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Erick Gutierrez was selected as the recipient of the Young Professionals Award in Upstream and Downstream Processing for his poster “Microscale Chromatography toolkits for rapid screening and purification of therapeutic proteins” presented at the 2019 Orlando Meeting. 

This award recognizes excellence by a non-student member of the BIOT 3M Separation and Purification Sciences Division and ACS-BIOT (American Chemical Society’s Division of Biochemical Technology) for Young Professionals in Upstream & Downstream Processing. This award is given to professionals 35 years of age or younger who present outstanding research in upstream and downstream processing at the poster session as part of the Division of Biochemical Technology (BIOT) programming at the ACS annual meeting.  The 3M Company is the sponsor for this award.

The 2019 BIOT Award for Young Professionals in Upstream & Downstream Processing will be awarded as part of 2020 Spring National Meeting, in Philadelphia, PA from March 22 - 26.

Research Overview: 

Biography:

Erick graduated from UMBC with a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (’18).  He worked at Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) located in UMBC, as a Systems Design Engineer focused on the product development of microfluidic devices used for downstream processing of therapeutic proteins.

He began his career in microfluidics by working as the team leader of an undergraduate team in Dr. Govind Rao's sensors class, tasked with developing a microfluidic debubbler for his Bio-MOD project funded by DARPA. He was then offered an internship position in the systems design team of the Bio-MOD project under the mentorship of Dr. Abhay Andar, where he was tasked with optimizing and making the bioprocesses used for the G-CSF purification runs, as well as developing, manufacturing, and validating microfluidic devices for downstream processing.

Upon graduation, he was offered a full-time position as a Research Associate in the Bio-MOD project, joining for the second phase of the project in which we had to optimize our process for animal studies. We developed several microfluidic devices, such as mixers, holders, novel and fully customizable chromatography micro-columns (µcols), and multi-functional integrated chips using thermo-plastic solvent bonding methods and adhesives. Our work for "Low‐cost customizable microscale toolkit for rapid screening and purification of therapeutic proteins," was recently published. (https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.26876) We further expanded our microfluidics research by using wood instead of plastics as our primary material, which led to the publication of “Wood Microfluidics,” published in Analytical Chemistry in 2019.

Dr. Blaney and Dr. Hernández-Maldonado edited Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater: Advanced Treatment Processes, published by Butterworth-Heinemann 2020.  Publication date: 18th October 2019. 

"I'm really excited to have published this book with my co-author, Dr. Arturo J. Hernández-Maldonado from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez. Arturo and I first connected when I was a PhD student, presenting at the American Chemical Society meeting. A couple of years later, we started organizing symposia and co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Hazardous Materials. Eventually, we decided to tackle this new challenge. I'm really pleased with the result, which includes a chapter from my lab with two PhD student authors (i.e., Mamatha Hopanna (PhD candidate) and Kiranmayi Mangalgiri (PhD, 2017)) and two BS student co-authors (i.e., Daniel Ocasio (BS, 2017, valedictorian) and Temitope Ibitoye (BS, 2019)). The book focuses on advanced treatment technologies to remove contaminants of emerging concern, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, flame retardants, and other specialty chemicals, from drinking water and wastewater. Top-tier researchers from around the world contributed to the book, and we are excited for it to hit the shelves. Ultimately, we hope that this collection of information will help municipalities address ongoing concerns about the presence of contaminants of emerging concern in water resources." - Dr. Lee Blaney

Description

Description (.pdf)

The Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) seeks to fill a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in the broad field of computational science and engineering, including areas such as applied machine learning, bioinformatics, computational fluid dynamics, data science, environmental informatics, environmental modeling, microbial ecology, molecular modeling, multiscale modeling, and systems biology. We are especially interested in applicants that conduct interdisciplinary research and complement the current expertise in our department and college.

Qualifications

The successful candidate is expected to build an externally-supported research program, address novel challenges in their field, teach undergraduate courses in our core chemical engineering curriculum, and work with diverse faculty, students, and staff. Candidates should hold a doctoral degree in chemical, biomedical, or environmental engineering or a related discipline. We are particularly interested in candidates that are committed to diversity and inclusiveness. Historically underrepresented minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. The anticipated start date for this position is August 2020.

General Information

The CBEE department (https://cbee.umbc.edu) is a vital component of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. Current departmental research focuses on biochemical, biomedical, bioprocess, environmental, and water resources engineering. The CBEE faculty maintains diverse, active, and successful research programs amounting to over $5 million in external research support in FY2018. Our faculty are also active participants and leaders of interdisciplinary research centers, including the Center for Advanced Sensor Technologies and the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education. CBEE faculty members regularly collaborate with researchers from nearby institutions and federal agencies. In addition to departmental space and facilities, the recently opened Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building provides 123,000 square feet of flexible research and education spaces that incorporate modern biochemical, cellular, and molecular research facilities and support interdisciplinary research and teaching in the life sciences. The CBEE department actively promotes mentorship opportunities for new faculty members through the Faculty Development Center, which supports the development of effective teaching methods, and the Advance Program, which supports the advancement of women at all faculty ranks.

UMBC is a public research university with approximately 14,000 students. The department has approximately 300 undergraduate and 40 graduate students, 13 tenure-track faculty, and three full-time lecturers. At the undergraduate level, the department provides tracks in three areas: traditional Chemical Engineering; Biotechnology/Bioengineering; and Environmental Engineering and Sustainability. All three tracks lead to the B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. At the graduate level, the department offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in (1) Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and (2) Environmental Engineering. Our students participate in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, the Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program, and the Center for Women in Technology, which have achieved national renown for inclusive excellence through the successful training of underrepresented students for careers in academia and industry.

The UMBC High Performance Computing Facility is an interdisciplinary core facility that has been continually upgraded with support from the National Science Foundation. The facility is configured with nearly 200 compute nodes across cpu and gpu units and has over 750 TB storage. Current informatics initiatives at UMBC include cybersecurity and artificial intelligence partnerships with the University of Maryland Baltimore Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and the IBM-funded Accelerated Cognitive Cybersecurity Laboratory. The successful applicant will have opportunities to collaborate with faculty from UMBC’s top-ranked programs in computer science and information systems.

The UMBC campus is located on 500 acres in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Our proximity and easy access to a wide variety of research facilities provide numerous opportunities for collaborative interdisciplinary research. For example, we are within a short drive to many federal facilities, including the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NOAA, NSF, US Geological Survey, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, a 71-acre community housing over 110 companies engaged in research, entrepreneurship, and economic development is located on the UMBC campus. BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and local/regional train stations are a five-minute drive from campus.

Application instructions

Electronic submission of applications containing a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statements of research and teaching interests, a statement of commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, and contact information for at least three references is required at http://apply.interfolio.com/70040. Review of applications will begin on Nov. 1, 2019 and will continue until the position is filled. For questions related to this position, please email CBEE-search2019@umbc.edu and be sure to include the position of interest (Assistant Professor) in the subject line.

UMBC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

We are pleased many Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) faculty and research scientists were recognized at this year's UMBC Inventors Luncheon sponsors by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of Technology Development (OTD), Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA), and bwtech@UMBC. 

We are very proud of the work our faculty and researchers are doing and the positive impact it has on our environment.

UMBC’s Entrepreneurs of the Year

• Dr. Ghosh, CBEE & Dr. Sowers, Department of Marine Biotechnology

75 Bright Ideas

• Dr. Govind Rao, CBEE

First Patent Approved

• Dr. Blaney, CBEE

UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund Awardees

• Dr. Blaney, CBEE
• Dr. Ghosh, CBEE
• Dr. Kostov, CBEE
• Dr. Xu, CBEE

UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund (TCF)

With support provided by the State of Maryland, UMBC launched a new internal funding initiative, the UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund, in 2014, which is designed to advance innovations originating from UMBC research to commercially viable technologies. Additional proof-of-concept studies, extending data collection and prototype development are examples of the essential steps needed to demonstrate commercial potential. The Office of Technology Development (OTD), under the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), is continually seeking ways to help bridge the funding gap— support that can be difficult to obtain from traditional funding sources.

TEDCO Maryland Innovation Initiative Awardees

• Dr. Ghosh, CBEE
• Dr. Kostov, CBEE
• Dr. Szeto, CBEE

Maryland Innovation Initiative (TEDCO MII)

The Maryland Innovation Initiative was created in 2012 as a partnership between the State of Maryland and Maryland’s academic research institutions. The program is designed to promote commercialization of research conducted in the research universities and to leverage each institution’s strengths. Specifically, it is the intent of the program to foster the commercialization of such technologies through technology validation, market assessment, and the creation of start-up companies in Maryland based on a technology from a participating university. Site Miners are individuals selected by the MII program to assist start-ups and faculty in the process of submitting a strong business-oriented application, focused on commercialization. These individuals work as liaisons between the applicant and the MII program, providing valuable input and feedback prior to submission of an MII application.

UMBC receives $2.8M from NSF for master’s program to prepare a diverse environmental science workforce