Professor Su winner of 2023 Unilever Award

The department of chemical and biomolecular engineering Professor Xiao Su is the 2023 Unilever Award recipient. The award is selected annually by the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, to honor and encourage fundamental work in colloid or surfactant science carried out by early career researchers. 

“I am truly honored for receiving this prestigious award from the colloids and surface science community,” said Professor Su. “I am very thankful for the amazing work and effort made by my students and postdocs over the past years that have led to this.”

Professor Su’s work is focused on the molecular design of functional materials for advanced separation and process intensification. His group works especially with the development of stimuli-responsive interfaces and electrochemically driven separation technologies for sustainable energy and environmental applications. 

The work by his group focuses on the molecular level understanding and design of interfaces for achieving high molecular selectivity for target species, especially by leveraging electron-transfer processes. The group is looking at using these technologies for applications ranging from water purification to critical element recovery, with a view of contributing to a more sustainable circular economy. 

“I believe our research is helping bridge the gap between fundamental interfacial science and every day applications. We are very excited that electroresponsive interfaces are beginning to have an impact on areas such as environmental remediation and sustainable mining,” said Professor Su.

The award will be presented at the 97th 2023 ACS Colloids Symposium, with a special lecture given by Professor Su during the meeting at Raleigh, NC on June 4-7.