Chemical Engineering Faculty Research

Major Achievements

The following achievements have been made in the field of Chemical Engineering by researchers at Stanford and beyond:

• Development of materials for green energy technologies, including solar cells, batteries, and catalysts for chemical conversion.
• Design and synthesis of next generation flexible and stretchable electronics for wearable and implantable electronics, chemical sensors, and robotics.
• Production of life-saving antibiotics such as penicillin and vaccines for diseases from polio to COVID-19.
• Establishment of mass-production technologies (including cell-free and plant-based synthesis) of protein therapeutics such as insulin, human growth-hormone, and monoclonal antibodies.
• Discovery of nitrogen-fixing fertilizers and water-purification technologies that revolutionize food production and stem world hunger.
• Revolutionized manufacturing by developing 3D printing materials and technologies.
• Engineering plants to make them more nutritious, weather resistance or to produce useful chemicals.
• Characterization of the physical properties of living systems, providing targeted treatment of bacterial infection in cancer tissue and implanted devices, chronic dry eye, and COVID-19.
• Waste water treatment and recovery of valuable products.