Dear friends and colleagues,

Since many of you are not in your offices to receive paper mail under these unusual pandemic circumstances, we’re sending this newsletter electronically. Recent weeks have been a blur of activity on campus — moving spring classes online, shutting down research labs, helping graduate students work productively from home, and making sure that our students, staff, and faculty are safe during this pandemic. Our department community has responded tremendously, and spring classes are off to a good — if unusual — start.

Several research groups in our department have sprung into action working to detect or treat COVID-19. Professor Julius Lucks is leading an effort to develop a rapid test to detect the novel coronavirus in patient and environmental samples that would be inexpensive, easily mass produced, and simple to administer. Professor Mike Jewett and colleagues are using cell-free biology to ramp up production of a promising drug that has proven effective in obliterating SARS-CoV-2 in cellular cultures.

Below, we bring you several research highlights, a student profile, and the exciting news that one of our alumnae, Latonia Harris, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. We wish you good health and hope that circumstances will allow us to greet you in Evanston sometime in the near future.

Professor Luís Amaral joined the leadership network of Northwestern University’s new Center for the Science of Science and Innovation, which seeks to unearth patterns underlying scientific discovery using advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.

Luyi Cheng, a PhD candidate in the lab of Professor Julius Lucks, won first place in the 2020 AAAS Student E-Poster Competition in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology category.

Professor Linda Broadbelt was elected to the board of directors of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Professors Omar Farha, Tobin Marks, Chad Mirkin, George Schatz, and Randall Snurr were named “Highly Cited Researchers” for 2019 by Web of Science Group.

Professor Michael Jewett was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows. He was also appointed Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

Professor Danielle Tullman-Ercek received the Biochemical Engineering Journal’s Young Investigator Award for her contributions to the field of biochemical engineering.

Professor Mitchell Wang earned a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to directly image how single polymers behave in the solid state.

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