Contributions
Harriet Dufie Appiah is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, with research centered on sustainable process design. Her work spans three core areas: developing decision-making frameworks for food waste disposal and recycling, applying machine learning and life cycle assessment to forecast the environmental footprint of chemical processes at early design stages, and modeling the recovery and purification of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) to reduce pollution from electrical power systems and microelectronics processing.
Ronald Borja-Roman is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Universidad del Atlántico and is currently completing a degree in Software Engineering at Universidad de Cartagena, Colombia. His research combines physics-based simulation, artificial intelligence, and computational optimization to model and optimize complex engineering systems, with applications in functional materials, additive manufacturing, and sustainable chemical processes.
Gregory Santilli is a mechanical engineer at Maarky Thermal Systems, designing large equipment for powerplants. He holds B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He also completed an internship at Rowan University which involved designing this website and creating codes to obtain thermodynamic properties of molecules as well as implementing learning modules and research from Dr. Yenkie’s group.
Andres Castellar-Freile is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad del Atlántico, Colombia. Andres specializes in combining graph-theoretic frameworks with machine learning, vision-language models, and molecular dynamics simulations to solve complex engineering problems. His core projects focus on improving wastewater treatment networks, modeling reverse micelles' exchange dynamics and decision-making in plastic pyrolysis pathways.
Barnabas Gao is a passionate chemical engineer pursuing his PhD at Rowan University at the Sustainable Design and Systems Medicine lab (SDSML). His research is centered around systems-level analysis, mathematical modeling, process design, process development, scale-up & optimization, with the integration of machine learning and high-performance computing to innovate and improve process efficiencies. He has contributed to the development of educational modules, and videos for STEM outreach on Sustainability, as well as mentoring several undergraduate students. He has received multiple awards throughout his research and professional journey from STLE, ACS, and AIChE Divisions among others.
Dr. Kirti M. Yenkie is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University and leads the Sustainable Design and Systems Medicine lab. Her research and mentoring efforts are geared towards environmental sustainability by including practical examples and case studies from industry on water treatment, solvent recycling, petroleum pipeline cleaning, plastics recycling, and machine learning for early-stage life cycle analysis. She has developed educational modules, and videos for STEM outreach on Sustainability. She holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois (Chicago, IL), M. Tech (Chem. Engg.) from IIT Bombay and B. Tech (Chem. Engg.) from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur. She has received the NSF CAREER award and multiple awards from the AIChE Divisions.
Dr. Aditya Lele is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University, with a courtesy appointment in Chemical Engineering. His research uses ML-accelerated atomistic simulations to study dynamic, non-equilibrium, and reactive processes, with applications in plastic recycling, plasma catalysis, rapid joule-heated catalysis, and solid-state materials. He also teaches an interdisciplinary Practical Molecular Simulations course at Rowan.
Dr. Robert P. Hesketh is an internationally recognized leader in chemical engineering education, research, and professional service. Since 2000, he has served as Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, where he was Department Chair (2004–2012). He has held faculty positions at the University of Tulsa and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Hesketh is widely known for pioneering the integration of hands-on, experiential learning into chemical engineering curricula, including innovative laboratory modules and the acclaimed Rowan Engineering Clinic model. He has secured over $5.9 million in external research funding, led interdisciplinary research projects in green engineering, separations, process engineering, and reaction engineering, and significantly advanced the application of sustainability principles in chemical engineering practice.