Distinguished Speaker Seminar Mar 21, 2025: George Stephanopoulos
Title: Reinventing the Chemicals and Materials Industry: Transitioning to a Sustainable NetZero Economy Date and Time: March 21, 2025 | 1 p.m. PST Location: CHBE 102 Refreshments will be served at 12:50pm Abstract The Chemicals and Materials Industry (CMI) is a major producer of “wastes”, which are stressing the earth’s capacity in many dimensions, effecting climate change, degradation of the biosphere, human and animal migration, quality of life, health and security. The decarbonization of energy supplies, and its impact on climate change if we proceed with business as usual, is a recurring subject of daily news and scientific literature. But, the de-fossilization […]
Distinguished Speaker Seminar Jan 17, 2025: Ravi Kane
Title: Polyvalency: Inhibitors, Cellular Effectors, and Vaccines Date and Time: Jan 17, 2025 at 1:00pm Location: CHBE 102 Refreshments will be served at 12:50pm Abstract This talk will describe our efforts to interface biomolecules with nanoscale scaffolds for designing potent inhibitors and cellular effectors. The design of polyvalent molecules presenting multiple copies of a specific ligand represents a promising strategy to inhibit pathogens and bacterial toxins. We will first describe the design of polyvalent inhibitors that are orders of magnitude more active than the corresponding monovalent molecules and effective in vivo. We will also describe a thermodynamic analysis to help clarify the […]
Distinguished Speaker Seminar: Hon. Kirsty Duncan
Norman Epstein Memorial Lecture Seminar Title: Impossible is a Dare: From Advocacy to Impact Date and Time: Nov 29, 2024 at 1:00pm Location: CHBE 102 Refreshments will be served at 12:50pm Note: Thank you to everyone who attended; the event has now ended. We look forward to seeing you at the next one! Synopsis Dr. Duncan will challenge students to dream their greatest dream, to be the leaders they can be, to make positive change and real impact in their lives, their communities – and in the world. Taking us through her own courageous journey and her fight for justice, inclusion and equity on many fronts, she […]
Distinguished Speaker Seminar Nov 18, 2024: Paul Freemont
Title: Cell-free synthetic biology: a strategy for prototyping parts, pathways, xenobiotics and complex systems Date and Time: Nov 18, 2024 at 1:00pm Location: KAIS 2020/2030 Refreshments will be served at 12:50pm Abstract Synthetic biology is a transformative technology that provides a design framework to engineer living systems at the genetic level for a variety of applications. The field is built around the Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle where knowledge and genetic parts can be computationally compiled to perform specific functions in living chassis Cell-free transcription/translation systems (known as CFPS or TX-TL) have recently been re-evaluated as a promising platform for enabling the synthetic biology design […]
Distinguished Speaker Seminar Sep 27, 2024: Thomas Jaramillo
Title: Design principles for catalysts, transport processes, and the reaction microenvironment for improved electrolyzers and related technologies Date and Time: Sep 27, 2024 at 1:00pm Location: CHBE 102 Refreshments will be served at 12:50pm Abstract Electrified processes have rapidly gained attention in the energy sector as a means to utilize low-cost renewable electricity (e.g. wind and solar) for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. This includes water electrolysis for H2 production, CO2 electrolyzers for the production of carbon-based fuels and chemicals, and the electrochemical conversion of nitrate and N2 to ammonia. Technologies that make use of those energy carriers through […]
Carbon Capture, Utilization & Sequestration – UBC Case Study Presentations
CHBE graduate students will showcase their carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) case study work on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 4:00 PM PST via zoom. The link to the event will be made available once an individual has registered as an attendee. Graduate students will demonstrate their depth of knowledge and rigour in solving complex issues within the exciting and emerging field of CCUS technologies. Their projects contribute to broader aims of tackling climate change through CCUS development by decarbonizing industry and greening the economy, all the while creating a prosperous and inclusive society on the local, national, and global […]
Catalysts for Change: Mentors, Sponsors, and Allies- A Panel Conversation
When: Friday, March 24 at 4:30-5:30 PM Where: CHBE 202 Note: Thank you to everyone who attended; the event has now ended. We look forward to seeing you at the next one! March is National Engineering Month and filled with days of significance: International Women’s Day, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and International Transgender Day of Visibility. To mark the significance of the month, we are establishing an annual department discussion of the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusivity for achieving excellence in engineering and science. For this year’s panel, we are inviting UBC alumni working in a […]
Special Seminar Dec 1 – Jessica Ray
Title: Practical Solutions to Incorporate Equity, Diversity, Inclusion + Indigeneity (EDII) into the Classroom, Lab and the Department Time and Date: Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 2 p.m. Location: CHBE 202 (2360 East Mall) Abstract Since Summer 2020 when the world witnessed the acute series of anti-Black murders, academic institutions across the U.S. and beyond have renewed efforts to address underrepresentation of racially, ethnically, socioeconomically, gender and sexual orientation diversity among students, staff and faculty; and, to change or increase practices to retain and support these personnel. Engineering departments in particular have been met with increasing demand from students to engage […]
Special Seminar: Catalytic Gasification of Waste – Oct 28
The Clean Energy Research Centre and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering invite you to their seminar. Title: Catalytic gasification of waste: economic and technical feasibility Speaker: Dr. Josephine Hill, University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Date: October 28th, 2022 Time: 1p.m. Location: CHBE 102, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver Abstract “What if waste wasn’t?” is a question that requires careful consideration. Although it appears attractive to convert waste into valuable products, the technical and economic feasibility of any conversion process must be carefully analyzed. Gasification is a process in which solids and liquids are converted to gases […]