A catalyst for change in chemical engineering
October 12th, 2024
Darren Lipomi thinks chemical engineering is a misunderstood field.
"Chemical 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," he says. "But you can't have modern life without chemical engineering. The goal should be to make it better and part of the solution."
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. "I believe chemical engineering is at the center of the bullseye in society's efforts to solve our looming environmental threats," he adds.
As the new chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester, Lipomi has made it his mission to educate the public about the field's 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 X account and YouTube channel.
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' topics range from lessons from his Introduction to Nanoengineering textbook to how graduate students can navigate difficult situations such as changing their advisor.
"I feel strongly that education should be a public good and this is an outlet for me to share what I've learned with the world at large," says Lipomi.
Returning to Rochester at an opportune time
Lipomi came to the University of Rochester from the University of California—San 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.
"The University of Rochester has a special place in my heart," says Lipomi, a native of nearby Hilton, New York. "When 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 'Sold. That's what I want to do.'"
He said he always aspired to return to his roots if the right opportunity arose—and in his new role, he joins a program with a rich history at an exciting inflection point.
The University of Rochester's chemical engineering program originated in 1915 and was among the first in the country, closely tied to the city's industry expertise in photography and xerography. Lipomi points out the department has been home to a bevy of influential researchers over the years, including Ching Wan Tang, a professor emeritus who developed the first practical organic light emitting diode (OLED) while at Kodak.
Although the program's close historic ties with Kodak and Xerox waned with the companies' 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's most exciting fronts. Six of the department's 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's 8-to-1 ratio of students to faculty, guaranteed research experiences for all undergraduates, a combined bachelor's and master's program, and close proximity to collaborators at the University's Institute of Optics and the University of Rochester Medical Center.
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 Marc Porosoff, for example, hosts PodCAT, a monthly podcast about heterogeneous catalysis.
"Rochester faculty host two of the three main chemical engineering podcasts, so we've kind of got a corner on the market," Lipomi jokes.
Recalibrating his research focus
The move to Rochester also allowed Lipomi to reprioritize his research, doubling down on areas he's 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.
"Maybe the coolest science/technology discovery I've 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," says Lipomi, describing findings from a study 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 "space junk," 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.
"It was an exciting opportunity both professionally and for my family," he says. "People jokingly ask if I'm crazy moving from San Diego to Rochester, but I know exactly what I'm getting into and I think my skills are matched well to this challenge."
Provided by University of Rochester