New Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Edgar Goluch
DiPietro Assistant Professor
The Department of Chemical Engineering welcomes Dr. Edgar Goluch, the newest faculty member, who will be joining us in the fall 2010 semester. Dr. Goluch was attracted to the Department due to its focus on interdisciplinary research and its eagerness towards expansion.
Dr. Edgar Goluch received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while researching directed evolution for gene therapy with Professor Huimin Zhao. He then obtained his M.S. in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in bioengineering also from Illinois under the direction of Professor Chang Liu and in close collaboration with Professor Chad Mirkin (Northwestern University) in the area of "lab-on-a-chip" devices. In the last few years, he has conducted postdoctoral research at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands as a National Science Foundation International Research Program Fellow, which involved development of an electrochemical sensing strategy in nanofluidic devices.
Dr. Goluch will be tackling several research projects while at Northeastern. His first project, an extension of his postdoctoral research, focuses on electrochemically detecting biological molecules in microfluidic and nanofluidic devices in order to provide new insight to biological systems.
His second research project entails developing new detection techniques for "chip-in-a-lab" and "lab-on-a-chip" applications. One technique utilizes infrared imaging to obtain chemical information from the materials of interest without disturbing the sample or removing it from the device. A third project involves integrating different photonic techniques such as surface plasmon resonance or surface-enhanced Raman scattering combined with nanotechnology for detector usage. Though physicists have already explored this technology, Dr. Goluch wants to apply these techniques to fluidic systems in order to investigate biological processes. He envisions his future research group working with various collaborators that are ready to fuse nanotechnology and biology.
In addition to his research, Dr. Goluch will be sharing his expertise and experience in the classroom with the students starting in fall 2010. He plans to apply the fundamentals of chemical engineering to relevant problems applicable to the students' professional career. Dr. Goluch says he would like to implement a new nanotechnology course which would introduce students to the field, starting from synthesizing nanoparticles to characterization and applications. He states, "Nanotech is popping up everywhere in society; therefore, it is important for all engineers to be knowledgeable as to how [nanotechnology] is being used in commercial products and research."
Dr. Goluch is an avid bowler and cyclist when outside of the lab or classroom. He enjoys mentoring and participating in student organizations such as the AIChE and Omega Chi Epsilon. He brings potential, determination, and fresh ideas for the new academic year, making him a great addition to the department. We are very excited to see more of what his future with Northeastern will bring. The Department of Chemical Engineering faculty, staff, and students warmly welcome Dr. Edgar Goluch.