the laboratory. Currently he
is an undergraduate advisor and one of two department transfer advisors.

Ivan V Filipov
Chemical Equipment and Instrumentation Specialist
Email: Ivan.Filipov@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-1280
Office: CBC 224
M.S., Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov Higher Institute of Chemistry and Technology-Bourgas

Patrick C Gilcrease
Professor
Email: Patrick.Gilcrease@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-1239
Office: CBEC 2208
B.S., Colorado School of Mines
M.S., Colorado State University
Ph.D., Colorado State University

Tanvi Govil
Assistant Professor
Email: Tanvi.Govil@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2421
Office: CBEC 2210
Ph.D., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Lori J. Groven
Associate Professor
Email: Lori.Groven@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-5117
Office: CBEC 2212
B.S., South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
M.S. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Ph.D. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Jennifer M Leberknight
Lecturer
Email: Jennifer.Leberknight@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2421
Office: CM 131
B.S., University of Wyoming
Ph.D., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Alexey Lipatov
Assistant Professor
Email: Alexey.Lipatov@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-5146
Office: CBEC 3308
Ph.D., University of Nebraska
Research Website
David R Salem
Professor
Email: David.Salem@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-5271
Office: CAPE/TDL CBE/CBEC 2202D
B.S., University of Bradford, U.K.
Ph.D., University of Manchester, U.K.
CAPE Lab

Ivan Salmeron Ochoa

Assistant Professor
Email: Ivan.SalmeronOchoa@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-6823
Office: CBEC 2202D
B.S., Autonomous University of Chihuahua
Ph.D., University of Manchester

Rajesh K Sani
Professor
Email: Rajesh.Sani@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-1240
Office: CBEC 2211
B.S.C., Meerut University
M.S.C., Indore University
Ph.D., Institute of Microbial Technology/Panjab University

Research Expertise
Over the past 14 years, I have been the PI, co-PI, or Senior Personnel on $44.5 million (current
$34.86 million) in funded research for 41 research projects. Research activities of my group are
focused on both basic and applied research in Extremophilic Bioprocessing, Rules of Life in
Biofilms grown on 2D materials, Space biology, Biocatalysis, Biopolymers, Gas to liquid fuels,
and Genome editing of bacteria. My group has been working on extremophiles isolated from the
deepest mine in North America, Homestake Gold Mine (7,800 ft.) for solid waste conversion
under thermophilic conditions (≥60ºC). Homestake Gold Mine, known as Sanford Underground
Research Facility (SURF), is in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. Using soil/biofilm samples
from the SURF, we have isolated 560 unique thermophilic cellulose- and xylan-degrading and -
fermenting pure cultures. These unique thermophiles are currently being used to produce
biofuels and value-added products in single step bioprocessing of various inexpensive regional
untreated biomass.

Brief Bio
In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate sciences and bioengineering courses at
South Dakota Mines, I have been conducting, supporting, and overseeing a significant amount of
fundamental and applied research in the areas of bioenergy. We have one patent, nine invention
disclosures, and published over 95 peer-reviewed articles in high impact factor journals and
have contributed to over 18 book chapters. We have edited nine books and one proceedings. I
have been on proposal panels for several Federal Agencies. I have served the Industrial
Microbiology profession as “Biocatalysis Program Committee Member” of the Society for
Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB), and technical session chairs at the Annual
American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society for Microbiology and SIMB, and
associate editors for Nature-Scientific Reports, Frontiers of Microbiology, and MDPI
Microorganisms. I have also been leading a research consortium (BuG ReMeDEE) funded by
the NSF with the aid of 84 scientists and engineers.

Teaching
In the past fourteen years here in the US, I have taught 15 different courses of Extremophilic
Bioprocessing, Biochemical Engineering, Biochemistry, and Microbiology courses to
undergraduate and graduate students at the South Dakota Mines and Washington State
University, Pullman WA, and tried to integrate Engineering Sciences with Biological Sciences.
Out of 15 courses, 6 courses were new which were developed by me. For example, I have
introduced the concepts of “Extremophilic Bioprocessing” in a graduate course “CBE 714
Microbial and Enzymatic Process”. I have received a prestigious “Visiting Teaching
Professorship award” from American Society of Microbiologists to teach a course on
“Anaerobic Microbial Processes for Energy and Environment” in India. I have served as the
resource person for a workshop, and delivered lectures for 10 hours on “Extremophilic and
 Microbial Processes for Biofuels” in India. We have authored a textbook on “Extremophilic
Enzymatic Processing of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks to Bioenergy”.

Our Research Interests Include

Our research group is a multidisciplinary, working on diverse areas such as Extremophilic
Bioprocessing, Biocatalysis, Biomaterials, Gas to liquid fuels, Genome editing of bacteria,
Homo/heterologous expression of genes, Metabolic engineering, Space biology, and
Bioelectrochemical systems. We have been focusing on extremophiles isolated from the deepest
mine (Homestake Gold Mine; 7,800 ft. deep) to develop unique extremophilic bioprocesses for
different applications including production of biofuels, biopolymers, and value-added products
under thermophilic conditions (≥60℃). Homestake Gold Mine, known as Sanford Underground
Research Facility (SURF), is located in the Black Hills, Lead, South Dakota

 Rules of Life in Biofilms grown on 2D materials

 Biogas to Liquid fuels (BioGTL, Genome Editing)
 Thermophilic Bioprocessing of Solid Wastes to Biofuels and Value-added
Products (Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, and Metabolic Engineering)
 Space Biology (Effects of mg on Extremophiles)
 Biocatalysis (Protein Engineering, Simulations/Modeling, and Bioinformatics)
 Biomaterials/Biopolymers (EPSs and PHAs: Biomedical applications)
Research Scientists 2

Postdoctoral fellow 1

Graduate students 13

Undergraduate students 3

Teachers 4

1. Building Genome-to-Phenome Infrastructure for Regulating Methane in Deep and Extreme

Environments (BuG ReMeDEE)

Type of Funding: NSF RII Track-2 FEC

Award:1736255 (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1736255)
Time Frame: 2017-2021
Award: $6,000,000

Methane remains the second largest contributor to the radiative forcing of climate change. Its
global warming potential is 34-fold more extensive than that of carbon dioxide over 100 years.
Globally, 60% of methane emissions are related to anthropogenic sources, most of which are
attributed to microbial methanogenesis. A significant gap in scientific knowledge is associated
with methane emission and oxidation from the earth’s deep and thermally impacted biospheres.
To more deeply understand these processes, this Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2
 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC) award, led by Professor Rajesh Sani, has
formed a BuG ReMeDEE consortium of 75 participants (faculty and students).
This collaborative consortium (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Montana State
University and University of Oklahoma) uses the Sanford Underground Research Facility
(SURF) and Yellowstone National Park (YNP) as testbeds for extreme environments in deep
biosphere and thermal systems, respectively.

The BuG ReMeDEE will accomplish:

 Unexplored microbial species: Regulate methane in deep and extreme environments

 Genome editing of novel (previous unexplored) methane-oxidizing microbes
 Fundamental info on industrial techniques of converting methane into value added products
(e.g., Methanol, Biopolymer, and Bioelectricity) as shown in figure.

2. Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing – Biomaterials Program (CNAM-

Bio)

Type of Funding: Funded by Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota

Time Frame: 2018-2023
Award: $1,806,427

The world is moving relentlessly towards bio-based chemicals and materials. In principle, these
bio-based products can be virtually the same, or provide additional functionality and value,
compared to petroleum-based counterparts, but are manufactured from renewable resources.
The research, funded by Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota for
developing the agriculturally based economy in the state, is exceptionally positioned to bring
together strong academic teams in biocatalysis, metabolic engineering, extremozymes, plant
genetics, interfacial chemistry, polymer processing, composites manufacturing, and biomimetic
modeling. The overall goal of this program is to synthesize low-cost biopolymers from
renewable sources using extremophilic bioprocessing, and the development of commercially
viable processes for the transformation of these materials into valuable polymers and high-
performance biocomposites and bio-nano composites, at high yields and low cost.

We are focusing on the production of biopolymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates,

nanocellulose, and extracellular polysaccharides, as the targeted products, using corn stover
(abundantly available feedstocks) as the raw material. Our group has isolated four strains
thermophilic microbial strains that can efficiently breakdown unprocessed lignocellulose
without expensive pretreatment and produce biopolymers (primarily polyhydroxyalkanoates,
PHAs) in one step. There is no report to date on single-step consolidated bioconversion of
unprocessed lignocellulosic wastes to bioplastics. Currently, we are applying, systems biology
tools and theories, electrocatalytic, and electrochemical approaches to enhance the synthesis of
PHAs with mechanical and thermal properties suited to high-performance composite
applications. Besides,

we are also engineering extremophilic microorganisms to produce PHAs from unpurified

methane at high yields. Microbial breakdown of the biomass is being attempted to release
cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibrils which are known to possess high strength and stiffness
(similar to Kevlar® aramid fibers), a reactive surface, and a unique combination of electrical,
electromagnetic and piezoelectric properties, suitable for designing biocomposites with
advanced multifunctional properties. Significant further value will be added to these
bioprocesses through the generation of byproducts such as biofuels. In addition, microbial
electrochemical systems will be developed for accelerating biopolymer production while
simultaneously removing the substrates via microbial electrosynthesis, and for purifying the
polymers at a low cost in an environmentally benign manner
3. Extremophiles, gene manipulation, and fermentation: Gravitational effects on recombinant
extremophiles.

Type of Funding: NASA

Time Frame: 2016-2019
Award: $750,000

We were also awarded a project by NASA where we proposed to develop and validate a bio-
electrochemical module that produces electricity from crews’ solid wastes using thermophiles
under microgravity conditions. We are investigating the effects of microgravity on thermophile
(Geobacillus sp.) growth, cellular physiology, and cell-cell interactions in exogenic biofilms on
the electrode surface under thermophilic conditions. To stimulate the effects of microgravity
on Geobacillus sp. growth as well as electricity generation, we are using a rotating bioreactor
known as the NASA bioreactor.

The capability of Geobacillus sp. to produce ethanol and lactate from solid wastes can be
undesirable in terms of bioelectricity production. Therefore, we are blocking alcohol
dehydrogenase (aldh) and lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) genes so we could divert the flux towards
higher production of acetate. To increase the yield of electricity, we are also overexpressing
acetate kinase (ackA), phosphotransacetylase (pta), and acetyl-CoA transferase (pimB)
in Geobacillus sp. to convert acetate into acetyl-CoA at greater rates. As a result, acetyl-CoA
can enter the TCA cycle and produce NADH and FADH2 molecules which can be oxidized by
NADH and FADH2 dehydrogenases, respectively. Released protons will synthesize ATP using
proton motive force and ATP synthase, and electrons will be carried to the electrode
by Geobacillus sp. electron carrier proteins to produce electricity (please see figure R5). The
NASA-funded research, for the first time, will develop a robust recombinant
thermophile Geobacillus sp. for conversion of complex solid wastes to electricity in a bio-
electrochemical module.
 4. Data Driven Material Discovery (DDMD) Center for Bioengineering Innovation

Type of Funding: NSF RII Track-2 FEC

NSF Award: 1920954 (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?
AWD_ID=1920954&HistoricalAwards=false)
Time Frame: 2019-2023
Award: $6,000,000

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T), Montana State University (MSU),
University of South Dakota (USD) and University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) will collaborate
to develop Big Data Tools for understanding rules of life in biofilms on technologically relevant
materials. We propose to form the Data Driven Material Discovery (DDMD) Center for
Bioengineering Innovation which will bring together diverse infrastructure (human experts and
hardware) in bioscience, computer science, and material science from the three jurisdictions
(SD, MT, NE) to develop a Biofilms Data and Information Discovery system (Biofilm-DIDs).
This system will integrate metadata from accessible materials and biofilms data sources,
employs it to process natural language processing (NLP) queries from users to predict biofilm
phenotype on a material. Specifically, Biofilm-DIDs will analyze gene responses and biofilm
phenotypes based on nanostructure properties of underlying materials. Our goals are to:

1. facilitate convergent research among investigators across the four institutions, the three
jurisdictions and across disciplines of computational theory, data mining, machine learning, 2D
materials science and engineering, and systems biology;
2. develop automated approaches to material properties analysis, with the aim of better
investigating nanoscopic properties that control biofilm phenotypes;
3. accelerate development of nanostructured materials for bioengineering applications;
4. train researchers, faculty, and students in big data and rules of life research; and
5. enhance career pathways for middle and high school students, graduate students, research
scientists, and junior faculty including under-represented Native American population.
5. Building on The 2020 Vision: Expanding Research, Education and Innovation in South
Dakota

Type of Funding: NSF RII Track-1 FEC

Award: 1849206 (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?
AWD_ID=1849206&HistoricalAwards=false)
Time Frame: 2019-2024
Award: $20,000,000

Biofilm development is controlled by gene expression and genetic responses to environmental

conditions. While spatial and temporal genotypic variations inducing the heterogeneous biofilm
phenotypes have been well-studied, the question of how the nano-scale heterogeneity of surface
properties impact microenvironments in biofilms remains unanswered, especially those grown
on recently discovered two dimensional (2D) materials and their Van der Waals
heterostructures. The South Dakota Biofilm Science and Engineering Center (SDBSEC) will
conduct convergent research by coalescing bioscience, material science, computational science
and engineering experts from 3 research institutions, 3 predominately undergraduate
institutions, 2 private universities, 2 tribal colleges and a tribal university. SDBSEC will identify
fundamental rules of life that govern biofilm phenotypes of biocorrosion stress resistance on
metal

surfaces (Area 1) and resilience against competition for colonization of plant root surfaces
(Area 2) modified with 2D materials, thus addressing two National Academy of Engineering
grand challenges related to urban infrastructure and the nitrogen cycle, respectively. SDBSEC
addresses all five research sectors in South Dakota’s S&T plan, Vision 2020. The collaborative
infrastructure will enable the development of novel, nanoscale coatings to regulate biofilm
formation on technologically relevant surfaces.
Dr. Sani’s group will contribute to achieving the following:
 Development of collaborative infrastructure in three jurisdictions
 For the first time
 Gene and metabolic regulatory networks
 Gene response to 2D materials
 Upregulated, adhesive, metal resistance, nanofilament formation genes
 Are there in changes at DNA levels (epigenomes)?
 What signal molecules are involved? Roles in G20 biofilms
 Genome editing of a Sulfate reducing bacteria
 Strengthen the research capability of junior faculty
 Provide multidisciplinary training to trainees
 Address issue of Biocorrosion

Personal Webpage
Anuradha R Shende
Associate Research Professor
Email: Anuradha.Shende@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2421
Office: CBEC 2208

Ph.D., University of Mumbai

Rajesh V Shende
Interim Associate Department Head/Professor
Email: Rajesh.Shende@sdsmt.edu
Phone: (605) 394-1231
Office: CBEC 2207
B.S., Nagpur University
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai


GIVE

Rajesh V Shende (2007)

Interim Associate Department Head/Professor
Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Education
B.S., Nagpur University
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai
Contact/Location
Rajesh.Shende@sdsmt.edu
(605) 394-1231
CBEC 2207 (campus map)
Research Expertise
His current research is focused on bioprocessing for biofuels and bioproducts, catalysis for
hydrogen, syngas and ammonia production, process engineering and scale-up, plastic waste
valorization, synthesis of nanostructured materials, and energy storage. The bioprocessing
research is mainly focused on pilot scale reactor system development for the production of
biofuels and bioproducts. His lab is currently designing and synthesizing novel catalytic
materials for solar hydrogen/syngas fuels and ammonia production. Advanced materials
research is focused on improving energy and power density of energy storage devices. His
research experience includes hydrothermal liquefaction/carbonization(HTL/HTC), design and
development of reactor systems, thermally stabilized redox materials, wet oxidation kinetics,
industrial wastewater treatment, supercritical fluid extraction, nanoenergetic materials, and on-
chip processing and sensors.

Brief Bio
Rajesh Shende is a Professor, and Interim Associate Department Head of Karen M. Swindler
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in chemical
engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India and gained post-
doctoral research experience at the National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia and the University
of Missouri-Columbia. He worked in the chemical industry for 3 years as a process engineer and
technical manager. His industrial experience includes manufacturing of dyes and pigments,
process engineering and scale-up, and technology transfer. He received funding awards
amounting $11.7 million (total award $26.8 million) from several funding agencies that include
Department of Energy/EERE/BETO, NSF, NASA EPSCoR, US Air Force Civil Engineering
Center, ARDEC, and other industries. He's advised 28 graduate students (MS and PhD),
published more than 150 scientific papers, and made 165 various technical presentations. He is
the recipient of several scholarly awards.

Teaching
He teaches both undergraduate and graduate level courses of chemical engineering. He believes
continuous learning improvement is highly desired to develop a thorough understanding of the
subject matter, which can be achieved by active and/or collaborative learning strategies.
Collaborative learning gives students with opportunities to engage in discussions, identify
knowledge gaps and gain new knowledge, resulting in critical thinkers. To achieve student
learning outcomes, he sometimes uses problem and project-based learning methods. He teaches
transport phenomena (momentum, mass and heat), fluid mechanics, reaction engineering,
reactor design, process/product design, chemical process safety, global and contemporary issues
in chemical engineering, renewable and sustainable energy, and immuno-engineering.
Additionally, he performs course assessment and contributes to the self-study documentation for
ABET.

Course Listing
Spring 2024
CBE 485L - Renew-Sustainable Energy Lab (T)
CBE 487 - Global/Contemp Issues Chem Eng (R)
CBE 498 - Research
CBE 585L - Renew-Sustainable Energy Lab (T)
CBE 690 - Seminar (T)
CBE 788 - Research Problems/Projects
CBE 798 - Thesis
CBE 898D - Dissertation
CP 297 - Cooperative Education
CP 397 - Cooperative Education
CP 497 - Cooperative Education
CP 697 - Cooperative Education

Fall 2023
CBE 200 - Undergraduate Research
CBE 465 - Chemical Process Safety (TR)
CBE 485 - Renewable & Sustainable Energy (MWF)
CBE 490 - Seminar (T)
CBE 498 - Research
CBE 585 - Renewable & Sustainable Energy (MWF)
CBE 690 - Seminar (T)
CBE 798 - Thesis
CBE 898D - Dissertation
CHEM 485 - Renewable & Sustainable Energy (MWF)
CHEM 585 - Renewable & Sustainable Energy (MWF)
CP 497 - Cooperative Education
CP 697 - Cooperative Education

Summer 2023
CBE 788 - Research Problems/Projects
CBE 798 - Thesis
CBE 898D - Dissertation
Ram N Singh
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Email: Ram.Singh@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-1730
Office: CBEC 3309
B.S., University of Lucknow
M.S., CSJM University
Ph.D., RD University

Kristine N Starmer
Research Project & Office Coordinator
Email: Kristine.Starmer@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-5279
Office: CBE 2202D / CAPE
B.S., National American University
M.S., Bellevue University

Jeffrey M Switzer
Lecturer
Email: Jeffrey.Switzer@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2828
Office: CBEC 2208
B.S., University of California
Ph.D., Purdue University

Travis W Walker
Associate Professor
Email: Travis.Walker@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2543
Office: CBEC 3310
B.S., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
B.S., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
M.S., Stanford University
Ph.D., Stanford University

Alana M Wells
Senior Secretary
Email: Alana.Wells@sdsmt.edu
Phone: 605-394-2421
Office: CBEC 2202
B.A., Ashford University

Emeritus Faculty
Sookie Bang – Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Larry Bauer – Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering
James Munro - Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Jan Puszynski – Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering
Robb Winter - Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Courtesy Adjunct Appointments (Faculty or Research Scientist)

Dr. Mark Brown - Faculty
Research Facilities
Chemical and biological engineering students have access to a wide variety of state-of-the-art
instruments and laboratories, including:

Analytical Laboratory
FT-IR spectrometer with microscope
FT-IR spectrometer with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR)system
Laser-Raman spectrometer
HP 6890 gas chromatograph
Others (UV-Vis spectrometer, AA, ICP, Ion chromatograph)

Bioseparations Laboratory
AKTA Explorer FPLC Purification System
Waters UPLC
Zetameter size/charge analyzer
Streaming potential analyzer
Reverse osmosis filtration unit
Ultrafiltration/microfiltration units
High Performance Computing Cluster(shared with Physics Department)
49 Nodes/568 CPUs Total
2100-2600 MHz Processor Speeds
Software includes Accelrys Materials Studio, VASP, Gaussian, LAMMPS, Towhee, Etomica,
CHEMKIN, and Comsol

Mechanical and Thermal Testing Laboratory

MTS mechanical tester
Setaram microcalorimeter
Cincinnati micron injection molding machine

Microscopy Laboratory
Scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray and image analyzer (SEM/EDX)
Transmission electron microscope (TEM)
Atomic force microscope (AFM)
Interfacial force microscope (IFM, one of a half dozen in the world)

Process Design and System Analysis Computer Laboratory

IBM RISC / 6000 workstations
AspenPlus model manager (steady state process simulator)
AspenPlus speedup (dynamic simulator)
HYSYS process (steady state and dynamic process simulator)
Personal computer laboratory (Gateway 2000 Multimedia Pentium computers)
HSC software

Process Control Laboratory

Camile 3000 controller and data acquisition system
Reaction and Separation Engineering Laboratory
Combustion synthesis reactor
Centrifugal combustion synthesis reactor
SHS reactor
Supercritical extractor
Supercritical equilibrium, and variable volume view cell
Supercritical reactor