News, Events & CEMS Seminars
CEMS Logo on wall in Amundson Hall

Department Events

Nov 5 Thu 1:25pm

Paige Novak seminar

Nov 18 Wed 6:00pm

MS in Data Science for CEMS Info-Session

Dec 8 Tue 1:25pm

Michael Osterholm seminar (Aris Series)

Fall 2026 CEMS Seminar Schedule

ARIS LECTURE SERIES    

Tuesday, Sep. 15: Thad Levine, Special Advisor to Baseball Operations at Milwaukee Brewers

Tuesday, Sep. 29: Lorrie Cranor, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Computer Science and Engineering & Public Policy

Tuesday, Oct. 6: Phil Busman (Partner at Nelson Mullins) and Juliana Manrique (Jury Consultant at Verdict Insight Partners)

Thursday, Oct. 22: Nav Singh, Founder at Build Mode

Thursday, Oct. 29: Jim Nondorf, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Advancement and Dean of College Admissions and Financial Aid at University of Chicago

Tuesday, Dec. 8: Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences at University of Minnesota

 

DEPARTMENT SEMINARS

Tuesday, Sep. 8: Matt Tirrell, Professor Emeritus at University of Chicago and University of Minnesota

Tuesday, Sep. 22: John Brady, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Caltech (Amundson Lecture)

Tuesday, Oct. 13: Lars Grabow, Professor of Chemistry at University of Houston (Piercy Lecture)

Thursday, Nov. 5: Paige Novak, Department Head and Professor of  Environmental Engineering at University of Minnesota

CEMS Named Seminar Series and Lectures

The Aris Lecture Series

The late Regents Professor Rutherford Aris was a luminary in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. The Aris Lecture Series occurs approximately every 5 years and focuses on the common bond between science and the arts. 

The Fredrickson Lecture

The Fredrickson Lecture was established in 2001 to honor the late Professor Arnold (Arnie) Fredrickson upon his retirement and foster broader intellectual interaction between undergraduate and graduate students. The Fredrickson lecture includes both a departmental seminar and an undergraduate lecture in the biomolecular engineering course.

The Amundson Lecture 

The annual Amundson Lecture features a guest speaker that embodies the tenets of Professor Neal R. Amundson in scholarship and innovation in the fields of chemical engineering and materials science. Amundson, department head from 1949-1974, was a visionary leader who pioneered the application of mathematics in chemical engineering.

The Singh Entrepreneurship Lecture

The Singh Entrepreneurship Lecture was established in 2025 by a generous donation from Navjot and Nithya Singh. Its purpose is to increase awareness of entrepreneurship in the disciplines of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. This lecture serves as a venue for scientists and engineers to tell the story of how they translated their research from the lab to a successful company, and tends to be a combination of science, business and storytelling versus a more traditional seminar.

Department News

Graphic with AIChE date and time

Join CEMS at the 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/26/2026) – Many CEMS researchers will be presenting at the 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting, hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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CEMS community members recognized with 2026 AIChE Awards

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/26/2026) – The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) will recognize 16 leaders and innovators in chemical engineering with its 2026 Institute and Board of Directors' Awards at the 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting. Among the recipients are CEMS Professor Alon McCormick and several CEMS alumni, including a member of the department's External Advisory Board.

Vivian with students in lab

Vivan Ferry named 2027 Optica Fellow

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/26/2026) – Professor Vivian Ferry has been named a 2027 Optica Fellow! Ferry joins this class of 116 new members from 23 different countries.

Marc wearing a blue button up

Marc Hillmyer receives 2026 Balzan Prize

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/23/2026) – Marc Hillmyer, Prager Chair in Macromolecular Science in Chemistry, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair, and Distinguished University Teaching Professor in the Department of Chemistry, as well as a CEMS graduate faculty member, has been awarded the 2026 Balzan Prize for Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources.

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Research team breaks century-old catalytic speed limit by more than 1,000 times

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/20/2026) – A University of Minnesota-led research team funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed programmable catalysts that accelerate a chemical reaction to more than 1,000 times a century-old theoretical speed limit.

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Matthew Tirrell elected to the National Academy of Medicine

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/19/2026) — Amundson Distinguished Professor Matthew Tirrell has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for pioneering the design and synthesis of self-assembling polymers to deliver peptide, protein and nucleotide drugs for applications in cardiovascular disease, cancer, infection and vaccination.

Graphic for Rheology conference

Join CEMS at the 97th Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/13/2026) — Several CEMS researchers will be presenting at the 97th Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology.

Bharat Jalan wearing a tan suit.

Bharat Jalan elected Fellow of the American Physical Society

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/09/2026) — Professor Bharat Jalan has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), one of the most prestigious honors in the field of physics.

The EAB members together

Reflecting on the impact of the CEMS External Advisory Board

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/29/2026) — Established in 2016, the CEMS External Advisory Board (EAB) was created to strengthen the department’s engagement with external partners and provide guidance on key areas including curriculum, student training, faculty hiring, fundraising, alumni outreach, and long-term strategy.

The five fellows in a grid.

Meet the inaugural Wei-Shou Hu Fellowship cohort

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MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/28/2026) — Five exceptional Ph.D. students have been selected as the inaugural cohort of the Wei-Shou Hu Fellowship.