08/20/2024

Laura Donahue, Ashton Poole, and Evan Jordan enjoyed their undergraduate research experience during the summer and presented their findings at the 8th Annual Summer CI + UR Showcase. We are thankful to the Clemson Creative Inquiry program for their continued support.

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​​08/13/2024

Excited to receive new funding from the National Science Foundation! MRI: Acquisition of a 500 MHz Solid-State NMR Spectrometer for Research Education. Congratulations to Dr. Leah Casabianca (PI) and the rest of the team!

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06/27/2024

Franchesca Hauck and Sai Teja Nekkanti presented their results at the 2024 Clemson Summer Sustainability Symposium. 

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06/15-21/2024

Francielle Candian Firmino Marcos and Sai Teja Nekkanti represented the Alba-Rubio at the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and Gordon Research Conference (GRC). They presented their results on CO2 and biomass conversion and enjoyed some fruitful discussions with the catalysis community. 

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05/10/2024

Justin Roen and Joe Bailey, congratulations on your graduation! We are confident you will be tremendously successful in your new career stage. 

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04/29/2024

Joseph Bailey was featured in Clemson News! Joseph Bailey's comeback changes his life and the lives of those around him. Congratulations, Joe! Keep inspiring everyone!

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​​04/16/2024

Today, the group attended the 2024 Clemson ChBE Graduate Symposium. Sai Teja Nekkanti and Franchesca Hauck presented their findings to the department and members of the advisory board.

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​​03/01/2024

Congratulations to Franchesca Hauck and Sai Teja Nekkanti on passing their Ph.D. oral qualifying exams! They became the first Ph.D. candidates of the Alba-Rubio group at Clemson University, and we can't be prouder of them.

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​​01/10/2024

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Joe Bailey and Justin Roen back to the team!

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​​12/23/2023

We are ending the year with a new publication in the Journal of Catalysis: "Recommendations to standardize reporting on the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts."

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​12/13/2023

New paper from the group in Sustainable Energy & Fuels! "Polystyrene-Based Catalysts with Simultaneous Brønsted and Lewis Acidity for Hydroxymethylfurfural Production from Starch: Molecular Weight and Solvent Effects."

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​10/31/2023

Dr. Alba-Rubio joins the Editorial Advisory Board of the Energy & Fuels journal (ACS Publications).

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​07/10/2023

Thankful to the National Science Foundation for a new award! EAGER: Mechanistic and Stability Studies over Dual-Function Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion. 

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06/23/2023

Our group attended the NAM28 meeting (Providence, RI) and SECAT'23 (Torremolinos, Spain) this week. We presented a poster and a talk on biomass conversion.

 

06/16/2023

Happy to share the outcomes of the NSF- and DOE-funded workshop "Addressing Rigor and Reproducibility in Thermal, Heterogeneous Catalysis," in which Dr. Alba-Rubio was involved. This report aims to provide recommendations to improve R&R in our field. Access the full report here!

 

05/16/2023

Check out our new paper in collaboration with the University of Malaga! "The Role of MnOx in Cu-MnOx/SiO2 Catalysts for the Gas-Phase Hydrogenation of Furfural."

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04/19/2023

New paper out in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society! "A Novel Electrochemical Sensor Based on a Cerium Oxide/Gold/Carbon Nanocomposite for the Detection of Hydroxyl Free Radicals."

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03/26/2023

Prof. Alba-Rubio received the 2023 I&EC Early Career Fellow award at the ACS Spring 2023 meeting. 

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03/21/2023

A new patent from the group was issued today! U.S. Patent No. 11,607,677

 

03/17/2023

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave a seminar in the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas El Paso. 

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02/01/2023

We are excited to welcome Ana Orozco to the lab! She is a visiting Ph.D. student from the ICP-CSIC (Spain).

 

01/30/2023

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Andrew Zix, Tejasvi Joshi, and Nimasha Jayasinghe (undergraduate researchers) to the lab!

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12/14/2022

Our group was featured in Clemson News! Chemical engineer celebrates three early-career honors in her new lab at Clemson University.

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12/1/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio was featured in C&EN News! I&EC Division announces 2023 Division Fellows.

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11/24/2022

New paper out in Catalysis Science & Technology! "Soluble and Reusable Polymer-Based Catalysts with Brønsted and Lewis Acidity for the One-Pot Synthesis of Hydroxymethylfurfural from Glucose." Prof. Alba-Rubio is honored to be invited to contribute this article to the 2022 Emerging Investigators collection.

 

11/11/2022

Congratulations to Prof. Alba-Rubio on being named the 2023 I&EC Early Career Fellow! With this award, the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry division of the American Chemical Society recognizes a chemist or engineer in the early stage of their career based on innovative contributions to the areas in which they have published within applied chemistry and/or chemical engineering.

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10/20/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio was named to the "2022 Energy & Fuels Rising Stars" class. The group contributed a review paper titled "Inverse Oxide/Metal Catalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol" to that special issue. 

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10/14/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave a virtual seminar in the Dept. of Chemistry at Michigan Technological University. 

 

09/23/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave a seminar titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at West Virginia University. 

 

09/09/2022

Our new review paper is out! "Inverse Oxide/Metal Catalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol." Congratulations to the team!

 

08/25/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave a seminar titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Alabama. 

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08/22/2022

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Franchesca Hauck (Ph.D. student) and Nicole Dinallo (undergraduate student) to the team!

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08/01/2022

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Francielle Candian Firmino Marcos as the first postdoctoral researcher on the team!

 

07/21-22/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio participated in the organization of the NSF and DOE-sponsored "Addressing Rigor and Reproducibility in Heterogeneous, Thermal Catalysis" workshop celebrated in Rosemont, IL. She led two breakout rooms on "Deposition-based synthesis" and "Bifunctional catalysts." 

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06/13/2022

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Justin Roen as the first undergraduate researcher in our lab at Clemson University!

 

06/03/2022

Congratulations to Dr. Omodolor on successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis! We are excited about what is coming next for him and his family!

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05/11/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio participated in the "2022 NSF Engineering CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop" as a panelist.

 

04/21/2022

Sai Teja Nekkanti and Prof. Alba-Rubio attended the Clemson ChBE graduate symposium.  

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04/15/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave a seminar titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. 

 

03/16/2022

Check out our new paper in collaboration with the University of Malaga! "Tailoring the selectivity of Cu-based catalysts in the furfural hydrogenation reaction: Influence of the morphology of the silica support." Congratulations to the team!

 

03/08/2022

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave an invited talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" to the Western South Carolina section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

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02/25/2022

Congratulations to Ibeh Omodolor on receiving a Graduate Student Scholarship from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)!

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01/22/2022

Drs. Alba-Rubio, Kim, Chakravarti, Dominiak, and Chaudhuri received a PFI-TT grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate "A hand-held device for rapid and accurate determination of cancerous tumor margins during surgical resections"!

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01/13/2022

The Alba-Rubio group is excited to welcome Sai Teja Nekkanti as the first Ph.D. student at Clemson University!

 

11/18/2021

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave an invited talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland State University.

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09/29/2021

Ibeh Omodolor and Hope Otor presented their findings at the 42nd Annual Symposium of the Michigan Catalysis Society.

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09/14/2021

Dr. Alba-Rubio gave a keynote titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" at the 21° Congresso Brasileiro de Catálise (CBCat 2021).

 

08/15/2021

Dr. Alba-Rubio joins the Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University as an Associate Professor!

 

08/11/2021

Congratulations to Nkem Ofole on receiving her M.S. degree! Best wishes for your next adventure!

 

07/29/2021

Congratulations to Dr. Surachet (Ray) Duanghathaipornsuk on becoming the 1st Ph.D. of the Alba-Rubio group (co-advised with Dr. Dong-Shik Kim)! We wish you all the best in your next stage at the University of South Carolina!

 

06/23/2021

New paper out in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society! "Electrochemical MoOx/Carbon Nanocomposite-Based Gas Sensor for Formaldehyde Detection at Room Temperature." Congratulations to the team! 

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06/21/2021

The Alba-Rubio group will be moving to the Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University this fall.

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04/15/2021

Dr. Alba-Rubio received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor!

 

03/09/2021

Ibeh Omodolor was awarded a BCA/Affiliate/Fellows Scholarship (BCA) from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). The NSBE's mission is "to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. Congratulations, Ibeh!

 

03/09/2021

Dr. Alba-Rubio was one of the speakers at the "Advances in the Chemistry of CO2 Capture" webinar hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She talked about Dual-Function Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion (recording of the webinar).

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03/09/2021

Dr. Alba-Rubio was elected as a director of the AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division (CRE). 

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03/08/2021

Vimantha Bamunuarachchi was featured in the UToledo News! After graduation, he joined Moderna, one of the pharmaceutical companies with COVID-19 vaccine, to work as an analytical development engineer. Congratulations, Vimantha!

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03/05/2021

New paper accepted for publication in Polymer! This is the result of a collaboration with Dr. Coleman's group at UToledo: “Poly(4-Styrenesulfonic Acid): A Recoverable and Reusable Catalyst for Acid Hydrolysis of Polyethylene Terephthalate."

 

02/24/2021

Just-accepted paper in Nanoscale as part of the 2021 Emerging Investigators collection! "Supersensitive CeOx-Based Nanocomposite Sensor for the Electrochemical Detection of Hydroxyl Free Radicals." Congratulations to the team!

 

02/12/2021

Glad to see our "Dual-Function Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion: A Review" paper as the most-read article in the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research journal in 2020! 

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01/28/2021

Our group welcomes two new undergraduate researchers: Brian Tsai and Jack Schmidt. Welcome to the team!

 

01/19/2021

New review paper accepted for publication! "Detection Technologies for Reactive Oxygen Species: Fluorescence and Electrochemical Methods and Their Applications" in Biosensors. Congratulations to the team!

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11/23/2020

New paper accepted in Journal of Catalysis! Our article "Plasma Catalytic Ammonia Synthesis on Ni Nanoparticles: The Size Effect" is the result of a collaboration with Dr. Maria Carreón from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.  

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11/18/2020

Congratulations to Diego Gamboa Pabón, who received the AIChE 2020 Donald F. Othmer Sophomore Academic Excellent Award! This award is presented to one active AIChE undergraduate student member in each student chapter who has attained the highest scholastic grade-point average during his/her freshman and sophomore years, on the recommendation of the Student Chapter Advisor.

 

11/12/2020

Congratulations to Ibeh Omodolor, who received one of the Best Presentation Awards at the UToledo-WSU Chemical Engineering Graduate Research Symposium! Would you like to watch his winner talk titled "Superacid Polymer Catalysts for Hydroxymethylfurfural Production"? If you are attending the 2020 Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting, you can find his pre-recorded talk by typing "Omodolor" in the iPoster search bar.

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11/11/2020

Dr. Alba-Rubio has been named to the 2020 Class of Influential Researchers by the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research of the American Chemical Society.

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11/09/2020

Miranda Al-Zarraq has been featured on the UToledo College of Engineering Undergraduate Research website! Congratulations, Miranda!

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09/27/2020

Our latest paper has been selected to be featured in ACS Editors' Choice due to its potential for broad public interest: "Dual- Function Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion: A Review." This is an honor given to only one article from the entire ACS portfolio each day of the year.

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09/10/2020

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave an invited talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.

 

08/28/2020

Our group welcomes two new undergraduate researchers: Diego Gamboa Pabón and Laura Morera Lucas. Welcome to the Alba-Rubio group!

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08/27/2020

Just-accepted paper in I&EC Research! "Dual-Function Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion: A Review." Congratulations to the team!

 

08/25/2020

Congratulations to Surachet (Ray) Duanghathaipornsuk on being selected to participate in the 3M Raising Influence in Science and Engineering (R.I.S.E.) symposium this week! This program is primarily intended to introduce emerging female and/or underrepresented science and engineering graduate talent to careers in R&D at 3M.

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08/17/2020

Happy 5th Anniversary to the Alba-Rubio group!

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08/07/2020

Kapiamba K. Fabrice completed his M.S. degree today. Congratulations, Kapiamba! We wish you great success and happiness in your new stage!

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08/06/2020

Thankful to the National Science Foundation for the continued support! Two new proposals recommended for funding: 1) Our team will participate in the NSF I-Corps program this fall and 2) Ray Duanghathaipornsuk will enjoy an internship (NSF INTERN) at Los Alamos National Lab in spring. Exciting times ahead!

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08/04/2020

Haidar Y. Alolaywi defended his M.S. thesis titled "Electrochemical MoOx/Carbon Nanocomposite Gas Sensor for Formaldehyde Detection at Room Temperature." Congratulations, Haidar! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

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07/24/2020

Hope Otor successfully defended his M.S. thesis titled "Catalyst Development and Control of Catalyst Deactivation for CO2 Conversion." Congratulations, Hope! We wish you all the best on your next stage at the University of Notre Dame!

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07/24/2020

Check out our new paper in collaboration with Technion (Israel), University of Connecticut (USA), and CNR-ICCOM (Italy)! "Synthesis of CeOx-Decorated Pd/C Catalysts by Controlled Surface Reactions for Hydrogen Oxidation in Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells." Congratulations to the team!

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07/17/2020

ACS Catalysis selected our “Encapsulation Methods for Control of Catalyst Deactivation: A Review" paper for the front cover of Volume 10, Issue 14! Many thanks to Dr. Alba-Rubio's brother for the beautiful design!

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02/12/2020

Four abstracts submitted to the 2020 AIChE Annual Meeting (San Francisco, November 15-20, 2020) have been accepted for oral presentation. Looking forward to it!

 

06/26/2020

New paper out! “The Effects of Size and Content of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles on a Composite Sensor for Hydroxyl Radicals Detection" in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. Congratulations to the team!

 

06/02/2020

New paper out! “Encapsulation Methods for Control of Catalyst Deactivation: A Review" in ACS Catalysis. This is the first paper for Hope Otor and Josh Steiner. Congratulations!

 

05/26/2020

Our group welcomes two new members to the team: Nkem Ofole (M.S. student) and Miranda Al-Zarraq (Undergraduate). We are happy to have you on board!

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05/16/2020

Ibeh Omodolor, Hope Otor, Nkem Ofole, and friends organized a webinar titled "Becoming an Excellent Graduate Student." This was very well attended and helpful for graduate students around the world. Glad to have such proactive students. Good job, guys!

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05/06/2020

Our group received a new grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR)!

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04/10/2020

Shannon Saluga, a former undergraduate researcher in our group, received the NSF GRFP award! She had an amazing start as a Ph.D. student at the University of California-Irvine. Congratulations, Shannon!

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03/17/2020

Hope Otor and Ibeh Omodolor were selected to participate in the 2020 ACS Summer School on Green Chemistry & Sustainable Energy. Congratulations, guys!

 

03/17/2020

Ibeh Omodolor received a travel award to attend the 17th International Congress on Catalysis that will take place in San Diego, CA on June 14-19, 2020. Congratulations, Ibeh!

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02/21/2020

Hope Otor received an award from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Board of Corporate Affiliates (BCA). The mission of the NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. Congratulations, Hope!

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02/21/2020

Our new paper titled "Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of maleic acid with stoichiometric amounts of formic acid in aqueous phase: paving the way for more sustainable succinic acid production" has been accepted for publication in Green Chemistry. Congratulations to the team!

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02/18/2020-02/19/2020

Dr. Alba-Rubio attended the "Reactive CO2 Capture" workshop at NREL. It aimed to establish a circular carbon economy by developing strategies for merging CO2 capture and conversion into an integrated strategy.

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02/18/2020

A new provisional patent titled "Super sensitive sensor for the detection of hydroxyl free radicals with scavenging properties" has been filed.

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02/12/2020

Our two abstracts submitted to the 17th International Congress on Catalysis (San Diego, June 14-19, 2020) have been accepted for presentation. Ibeh Omodolor will be presenting a poster on soluble and reusable polymer catalysts for HMF production, and Dr. Alba-Rubio will be giving a talk on catalysis for CO2 conversion. Looking forward to attending this event!

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01/27/2020

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave an invited talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Auburn University.

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01/23/2020

The National Science Foundation provided an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) supplement to our "CAREER: Dual Function Materials for Capture and Conversion of CO2 into Methanol and Higher Alcohols" award. We are happy to continue offering complete research experiences to undergraduate students.

 

01/23/2020

Ibeh Omodolor, Hope Otor, and Uchenna Asogwa visited a 7th-grade class in the Lake middle school to talk about biofuels and their place in the renewables infrastructure. Thank you for inspiring future generations!

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01/14/2020

Dr. Alba-Rubio participated in the UToledo Sustainable Energy Economy Workshop as a panelist.

 

01/09/2020

Prof. Alba-Rubio gave an invited talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples" in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University.

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12/17/2019

Surachet (Ray) Duanghathaipornsuk, Eveline Farrell, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Alba-Rubio completed the I-Corps site at UToledo. Now, they are looking forward to participating in the National NSF I-Corps program. This will help to reduce the time to bring the hydroxyl free radicals sensor from the lab to the market.

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12/02/2019

Sarah Walz presented her findings on "The Production of Plastics from Microalgae" at the UToledo Undergraduate Research Exhibition. Great job, Sarah!

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11/22/2019

Surachet (Ray) Duanghathaipornsuk received the UToledo College of Engineering Translational Research Award for his contributions not only to the fundamental understanding of the sensing elements for free radicals but also to its application. We are so proud of you, Ray! Keep up the good work!

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11/21/2019-11/22/2019

Dr. Alba-Rubio attended the 2019 Olaf A. Hougen Symposium to celebrate Prof. James Dumesic's distinguished career. She presented a talk titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples."

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11/19/2019

Hope Otor received an Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation scholarship in recognition of his outstanding educational achievements. Congratulations, Hope!

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11/18/2019-11/21/2019

Ibeh Omodolor and Hope Otor presented their results at the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) conference in St. Louis. Good job, guys!

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11/08/2019

Hope Otor and Kapiamba Fabrice have been selected to represent the UToledo College of Engineering at the College of Business and Innovation (COBI) Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA). This program will allow them to increase their leadership skills and network with other graduate students and leaders from across the university. Congratulations!

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11/05/2019

Dr. Alba-Rubio and Dr. Kim received a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplement from the National Science Foundation for their project #1817294, "Electrochemical Interaction of Nano-Cerium Oxide Composites with Hydroxyl Radicals."

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10/10/2019-10/11/2019

National Lab Day at UToledo: Dr. Alba-Rubio co-chaired the "Materials and Manufacturing" session together with Dr. Tanja Pietrass from Los Alamos National Lab.

 

10/03/2019

Vimantha Bamunuarachchi was featured on the UToledo website! Congratulations, Vimantha!

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09/14/2019

Hope Otor and Fabrice Kapiamba have been selected as 2019 Forbes Under 30 Scholars. They will be attending the world's greatest event for young leaders, founders, investors, and creators. Congratulations!

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09/13/2019

Sarah Walz receives a travel award to attend the Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence conference that will be held in Indianapolis in October. She will be presenting her findings on catalysis for HMF production. Congrats, Sarah!

 

09/12/2019

Dr. Alba-Rubio and Dr. Coleman receive $25,000 from the UToledo Rocket Fuel Fund to investigate "Sustainable Production of Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and Levulinic Acid from Glucose"!

 

08/01/2019

Sarah Walz presented her findings during the summer at the UToledo Office of Undergraduate Research End-of-Summer Workshop. Great job, Sarah!

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07/30/2019

Prof. Alba-Rubio has been nominated for 2019 20 Under 40 Toledo Leadership Award!

 

07/22/2019

Hope Otor and Ibeh Omodolor receive a travel award to attend the NOBCChE Advancing Science Conference that will take place in St. Louis, MO in November 2019. Congratulations!

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07/01/2019

Prof. Alba-Rubio contributed a column to the July/August issue of American Infrastructure magazine.

 

06/23/2019-06/28/2019

Prof. Alba-Rubio, Ibeh Omodolor, and Hope Otor attended the 2019 North American Catalysis Society meeting in Chicago, IL. Ibeh delivered an oral presentation, Hope presented a poster, and Prof. Alba-Rubio co-chaired a few sessions.

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05/23/2019

Our group attended the 4th UT-WSU ChemE Graduate Research Symposium held at Wayne State University. Both graduate student associations put together an inspiring event, and Ibeh, Hope, Haidar, and Ray did a great job presenting their findings. Ibeh won first place in the student poster presentation, congratulations!

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05/07/2019

Our group attended the 40th Annual Michigan Catalysis Society Spring Symposium. Prof. Alba-Rubio, as secretary/treasurer of the MCS, participated in the organization, and Ibeh Omodolor and Hope Otor presented their findings.

 

04/15/2019

​Josh Steiner and Vimantha Bamunuarachchi represented our lab at the 2019 North Central Student AIChE conference. Good job, guys! Josh won first place in the research paper competition, congrats!

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04/05/2019

Prof. Alba-Rubio receives the UToledo College of Engineering Excellence in Supervision of Undergraduate Research Award!

 

04/07/2019

Dr. Alba-Rubio was featured in Diario Sur, a Spanish newspaper!

 

04/05/2019

Ibeh Omodolor receives the Kokes award to attend the 26th Meeting of the North American Catalysis Society. Congrats, Ibeh!

 

03/20/2019

​Sarah Walz received a scholarship from the UToledo 2019 First-Year Summer Research Experience program to conduct research this summer. Congratulations, Sarah!

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03/19/2019

​Ibeh Omodolor gave an oral presentation at the 45th Annual Convention of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He presented his results on "Soluble Superacid Polymer Catalysts for the Synthesis of HMF from Glucose."

 

02/21/2019

​It is Engineering Week and our group participated in the Girls Day. Around ~60 female students visited us to learn about chemical reactions and catalysis.

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02/18/2019

Our group received an NSF CAREER award to develop "Dual Function Materials for Capture and Conversion of CO2 into Methanol and Higher Alcohols"! (News, Video)

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02/14/2019

Dr. Nirala Singh from the University of Michigan was our seminar speaker this week. Thanks for your visit and the nice talk!

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02/10/2019

Ibeh Omodolor was selected to participate in the UToledo Advanced Leadership Academy program. Great opportunity to improve his leadership skills and thinking in a dynamic learning environment.

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01/22/2019

Dr. Thomas Schwartz (University of Maine) visited us today and gave a great talk on catalysis. Thank you!

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01/20/2019

Ibeh Omodolor passed his Ph.D. qualifying examination and became a Ph.D. candidate. Well done, Ibeh!

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12/09/2018

Ibeh Omodolor received the "Research Mentor Award" from the UToledo College of Engineering for his hard work and dedication to the undergraduate students in our group. This is a very well-deserved recognition. Congratulations Ibeh!

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10/29/2018

Ibeh Omodolor and Hope Otor attended the 2018 Region IV Fall Regional Conference of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). The society provides attendees the tools to excel in academia, succeed professionally, and positively impact their communities.

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10/29/2018

Ibeh Omodolor got an Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation scholarship and an NSBE Outstanding Academic Achievement scholarship in the same week. Keep up the good work, Ibeh! Congrats!

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08/28/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio has been nominated for the 20 Under 40 Toledo Leadership Award 2018!

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08/16/2018

Godfred Owusu became the second M.S. student to graduate from our group. Congratulations Godfred!

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08/02/2018

Dr. Alba-Rubio and Dr. Coleman receive $50,000 from the UToledo Rocket Fuel Fund to investigate "Soluble and Reusable Superacid Polymer Catalysts for 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) Production"!

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07/01/2018

Dr. Alba-Rubio and Dr. Kim receive a grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the "Electrochemical Interaction of Nano-Cerium Oxide Composites with Hydroxyl Radicals"!

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06/11/2018-06/22/2018

Our group provided hands-on activities (Catalysis & Biofuels) to high school students as part of the 2018 Toledo Excel Summer Institute.

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06/07/2018-06/08/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio attended the New Faculty Workshop organized by Cottrell Scholars Collaborative and the American Catalysis Society in Denver, CO. ​

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05/25/2018

The whole group attended the 3rd UT-WSU ChemE Graduate Research Symposium held at the University of Toledo. We enjoyed high-quality presentations and posters. Ibeh, as the president of the ChemE Graduate Student Association, participated in the organization of the event and did a fantastic job.

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05/15/2018

Ibeh Omodolor received a Living the Mission (Collegiate) scholarship from the National Society of Black Engineers! He was recognized for his outstanding NSBE involvement, community service, and academic excellence. Congratulations Ibeh!

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05/10/2018

AnDréa, Ibeh, and Caleb introduced sophomore high-school girls to the catalysis field through the WISDOM program.

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05/07/2018-05/11/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio participates in the UToledo Course Design Institute. She is building a new course using backward design.

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05/08/2018

Josh Steiner was selected for an Ohio Space Grant Consortium Undergraduate STEM Scholarship. This scholarship is funded by NASA through its National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and the University of Toledo. Congratulations Josh!

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05/04/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio receives a Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship to attend her first Catalysis Gordon Conference.

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05/03/2018

The University of Toledo recognizes Prof. Alba-Rubio for her outstanding contribution to University scholarship and creative activity. This honor was bestowed upon only 25 faculty members at UToledo!

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05/03/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio and Godfred attended the Michigan Catalysis Society 39th Annual Spring Symposium. Prof. Alba-Rubio was elected as the new secretary/treasurer of the MCS.

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03/13/2018

Prof. Alba-Rubio gives a talk at the Michigan Catalysis Society meeting titled "Homogeneous and Reusable Polymer Catalysts for Biomass Conversion."

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02/21/2018

Ibeh Omodolor was awarded an NSBEBCA/Major/Fellows Scholarship 2017-18. Congratulations Ibeh!

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02/19/2018

It is Engineering week! To celebrate it, our department organized some hands-on experiences on chemical reactions and catalysis for Toledo Excel high-school students.

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12/07/2017

Subhash Kalidindi received the Outstanding MS thesis recognition from the UToledo College of Engineering. Congrats Subhash!

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10/29/2017-11/03/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio attended the AIChE Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. She presented Subhash's work on "Multifunctional homogeneous-heterogeneous polymer catalysts for the synthesis of HMF from glucose."

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10/26/2017

Dr. Manuel López Granados (ICP-CSIC) was our guest speaker this week. Thanks for an enlightening presentation!

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10/12/2017

Prof. Eranda Nikolla (Wayne State University) visited us today. Thank you for the great presentation!

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07/29/2017-08/03/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio attended the ASEE Chemical Engineering Summer School and presented a poster on guided notes.

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07/06/2017

Subhash Kalidindi successfully defended his MS thesis. Congratulations Subhash!

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05/25/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio gives an invited talk at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Pittsburgh-Cleveland Catalysis Society.

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05/18/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio participates in a roundtable to give advice to future faculty candidates.

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05/16/2017

Latino Youth Summit at UToledo today! ~70 8th grade students visited us and enjoyed engineering activities.

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05/12/2017

We all attended the 2nd Joint UT-WSU ChemE Graduate Research Symposium at Wayne State University. Subhash won first place in poster presentations, congratulations!

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05/10/2017

Around 40 female high-school students visited our lab to learn about Catalysis and Biofuels (WISDOM program).

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05/05/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio attends the Michigan Catalysis Society 38th Annual Spring Symposium.

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04/25/2017-04/27/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio attends the GC3 Innovators Roundtable at Grand Rapids, MI.

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04/02/2017-04/07/2017

Prof. Alba-Rubio attends the 253rd ACS National Meeting in San Francisco. She is co-chairing a few sessions.

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02/28/2017

Subhash presents a poster at the 9th Annual AIChE Midwest Regional Conference.

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09/13/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio and colleagues from the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (CSIC), University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Málaga publish a paper titled “Oxidation of furfural in aqueous H2O2 catalysed by titanium silicalite: deactivation processes and role of extraframework Ti oxides" in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. Congratulations!

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08/17/2016

1st Anniversary at UToledo!

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06/22/2016-06/24/2016

Catalysis outreach: 60 high-school EXCEL students visited us. They made biodiesel and studied the decomposition of H2O2 with homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzymatic catalysts.

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06/14/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio attends the 20th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Portland, OR.

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05/26/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio serves as a mentor for students from the University of Michigan who would like to become professors (UM Preparing Faculty Seminar).

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05/20/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio publishes in Science! The paper titled "Self-assembly of noble metal monolayers on transition metal carbide nanoparticle catalysts" is the result of a collaboration with Prof. Román-Leshkov (MIT) while she was doing her postdoc in Prof. Dumesic's group (UW-Madison). Congratulations to the entire team! (UT News)

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05/20/2016

We are all attending the 1st Joint UT-WSU Chemical Engineering Research Symposium at UT. High-quality talks and posters. Thanks for organizing such a great event!

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05/17/2016

The group received around 15 Latino students (Latino Youth Summit). They learned more about what engineers do and made biodiesel with us.

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05/12/2016

The group organized an activity for the WISDOM (Women in STEMM Day of Meetings) program. Around 80 female students learned how to make biodiesel in our lab.

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03/23/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio delivers an invited talk at the 2016 Spring Symposium of the Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York.

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03/15/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio delivers an invited lecture at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Toledo.

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01/13/2016

Prof. Alba-Rubio and colleagues of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Purdue University published a paper titled “PtMo bimetallic catalysts synthesized by controlled surface reactions for water gas shift” in ACS Catalysis. Congratulations!

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12/01/2015

Prof. Alba-Rubio and colleagues of the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a paper titled “Synthesis of supported RhMo and PtMo bimetallic catalysts by controlled surface reactions” in ChemCatChem. Congratulations!

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11/08/2015

Prof. Alba-Rubio attends the 2015 AIChE Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT.​

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09/08/2015

Prof. Alba-Rubio and colleagues of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Dow Chemical Company publish a paper titled “Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide over Au-Pd catalysts prepared by electroless deposition” in Catalysis Letters. Congratulations!

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08/17/2015

Prof. Alba-Rubio joins the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Toledo as an Assistant Professor.