The new professor and department chair aims to clear the air on the field and academia at large.
thinks chemical engineering is a misunderstood field.
鈥淐hemical engineering gets a bad rap because people associate it with developing the forever chemicals that are invading the environment, the microplastics catastrophe, global warming, and environmental degradation,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 have modern life without chemical engineering. The goal should be to make it better and part of the solution.鈥�
According to Lipomi, chemical engineers are critical to environmental protection efforts such as improving green energy production methods like solar and wind, developing lithium-ion batteries, and making heat exchange in computation more efficient. 鈥淚 believe chemical engineering is at the center of the bullseye in society鈥檚 efforts to solve our looming environmental threats,鈥� he adds.
As the new chair of the at the 人妻少妇专区, Lipomi has made it his mission to educate the public about the field鈥檚 promise while helping aspiring academics understand the intricacies of higher education. A prolific podcaster, he reaches thousands of people each month who are interested in chemical engineering and academia through his and .
Lipomi has posted more than 200 videos to his YouTube channel since he began it in 2017 and hopes to accelerate his pace now that he is in a new role and setting. Sharing candid experiences from his career, the episodes鈥� topics range from lessons from his textbook to how graduate students can navigate difficult situations such as changing their advisor.
鈥淚 feel strongly that education should be a public good and this is an outlet for me to share what I鈥檝e learned with the world at large,鈥� says Lipomi.
Returning to Rochester at an opportune time
Lipomi came to the 人妻少妇专区 from the University of California鈥擲an Diego, where he served as a professor in the nanoengineering and chemical engineering departments and as the dean for students at Jacobs School of Engineering. Joining the faculty at Rochester was a homecoming and the fulfillment of a long-term dream.
鈥淭he 人妻少妇专区 has a special place in my heart,鈥� says Lipomi, a native of nearby Hilton, New York. 鈥淲hen I was a junior in high school, I went on a field trip to a chemistry lab here that was doing organic electronics. They were distilling tetrahydrofuran in a flask and there were fluorescent materials, and I was like 鈥楽old. That鈥檚 what I want to do.鈥欌��
He said he always aspired to return to his roots if the right opportunity arose鈥攁nd in his new role, he joins a program with a rich history at an exciting inflection point.
The 人妻少妇专区鈥檚 chemical engineering program originated in 1915 and was among the first in the country, closely tied to the city鈥檚 industry expertise in photography and xerography. Lipomi points out the department has been home to a bevy of influential researchers over the years, including , a professor emeritus who developed the first practical organic light emitting diode (OLED) while at Kodak.
Although the program鈥檚 close historic ties with Kodak and Xerox waned with the companies鈥� declines near the turn of the 21st century, Lipomi says a recent influx of early-career faculty with cutting-edge expertise has positioned the department to be at the forefront of research in some of chemical engineering鈥檚 most exciting fronts. Six of the department鈥檚 14 staff joined in the past two years alone, establishing new research programs in areas including catalysis and biochemical engineering.
For chemical engineering students, he sees Rochester as an attractive destination due to the department鈥檚 8-to-1 ratio of students to faculty, guaranteed research experiences for all undergraduates, a , and close proximity to collaborators at the University鈥檚 and the .
Among the faculty, Lipomi has also found kindred spirits who are equally passionate about science communication and discussing their experiences with the world. Associate Professor , for example, hosts , a monthly podcast about heterogeneous catalysis.
鈥淩ochester faculty host two of the three main chemical engineering podcasts, so we鈥檝e kind of got a corner on the market,鈥� Lipomi jokes.
Recalibrating his research focus
The move to Rochester also allowed Lipomi to reprioritize his research, doubling down on areas he鈥檚 had success in while pursuing new questions. One of the research projects he is most excited to pursue is haptic holography, or the ability to feel light.
鈥淢aybe the coolest science/technology discovery I鈥檝e ever played a role in is that you can feel mechanical sensations arising from a desktop slide projector on your skin via the photoacoustic effect,鈥� says Lipomi, describing findings from a recently published in Advanced Science.
He and his team at UC San Diego were able to demonstrate that humans can feel changes in pulsed light and that certain dyes can augment the effect. At Rochester, he plans to further explore what creates this sensory stimulation and believes it can have applications in laboratories, clinics, defense technologies, and consumer electronics.
His other research focuses will include exploring how macrophages can be used to metabolize and break down 鈥渟pace junk,鈥� as well as neuromorphic computing, or enabling computing in ways that mirror how the brain works.
Although rebuilding a research program at a new university takes time and presents challenges, the shift represented the right move at the right time.
鈥淚t was an exciting opportunity both professionally and for my family,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople jokingly ask if I鈥檓 crazy moving from San Diego to Rochester, but I know exactly what I鈥檓 getting into and I think my skills are matched well to this challenge.鈥�
