Message from the Department Head - April 2026
Dear alumni and friends,
This is an exciting time of year for CHEE as we wrap up classes and celebrate graduation. We are proud of the 68 BS, nine MS and four PhD students who will join you as our esteemed alumni on May 15. Our CHEE family wishes you health, happiness and success in the future.
CHEE alumni share information, inspiration with students
Students reached out to me asking for more contact with alumni to learn about potential career paths and build connections. In response, we organized four virtual discussions this semester. Alumni talked about their jobs, companies, and shared tips on topics ranging from job searches, the transition from student to professional, and what it is like to move to a new place where you don’t know anybody. If you are interested in participating, please contact Holly Altman at haltman@arizona.edu.
Faculty productivity on upward trajectory
Publications have increased from an average of two per professor per year to four or five per year, with many in high-impact journals. Department research expenditures also remain high at $8.4 million for 2025.
Our team’s outstanding productivity reflects their tenacity amidst a challenging funding environment. We continue to explore opportunities for research funding and collaboration at the university, local, national and international levels.
Alumni research fund propels student success
Five undergraduates are wrapping up their paid research thanks to your generous donations to the alumni research fund. Student recipients are awarded a $2,500 stipend over the course of an academic year to conduct research under the guidance of a faculty advisor.
Chemical engineering junior Caleb Lyden appreciates the opportunity for hands-on lab experience. He is working with assistant professor Evi Flouda to research polymer-derived ionogels for energy storage.
“This award has allowed me to invest the time necessary to make progress on a research project I am passionate about,” he said.
Other student research topics include flexible battery development, improving soil fertility with guayule byproducts, using carbon dioxide from flue gas to promote algae growth, and exploring alternative propulsion materials for small satellites.
If you’d like to support this transformative program, please make a gift to the CHEE alumni Undergraduate Research Fund.
I hope you have a great summer, and I look forward to sharing more department updates in the fall.
Warm regards,
Kimberly Ogden
Professor and Department Chair
Chemical & Environmental Engineering