News
In 2021, Arianna McCarty was a high school junior taking calculus 3 and planning a future in medicine. When the pandemic hit, she turned an unexpected setback into a new direction — one that led her to engineering and launched a fast-rising career in research.
For 25 years, Dragan Mejic has helped bring research ideas to life in CU 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó’s machine shop, supporting hundreds of PhD students and contributing to technologies that have launched multiple companies. In February, Mejic received the 2026 Chancellor’s Employee of the Year Award.
Ten undergraduate students won 11 awards from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Please click on their names to read more about our students' accomplishments.
A little car named "Stinkinator" placed second in the Chem-E-Car car performance competition, paving the way for CU 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó to compete in the national competition next fall. The competition's goal is to design a shoebox-sized car powered by chemical reactions— such as a battery or an internal combustion engine — that stops at a specified distance using a time-dependent chemical reaction.
Ben Rains (ChemEng’19) was named the 2026 Outstanding Alumni Mentor of the Year for his dedicated mentorship of Himaghna Kuntumalla, a graduating senior in chemical and biological engineering. A liaison for the Senior Design Projects class, Rains shares his insight to help students navigate career paths that align with their passions.
Thirteen chemical and biological engineering undergraduate students won 18 awards from the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Please click on their names to read more about our students' accomplishments.
McCarty was selected as the leadership category winner at the national and campus levels. She was recognized for her leadership as a course assistant and lead course assistant for multiple core engineering courses, as well as for her professionalism and academic excellence.
A CU 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó-led team has developed a suite of new therapies aimed at reversing osteoarthritis in a single injection. With animal studies showing promise and funding from the Advanced 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó Projects Agency for Health extended, the team could be ready for human trials by 2028. Professor Stephanie Bryant is the principal investigator of the project.
Distinguished Professor Kristi Anseth has received theÌýBiomaterials Global Impact Award, which recognizes distinguished research and development accomplishments in the field of biomaterials. Anseth is known for developing tissue substitutes that improve treatments for conditions like broken bones and heart valve disease.
CU 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó researchers and partners at MIT, Harvard and Columbia are working to recreate the human liver’s complex structure in the lab. With support from a $25 million ARPA-H grant, the team aims to develop 3D-printed, transplantable liver tissue made from human cells that the body won’t reject. Professor Jason Burdick's lab at CU’s BioFrontiers Institute will lead the 3D printing component of the project.