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Optimizing materials and energy

Find new ways to transform raw materials into useable products.

Transform raw materials into products for health and progress.

What is Chemical Engineering?

Explore the many diverse applications of this exciting field.

Chemical Engineering

What is Life Science Engineering?

Discover the cutting-edge applications and subspecialties of life science engineering.

Life Science Engineering

Chemical & Life Science Engineering Research

Learn more about our Areas of Research.

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Department of Chemical & Life Science Engineering

Chemical and life science engineering is a diverse engineering field involved in the development of chemicals, biochemical and biologics in a variety of applications including polymers, nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals, clean fuels, environmental protection and medicine.

Researchers and students in the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering apply their talents to projects in a variety of areas including departmental focal areas of pharmaceutical engineering, stem cell engineering, nanotechnology and materials science.

Independent and interdisciplinary efforts within the department take place across different academic units and shared facilities. State-of-the-art facilities such as the Nanomaterials Characterization Center, the Center for High Performance Computing, the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity and the Massey Cancer Center provide modern equipment and technical expertise. Our collaborative ties with faculty in life sciences, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and forensics have led to multidisciplinary research projects.

Featured Videos

A Holistic Approach to Streamlining Pharmaceutical Processes

Capstone 2019 - Waterproof Osseointegration Covering

Nicotine Busters: Rapid Field Test for Nicotine in E-Liquids

News and Events

VCU College of Engineering and partners develop plan to strengthen emerging business cluster

Fotis Sotiropoulos appointed VCU provost and vice president for academic affairs

Doctoral candidate featured by American Chemical Society

Capstone Spotlight BME 104 - Patellar (Knee) Decompression Brace

Navigating drug and device development

In memoriam: Thomas Farrell, Dominion Energy CEO and former VCU board member

Cody Woodson: Tireless mentor, steadfast friend, celebrated TA

Capstone Spotlight: ECE 414 – An Autonomous Sea Vehicle

Michael H. Peters, Ph.D., discusses COVID-19 variants

Meet VCU Engineering’s first Completion Grant awardee

Lift off! VCU Engineering students design and 3D-print cargo drone for national obstacle course competition

New master’s program incentives for Ram Engineers

Pi Day of Giving surpasses fundraising goal

HealthHacks Spring 2021 teams tackle medical challenges

For VCU freshman Juan Jones, life is nothing short of a miracle

Robot coding for everyone

Lane Carasik, Ph.D, receives 2020 Lewis F. Moody Award

Thank you for your service

Incoming VCU Engineering students now have a chance to earn a credential in user-experience design

Trees, redlining and urban heat: A planting project in Randolph goes beyond beautification

Understanding variants of the coronavirus can offer clues about the next threats

Hot and cool: TekStyle, a startup by VCU Engineering students, wants to optimize your mask

Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed by Virginia’s engineering deans: A united response during a pandemic

Three biomedical engineering graduate students receive Koerner Family Foundation awards

Imagine a word and ... a device speaks?

Carlos Castano, Ph.D., and Jennifer Puetzer, Ph.D., receive National Science Foundation CAREER awards

Why a green pyramid?

Boyan, Donahue named Orthopaedic Research Society fellows

Biomedical engineering faculty researcher receives NIH grant

VCU researchers lead projects selected for $1 million in funding from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

College of Engineering at VCU offers new Ph.D. in computer science

Computer science professor develops new methods to protect wind and solar power grids from cyber attacks

The College of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University opens new Engineering Research Building

VCU Engineering-led team receives FDA funding to develop new methods for evaluating the performance of generic nasal sprays for children

Computer science professor to receive elite biomedical engineering honor

American Nuclear Society poster award winner

Save time, look great: Ready-to-use templates available

VCU Engineering to celebrate grand opening of Engineering Research Building Feb. 3

Electrical and computer engineering chair co-edits book on medical applications of antenna and sensor technologies

Pitching for a new future: Entrepreneurial alumnus’s climate-friendly business wins VCU Alumni Pitch Competition

mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe, has been studied for decades, VCU expert says

MNE researcher to present webinar at Gen IV International Forum

Meet Lisa Patton (’20), VCU’s first E. Eugene Carter Opportunity Award recipient

VCU College of Engineering partners with Bank of America to advance diversity and inclusion in STEM

VCU, VCU Health announce $24M Wright Foundation gift

Mechanical and nuclear engineering researcher receives 2021 Frontiers of Materials Award

Mechanical and nuclear engineering researcher wins funding to expand global access to respiratory medicines for infants

Director of Engineering and Biomechanics Lab named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

Milos Manic, Ph.D., named IEEE Fellow

A gift of oneself

Chemical engineering students compete to brew the best coffee

Documentary features VCU biomedical engineering student with heart transplant

In memoriam: Stan Pauley, philanthropist and namesake of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center

VCU part of $111M cybersecurity manufacturing partnership

VCU engineering professor leading development of a next-generation optical instrument for drug discovery

Hip-hop paves the way to coding comprehension

Annika Patel wants to talk about your spring semester schedule

VCU College of Engineering begins initiative to address ‘tech-education deserts’

VCU engineering student with heart transplant featured on CBS 6 News

New leaders join VCU Engineering’s Medicines for All Institute

Biomedical engineering faculty member joins NIH rehabilitation engineering consortium

VCU Engineering takes platinum and gold in 2020 MarCom Awards

Engineering Research Building update

Computer science doctoral student receives prestigious ACM fellowship

Biomedical engineering post-doc receives grant to study aging and bone

Computer science researcher receives NSF funding to develop new approach to cybersecurity instruction for community colleges

Jenilee Stanley-Shanks named a Richmond, Virginia, ‘Top 40 under 40’

VCU grads organize to help in Beirut relief efforts

VCU celebrates 179 faculty members awarded promotion and tenure in 2020

AIChE student award winner

VCU Engineering professor receives NSF grant to fight food deserts with smart technologies and data analytics

Biomanufacturing better ways to repair and regenerate tendons and ligaments

Biomedical engineering researcher studies breast cancer tumor “on-a-chip”

Meet the 2020-21 Wright Scholars

Innovation Lab 3D-prints face shields for student lab safety

As the temperature of ‘smart fabrics’ change, so do their colors

Fong named director for the Center for Integrative Life Sciences Education, Integrative Life Sciences Doctoral Program

$1 million gift will help expand programs for international students

Digitizing the supply network could jump-start America’s ability to produce crucial medicines

Dean Boyan receives North American Spine Society award

VCU engineering pioneer appointed director general of the World Nuclear Association

Hip-hop-based programming curriculum one of the ways Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center helps teachers grow

Doctoral student receives ASME’s inaugural James Truchard scholarship

Wendy Jiang Scelia (B.S.’11) Wins 10 Under 10 Award

What’s the science behind the best cup of joe? Ask a chemical engineer.

First-ever virtual RamHacks sets new records

VCU Engineering shows significant gains — and breaks some records — in enrollment, graduation

Alumnus’ VCU journey leads to new corporation — and a chance to fix America’s drug shortage problem

These members of the Class of 2024 are off to a strong start, whether from campus or their homes.

Computer science senior to attend world’s largest gathering of women in computing

VCU Engineering receives grants for job creation initiatives in pharmaceuticals, high-tech industries

VCU named National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research

Inspired by his grandfather, a VCU Engineering grad’s design nearly becomes the new Mississippi state flag

RamHacks 2020 takes place virtually Sept. 26-27

VCU Engineering researchers are working to make clean energy easier and cheaper

It wasn’t an ordinary summer break, but students found plenty of ways to make it meaningful

VALRC collaboration teaches new skill to adult learners

2020 Undergraduate Research Poster Showcase

Meet one of VCU’s first to earn the Capital CoLAB badge

Second-year students address engineering’s grand challenges in Sophomore NAE Challenge

Meet VCU Engineering’s new faculty

USAID and National Academies appoint Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., as a Jefferson Science Fellow

Engineering dean appointed to new Virginia authority for innovation-led development

Computer science faculty member’s study among most cited in WIREs publication

Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., receives 2020 IEEE Nanotechnology Pioneer Award

Doctoral student takes top honors at major digital forensics conference

Electrical engineering scholar receives VCU’s 2020 Distinguished Dissertation Award

‘The improvement of the human condition’: 16 research projects receive Quest Fund grants

Mechanical engineering grad wins VCU Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award

Gary Tepper, Ph.D., elected IAAM Fellow

Graduate student wins grant to expand STEM education for youth with learning disabilities

VCU Engineering doctoral student publishes new tool for researchers investigating optical effects

Community partnership gives elementary school students a glimpse into the world of engineering

VCU researcher developing potential treatment to block COVID-19

VCU researcher receives grant to advance understanding of cell behavior in response to tissue mechanics in disease

Study in Nature Electronics reveals new magnetic process that can lead to more energy-efficient memory in computers and other devices

Computer science professor named Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Fellow

VCU Engineering researcher receives Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund award

Q&A forum on the Fall 2020 semester at VCU Engineering

VCU Engineering researcher part of multi-institutional team to understand the behavior of materials in extreme conditions

Gennady Miloshevsky, Ph.D., co-authors chapter in new textbook edition

Virginia Commonwealth University awards first digital tech badges to Capital CoLAB graduates

Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, Ph.D., honored in Journal of Fluids Engineering

VCU Engineering researcher is developing magnetic devices that improve efficiency of artificial networks

VCU Engineering undergraduate and graduate students receive American Nuclear Society national scholarships

VCU Engineering experts offer solutions to prescription medication shortages in Virginia Business magazine

Keeping our campus going

VCU Engineering’s Medicines for All Institute partners with industry to secure the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain

Graduate assistants honored at virtual awards ceremony

Faculty members receive promotions and tenure

VCU Engineering faculty win COVID-19 research funding

VCU researcher harnessing supercomputers in the race against COVID-19

VCU initiatives share faculty expertise, inventions to spur fight against COVID-19

VCU Engineering’s 2020-21 VCU Undergraduate Research Fellows and mentors

Three VCU students win National Security Education Program’s Boren Scholarship

Biomedical engineering department offers non-thesis option

2020 Capstone Design winners celebrated, top honors announced

New graduate school incentives for Class of 2020 Rams

Virtual Capstone Expo 2020

A call-to-action for the VCU Engineering Class of 2020

A ‘Tom Sawyer type of adventure’: Sam Cole’s path from tugboat deckhand to VCU research lab

Engineering and health care experts create data model to track and predict the spread of COVID-19 across central Virginia

VCU Engineering lab produces hand sanitizer

Computer science alum recognized for extraordinary contributions to the Institute for Defense Analyses

Mechanical and nuclear engineering student awarded U.S. Department of Energy scholarship

Ram B. Gupta, Ph.D., elected AIChE Fellow

Hip Hop music helps kids learn how to code

Class of 2020: Samuel Adu-Gyamfi is helping make medicine more accessible

VCU Health’s innovative decontamination process mitigates N95 mask shortage in hospitals

Engineering researcher and medical experts design DIY ventilator kit

VCU Engineering students, alumni honored in NSF graduate fellowship program

Two VCU students named Goldwater Scholars

VCU Engineering alum honored by Rochester Institute of Technology for outstanding research contributions

VCU Engineering offers free programs and resources to keep kids learning at home

A cane that steers? A glove that finds unseen objects?

VCU programs retain top U.S. News & World Report rankings

Capstone Spotlight: ECE 412

Innovative faculty recognized by the VCU chapter of the National Academy of Inventors

Your E-ZPass is not magic

Doctoral student to advocate for scientists in Washington

VCU Engineering student selected as Young Scientist for Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

Collaboration with one-of-a-kind drug production lab at VCU accelerates Massey's innovation

Q&A with Wei-Ning Wang, Ph.D.

Transgender activist Rhonda Williams (A.S. ’68) addresses VCU Engineering’s Identity and Culture reception

Q&A with Dean Krusienski, Ph.D.

VCU Engineering assistant professor named 2020 Engineer of the Year by the Richmond Joint Engineers Council

VCU Engineering friend and benefactor receives the 2020 Outstanding Virginian Award

VCU computer science faculty member named IEEE Access Outstanding Associate Editor

Next-level virtual reality: bringing in brain signal feedback

VCU researchers to develop next-generation, long-lasting batteries

Medicines for All Institute and South African manufacturer enter partnership to improve access to lifesaving medications

‘A gym for cells’: VCU Engineering doctoral student is awarded an American Heart Association fellowship

Nuclear engineering Ph.D. student wins Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship

Q&A with Alberto Cano, Ph.D.

More than 30 Ram Engineers featured in VCU alumni magazine’s 'Power Issue'

Studies by VCU Engineering researchers among the top 10 percent most cited in PLOS One

Biomedical engineering Ph.D. student wins NIH award

Krzysztof ‘Krys’ Cios named IEEE Fellow

Ph.D. student receives grant to attend AMIA Symposium

2019 Year in Review

21

Apr

A Candid Chat: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace

12:00 PM–1:00 PM

Virtual

21

Apr

BME Seminar with David Lipps, Ph.D.

12:00 PM–1:00 PM

Virtual

29

Apr

Conversation with President Rao: How CoLAB's Digital Tech Credential Powers the Innovation Economy

4:30 PM–5:30 PM

Virtual

27

Apr

Dissertation Defense with Otto Juhl

3:00 PM–4:00 PM

Virtual

22

Apr

Lunch and Learn with Amazon

12:00 PM–1:00 PM

Virtual

23

Apr

MNE Seminar with Rita Baranwal, Ph.D.

12:00 PM–12:50 AM

Virtual

23

Apr

Movie Night in the West Hall Courtyard

7:30 PM–10:30 PM

Engineering West Hall Courtyard

29

Apr

Thesis Defense with Adam Luxon

3:00 PM–4:00 PM

Virtual

6

May

Thesis Defense with Gavin Alberghini

1:00 PM–2:00 PM

Virtual

22

Apr

Young Professionals Panel

7:00 PM–8:00 PM

Virtual

No events at this time. Please check back soon.