Biological Engineering
Professor Kristi Anseth is known for developing tissue substitutes that improve treatments for conditions like broken bones and heart valve disease. She recently made key discoveries about sex-based differences in cardiac treatment outcomes. Anseth is also among the few innovators elected to all three national academies: Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
A gecko-inspired technology developed by the Shields Lab, in collaboration with doctors at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, uses a specially designed material that adheres to tumors inside the body and steadily releases chemotherapy drugs over several days—potentially allowing for fewer but longer-lasting therapies.
The tiny particles could potentially help enhance drug distribution in human organs, improving the drug’s overall effectiveness or aid in removing pollutants from contaminated environments.
Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram, in collaboration with Laura Blumenschein, has received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a tiny robot super team capable of navigating a complex maze of machinery and squeeze through the tightest of spaces—like the guts of a jet engine—to potentially perform non-destructive evaluation faster, cheaper and better than ever before.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to identify genetic changes that help oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments.
Bart Carpenter (ChemEng’81) was named the Chemical and Biological Engineering 2025 Distinguished Alumni Mentor of the Year for his dedicated mentorship of first-year student Sam Wiesenauer. A longtime advisory board member and mentor, Carpenter shares decades of industry insight to help students navigate careers in energy and engineering.
Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering is the recipient of a $650,000 CAREER award from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The funding will help Jayaram make advancements in robots by drawing from what might seem to be an unlikely source: insects and other small creatures.
Arianna McCarty, a chemical and biological engineering student, received a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for her research on how Prevotella bacteria may help reduce infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia.
Assistant Professors Kōnane Bay and Ankur Gupta from Boulder’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering each received a $450,000, three-year grant to advance research relevant to the U.S. Air Force.
After a summer in Boulder’s Young Scholars Summer Research Program (YSSRP), Kate Lamb was inspired to change her path, transferring from community college to Boulder’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering as a biological engineering major.