300 Boston Post Road, West Haven, CT 06516
TAGLIATELA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
— a STEM program — is proving to be a veritable magnet for civil engineering graduates, who have a passion for seeing designs become solid realities. The new program prepares students to be expert construction engineers and managers by instilling advanced managerial skills needed to bring a project to successful completion. It’s a business mindset that’s designed to live in concert with the engineer’s native creativity and problem-solving abilities. The in-demand graduate of this program combines a solid understanding of civil engineering principles and design with a full understanding of the interlocking realities of planning, estimating, scheduling, safety regulations, risk management,
and sustainability issues.
M.S. in Construction Engineering and Management
offers courses that typically do not make an appearance in traditional M.S. in Chemical Engineering curricula. The program seamlessly integrates the study of theoretical/computational chemical engineering with courses in systems engineering and chemical, biomolecular, and energy systems. Graduates emerge with the skills and knowledge to lead projects requiring knowledge of systems engineering and complex chemistry, biomolecular, and energy systems and computational methods.
M.S. in Chemical Engineering
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As manager of their Lunar Vertex (LVx) project, she is accountable to NASA for the management of cost, schedules, subcontracts, staff, and technical resources for all mission elements. LVx is the first mission of NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon. Her impressive career includes previous roles as Program Director for Orbital Sciences Corporation — Space Systems Group, Chief Engineer for the California Institute of Technology NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Lead Engineer for Rockwell International’s Rocketdyne Division.
Currently Vice President of Projects for Avangrid Networks, he leads a team of more than 300 management and engineering resources and is responsible for the execution of the company’s major gas, electrical transmission, distribution, and substation infrastructure projects. Prior to Avangrid, he was director of United Illuminating’s Transmission and Distribution Operations and Maintenance and served seven years as an electrician for the U.S. Navy.
As director of a Project Management Office for Rockwell Automation in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, he is in charge of the $1.1 billion Safety, Sensing, and Industrial Components business operations unit. So far, he has committed 16 years of his mission to Rockwell, where his other positions included Director of Operations and Security. Before Rockwell, he exercised his outstanding management talents at Emerson Electric and Brunswick Corporation. Last summer Geof retired from Rockwell.
The TCoE’s Professional Advisory Board has welcomed three leading lights from the fields of space exploration, power generation, and industrial automation.
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In his twelve years as dean, Lambrakis generated tremendous growth in the number of faculty hired, students enrolled, and programs offered. A man of encyclopedic general knowledge and remarkable teaching ability — particularly in thermal sciences — he was widely recognized for his pioneering work in negative shock waves.
Plans for an Endowed Professorship
in mechanical engineering have gathered strength thanks to a generous bequest from a TCoE alumnus. The donor, who wished to remain unnamed, specifically earmarked the funds for the Mechanical Engineering program.
Dr. Huan Gu (Cont'd)
Gu had previously tested PSS sessions with a group of ten Chemical Engineering students and found that they significantly enhanced the students’ problem-solving capacity. The KEEN award will allow her to expand the sessions to 30 more students, including those in the Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and General Engineering programs.
Dr. Huan Gu
KEEN, short for Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network, advocates for an entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen among engineers. It emphasizes skills such as recognizing opportunities, researching markets, developing business models, and articulating engineering solutions in economic terms. Since 2011, the Tagliatela College of Engineering has been collaborating with KEEN. Gu, recipient of the Engineering Unleashed Fellowship, receives $10,000 and a year to incorporate Problem-Solving Sessions (PSS) into the curriculum. Gu encountered PSS during a 2023 Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development Workshop.
Dr. Dequan Xiao (Cont'd)
Dr. Yang at Washington State University will supply the lignin fuel for the project, where Dr. Xiao will develop an AI-driven catalyst approach based on his inverse molecular design theory for safe hydrogen release in automobiles. The dehydrogenated LOHC can be rehydrogenated back into lignin jet fuel, offering a promising avenue for hydrogen fuel usage with minimal CO2 emissions, ultimately leading to cleaner air.
Dr. Dequan Xiao (Cont'd)
Xiao secured a second grant as co-PI, a $360,000 subaward from a $1M Department of Energy grant in collaboration with Dr. Bin Yang at Washington State University. Titled “Developing a New Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier Technology for Hydrogen Storage in Sustainable Aviation Fuels — Lignin Jet Fuel,” the project explores lignin-based jet fuel as a Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC), offering a safe method for hydrogen storage. This addresses the challenge of safely storing highly combustible hydrogen for potential use in automobiles, where direct storage of compressed hydrogen gas is not feasible.
Dr. Dequan Xiao (Cont'd)
Their grant-winning proposal, "Data-Driven Chemo Selective Lignin Valorization Process to Biochemicals and Aviation Fuel," aligns with the Biorefining and Biomanufacturing program. Xiao's role involves utilizing an AI-driven catalyst design method, based on his theory of inverse molecular design, to convert low-cost lignin polymers into monomers efficiently. These monomers can then be utilized to synthesize bioplastics and liquid fuels, potentially mitigating the impact of rising oil and chemical prices and supply-chain volatility.
Dr. Dequan Xiao
Dr. Dequan Xiao, alongside Drs. Zhaohui Tong and Guanghui Lan from Georgia Tech Research Corporation, received an $800,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NIFA supports programs addressing national and global challenges, including sustainable bioenergy and bio-based industrial products production, aligning with the team's objectives.
Dr. Hao Sun (Cont'd)
In July 2023, Sun secured a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, fueling advancements in his polymer research. Alongside depolymerization studies, Sun will investigate acid-degradable polymers from biomass-derived monomers for potential industrial use. As founder of the university's Advanced Polymer Research Lab, Sun anticipates leveraging the grants to advance both research and STEM education, with the potential to attract further funding opportunities, including Department of Energy grants.
Dr. Hao Sun (Cont'd)
In April 2023, Sun received a grant from the NASA Connecticut Space Consortium to enhance recyclable polymers' resistance to ionizing radiation, crucial for spacecraft and satellite durability and astronaut protection. The grant also supports Sun's mentorship of students who will analyze data, write research papers, and present findings at conferences, fostering the next generation of researchers.
Dr. Hao Sun
Sun has secured three grants in less than a year for his research on biomass-degradable polymer materials aimed at recyclability. The American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund granted $55,000 in October 2022 to support Sun's efforts to design polymers that can depolymerize into their original monomers, potentially transforming plastic waste into reusable materials, thus improving environmental landscapes and reducing pollution.
Student News
Bryan Cadavos ‘ 23
was intensely interested in knowing whether amines — high-pH (basic) compounds that easily become aerosolized when reacting with low-pH (acid) substances, such as oxalic acid — are toxic to mammalian cells. Because the structure of amines is similar to that of ammonia’s, Cadavos compared the effects of methylamine oxalate and ammonium oxalate on cells. The results of his experiments showed that, depending on concentration, amine compounds are more toxic to mammals that ammonia compounds. Cadavos was co-advised by
Dr. Shue Wang and Dr. Chong Qiu.
Gianna Cologna ’25, ’26
Forensic Science major and future M.S. in Chemistry
Cologna conducted five dozen experiments over ten weeks for the project "Synthesis of a Library of Dibenzo-Azocine-Diones for High-Throughput Screening," exploring novel structures in medicinal chemistry. Under Dr. Pier Cirillo's direction, Cologna organized and presented findings to the University community, leading to nomination for the prestigious Bucknall Family Undergraduate Research Award and subsequent selection as the recipient from a competitive pool.
Cody John Velikaneye ’24
Chemical Engineering major
Dr. Huan Gu guided Velikaneye in exploring the potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) in degrading plastic waste, particularly with a newly developed plastic, polyolefin. PAO1's biofilm breaks down polymer-based plastics into single-chain carbon rings, offering a faster, environmentally friendly disposal method. Velikaneye found that the synthesized polyolefin biodegrades six times faster than traditional plastics like low-density polyethylene.
Hayat Khan ’25
Chemistry major
Hayat Khan ’25, a Chemistry major, worked on developing a novel class of biopolymer-based nanoparticles for cancer treatment while being mentored by Dr. Hao Sun. Their proposed nanoparticle has a core-shell structure consisting of a glycogen core and a polydopamine shell that is able to convert near infrared (NIR) light into heat energy to ablate cancer cells. Hayat, under, Sun’s supervision, synthesized the nanoparticles and studied the photo-thermal effects of these novel materials.
Justin Caron ’24
Chemical Engineering major
studied how mechanical compression affects the collective migration of cancer cells. Collective cell migration is the coordinated movement of a group of cells and plays a crucial role not only in development, wound healing, and tissue regeneration but also in cancer metastasis. At the outset, it was not clear how compression affects those processes, but using a traditional 3D transwell migration assay, Caron was able to study the effects of compression stress on cancer cell migration. He found that compression could, indeed, promote cancer cell migration. His work was performed under the guidance of Dr. Shue Wang.
Winter 2024
University of New Haven
A new M.S. in Chemical Engineering and an
M.S. in Construction Engineering and Management are giving those with bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering or civil engineering something that every job seeker wants: more leverage.
University of New Haven
The Tagliatela College of Engineering has been ranked in the top tier of undergraduate engineering programs nationwide by
U.S. News & World Report.
Ann Cox ’83
James Cole, MBA ’08
Geof Storms ’87