Chemical and biomolecular engineering postdoctoral researcher Devashish Gokhale has received an Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grant from the American Chemical Society (ACS). These competitive grants are given to postdoctoral fellows/associates who will soon be starting a tenure-track faculty career, in recognition of the novelty, quality, significance and scientific merit of their proposed research in green and sustainable chemistry, and for proven dedication and passion for teaching.
Gokhale’s proposed research, Stimuli-Responsive and Bioinspired Materials for Sustainable and Selective Food Separations, focuses on developing new polymer materials and methods for food‑processing applications that lower costs, improve sustainability, and preserve nutritional quality. The grant will provide support in the form of a salary for a postdoctoral fellow/associate, who can help launch Gokhale’s new research lab and gain invaluable experience of their own.
“I feel flattered and a little bit humbled,” Gokhale said about receiving the grant. “It's good to have some sort of external validation from folks who think that this research is useful and meaningful, and needs to be supported and driven forward, and I’m certainly very grateful for that confidence.”
Prior to joining the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2024, Gokhale earned a B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2019) and M.S. (2022) and Ph.D. (2024) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in chemical engineering. He is currently a member of the Su Research Group at Illinois.