ChBE faculty earn Air Force Young Investigator Award

Susan Glairon — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 21:52:51 +0000

ChBE faculty earn Air Force Young Investigator Award Susan Glairon Thu, 03/27/2025 - 15:52

Susan Glairon

Assistant Professors Kōnane Bay and Ankur Gupta from ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering have been honored with the 2025 Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Program Award.

Each received a $450,000, three-year grant to advance research relevant to the Air Force. The program, offered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, supports early-career scientists and engineers with “exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research,” according to the AFOSR.

“This is among the most prestigious awards given to junior faculty, and to have both Ankur and Kōnane receive it in the same year is a remarkable testimony to their impressive achievements and very high potential for making future advances,” said Professor Ryan Hayward, chair of the department.

Kōnane Bay, self-healing, innovative materials

Bay says the next generation of polymer materials—materials with long chains of molecules like plastics, rubber and proteins—will need advanced features, such as the ability to repair themselves. While engineering synthetic polymers with these properties is challenging, biofilm-forming bacteria are promising as they use internal material factories to produce polymers on demand to survive changes in the surroundings.

“I am grateful to receive this award which will allow our lab to harness nature to create novel engineered living materials,” Bay said.

The award will support Bay and her team at the Huli Materials Lab in using biofilm-forming bacteria to develop new polymeric materials. The project combines 3D printing with bacteria’s natural movement to control the mechanical properties of biofilm-based synthetic polymers. The findings could lead to self-healing materials that can change shape, with applications in aerospace, soft robotics, and protective coatings.

Bay recently also received a prestigious CAREER Award, a $675,000, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation. The funding will advance her work in characterization of polymer thin film.

Ankur Gupta, more precise chemical sensors

Imagine being able to organize tiny particles as small as one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair.

Gupta’s research aims to do just that. He and his team in the Laboratory of Interfaces, Flow and Electrokinetics (LIFE) study how these tiny particles form patterns through chemical reactions and diffusion. The researchers aim to control this process to develop materials that detect microscopic changes in the air, paving the way for advanced chemical sensors that identify subtle chemical shifts and improve safety.

“It’s an honor for us to receive this award, especially given its prestige and selectivity,” Gupta said. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work of my current and past group members, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with them.”

The $450,000 three-year grant will support a graduate student and cover travel expenses.

In 2024, Gupta was honored with the Johannes Lyklema Early Career Award in electrokinetics. He was also selected for the prestigious “35 Under 35” award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2023.

That same year Gupta also received a $517,000, five-year National Science Foundation CAREER Award, to study how ions move through porous materials. His research will help design improved porous materials for more efficient desalination and renewable energy storage.

Assistant Professors Kōnane Bay and Ankur Gupta from ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering each received a $450,000, three-year grant to advance research relevant to the Air Force.

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Kōnane Bay receives CAREER award for polymer fabrication research

Susan Glairon — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 18:33:27 +0000

Kōnane Bay receives CAREER award for polymer fabrication research Susan Glairon Thu, 12/12/2024 - 11:33

Susan Glairon

Polymer thin films can extend the lifespan of everyday products, such as food packaging for preserving freshness and protective coatings for electronics. Advancing their design to be even thinner and more durable could expand their applications further.

Kōnane Bay, an assistant professor based in the University of Colorado’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, recently received a prestigious CAREER Award, a $675,000, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation. The funding will advance her work in polymer characterization and support the development of high school and summer program curricula that integrate materials science and engineering lessons with traditional Indigenous knowledge.

“It feels great to be recognized by the polymer community for both the scientific and outreach work that we are doing,” Bay said.

The award will support Bay and her team at the Huli Materials Lab in investigating how the mechanical properties of polymer films evolve as their thickness is reduced to less than 100 nanometers—about a thousand times thinner than a human hair or cling wrap. Many industrial applications depend on the mechanical performance and stability of these films. The difficulty, Bay said, lies in the fact that when polymer materials are processed into thinner films, their mechanical strength changes in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Assistant Professor Kōnane Bay oversees a graduate student working on an instrument in the Huli Lab.

Using a custom-built instrument, researchers in the Huli Lab will study how variables like thickness, temperature and surface interactions affect the strength of these films. The findings will provide valuable insights for designing more reliable adhesives, coatings and membranes while reducing material costs, energy use and environmental waste.

The project will fund a PhD student for five years to study the mechanics of ultrathin polymer films.

In addition to supporting research, the funding will enable the development of high school and summer program curricula that integrate materials science and engineering with traditional Indigenous knowledge. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, Bay draws from her heritage to shape this initiative, which aims to increase STEM recruitment and retention among women and historically excluded students, particularly Native Hawaiians, through curriculum development, outreach and mentoring to inspire the next generation of diverse STEM leaders.

“The curriculum will be designed to inspire high school students across Colorado and Hawaiʻi to explore and pursue advanced degrees and careers in STEM disciplines,” Bay said.

Kōnane Bay received a CAREER award to support research at the Huli Materials Lab, where she and her team will investigate how the mechanical properties of polymer films change as their thickness is reduced to less than 100 nanometers—about a thousand times thinner than a human hair or cling wrap.

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