2009-2010 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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neering and other engineering disciplines,
in chemistry, in physics, in biochemistry,
and in other related disciplines are all
natural participants in the Ph.D. program
and are encouraged to apply. The
Department of Chemical Engineering at
Columbia is committed to a leadership
role in research and education in frontier
areas of research and technology where
progress derives from the conjunction of
many different traditional research disciplines.
Increasingly, new technologies and
fundamental research questions demand
this type of interdisciplinary approach.
The undergraduate program provides
a chemical engineering degree that is
a passport to many careers in directly
related industries as diverse as biochemical
engineering, environmental
management, and pharmaceuticals. The
degree is also used by many students
as a springboard from which to launch
careers in medicine, law, management,
banking and finance, politics, and so on.
For those interested in the fundamentals,
a career of research and teaching
is a natural continuation of their undergraduate
studies. Whichever path the
student may choose after graduation,
the program offers a deep understanding
of the physical and chemical nature
of things and provides an insight into an
exploding variety of new technologies
that are rapidly reshaping the society
we live in.
Current Research Activities
Science and Engineering of Polymers
and Soft Materials. Theoretical and
experimental studies of novel or important
macromolecules and their applications,
especially surface-active species:
ultrasonic sensor, scanning probe microscopy
and reflectivity studies of adsorption
and self-assembly of highly branched
‘‘dendrimers’’ at the solid-liquid interface,
with the aim of creating novel surface
coatings; fluorescence tracer studies of
molecular level mobility in ultrathin polymer
films with the aim of improving resolution
in lithography; reflectivity studies
and computer simulation of flexible polymer
adsorption and the response of
adsorbed polymer layers to imposed
flows with the aim of improving polymer
processing operations; optical microscopy
studies and numerical simulation
of microporous polymer membrane formation
with the aim of improving ultrafiltration
membrane technology; synthesis
and structural characterization of bioactive
polymer surfaces in order to realize
new in-vivo devices; contact angle, x-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy, and reflectivity
analysis, and lattice model simulation,
of responsive polymer surfaces
based on unique polymeric ‘‘surfactants’’
in order to develop ‘‘smart’’ surface-active
materials; preparation and IR/fluorescence
characterization of DNA-decorated surfaces
for ‘‘recognition’’ of DNA in solution
in order to further medical diagnostic
technologies; preparation and characterization
via TEM, AFM, and reflectivity of
nano-particle– block copolymer composites
with the aim of very high density
magnetic storage media; self-consistent
field theory of nano-particle–block copolymer
composites; computer simulation
and theory of unique ‘‘living’’ polymerization
processes important to synthetic
polymer production and biological systems;
theory and simulation of irreversible
polymer adsorption.
Genomics Engineering. Research
and development of novel bioanalytical
reagents, systems, and processes using
chemical science, engineering principles,
and experimental biological approaches
to study problems in genomics are
actively pursued in the Department of
Chemical Engineering in collaboration
with the Columbia Genome Center:
high-throughput DNA sequencing; novel
gene chip development and fundamental
understanding of the processes involved;
applying the cutting-edge genomic technologies
to study fundamental biology
and for disease gene discovery.
Biophysics and Soft Matter Physics.
Theoretical and experimental biophysics
of biological soft matter: actin filament
growth kinetics and its role in living cell
motility; DNA hybridization, melting and
unzipping; DNA microarrays in biotechnology;
model gene circuits; DNA mobility
in 2D microfluidics. Physics of synthetic
soft matter: nano-particles in mesostructured
polymer phases and phase transitions;
universal scaling laws in reacting
polymer systems and polymerization phenomena;
polymer-interface adsorption
phenomena; polymer interfacial reactions;
diffusion of particles in thin polymer films;
interactions of charged polymer minigels
with interfaces.
Bioinductive and Biomimetic
Materials. The thrust of this research is
to develop new strategies for the molecular
design of polymeric and soft materials
for biological and biomedical applications.
Ongoing research pertains to the
development of bioactive hydrogel coatings
for applications in glucose sensors.
The objective of the coatings is to control
the tissue-sensor interactions by
incorporating cell-signaling motifs into
the hydrogel in such a manner that the
hydrogel induces the formation of new
vascular tissue within the surface coating.
In this fashion, the biosensor can
continue to operate in vivo, even if
there is an immune response leading to
fibrous encapsulation. Complementary
research programs are aimed at developing
methods for patterning biological
surfaces in order to prepare new biocompatible
surfaces as well as to fabricate
antigen/antibody and protein arrays
for diagnostic applications.
Interfacial Engineering and
Electrochemistry. Research efforts
within the department are focused on
mass transfer and reaction mechanisms
in electrochemical systems, and the
effects that such variables have on
process design and materials properties.
Applications of the research program
include fuel cells, electrodeposition, and
corrosion. Both electrochemical and
microscopy methods are used extensively
for characterization. A significant
numerical simulation component of the
research programs also exists.
Facilities for Teaching and Research
The Department of Chemical Engineering
is continually striving to provide
access to state-of-the-art research
instrumentation and computational facilities
for its undergraduate and graduate
students, postdoctoral associates, and
faculty. Departmental equipment is
considered to be in most cases shared,
which means that equipment access is
usually open to all qualified individuals
with a need to use particular instrumentation.
SEAS 2009–2010