Presision cutting and tooling
Building robust and sustainable industry-academic partnerships to hone a sharper competitive edge
The Prtizker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago is almost 10 years old (started in 2011). We currently have about 40 faculty with plans to double that in the next 5-10 years. The themes we have are Quantum Engineering, ImmunoEngineering, and Sustainable Materials. The University of Chicago is well known for several things : our business school (and economists) which are top rated; our science (Early part of Manhattan project was done on campus!), 3rd largest number of Nobel laureates, and low acceptance rate (~7%) of undergraduates who participate in the very rigorous “Core Curriculum”.
Since practically every other engineering school in the world is about 100 years ahead of us – we needed a good way to differentiate ourselves. There are already 4+ world-class engineering schools in the Midwest – it’s unclear how another traditionally modeled engineering school is going to help… So – the PME is materials science centric (with the idea that materials can be designed from the ‘molecular level’ – up) but focused on applications in 3 critical areas (below). Why materials centric? Materials are a game changer in all industries – if you look at the periods of human development – the stone age, bronze age, iron age, steel age, and now the semiconductor age… they are named after materials.
The PME themes – as opposed to having departments, which inherently create siloes :
Quantum Engineering – Almost all other universities have a few courses on quantum computing. We have an entire movement that is pushing the development of Engineered systems out of the basic science labs into the commercial space. There is effectively an arms race between China and the US on this. The country that is able to first capitalize on the advantages of this will end up several steps ahead in many critical aspects. This is all about facilitating quantum computation (breaking encrypted codes), quantum sensing (ultimate sensor of electromagnetic fields), and quantum communications (ideally unbreakable/untappable physical communication channels); and creating a national (and eventually a global) infrastructure based on our standards. The Chicago Quantum Exchange is a powerhouse industry/academic hub that aims to develop a roadmap and development centers that can leverage this technology.
ImmunoEngineering – There are currently only a handful to ImmunoEngineering groups globally. Most university centers have an Immunology department – the difference being more basic science vs development of applications and commercialization as a goal. Understanding how to leverage the immune system to attack cancers, treat allergies, and learn how the microbiome affects our health.
Materials systems for Health and Sustainability – biomedical devices, stretchable sensors, microfluidic testing systems, water purification, battery materials, smart polymers, etc.
Water and energy as especially critical topics. The Energy/water nexus is a tightly coupled pair. Clean water will be a political tool used in the future as it is currently limited by geographic location, and access to the appropriate energy and technology infrastructures.
Ways companies can interact with us: (many of these are not contrained by applicability to the PME themes)
• Senior capstone projects (free labor! And effective interview for 22 weeks) -
• Internships
• Use our advanced instrumentation for materials analysis (at an hourly rate – instead of buying an expensive piece of equipment)
• Sponsored research with faculty experts
• Interact with graduate students so that they can learn about your company culture
• Hire our students
• Participate in executive education programs (certificate programs in quantum, masters program in PME),
• Use Felix to guide you through these options and help you figure out what other options are!
And if family members or friends are curious about the Molecular Engineering program, here is a broad description.
Felix Lu serves as the Director of Corporate Engagement. His job is to connect companies with talent, resources, and services available at the University of Chicago and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. He is happy to talk to you and answer any questions about anything. His background is in electrical engineering in the materials side of things and co-founded a high technology startup in North Carolina.
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