Caryn Heldt Named to James and Lorna Mack Endowed Chair in Bioengineering

By Jennifer Donovan | Published November 15, 2016

Caryn L. Heldt, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech, has been named the recipient of the James and Lorna Mack Endowed Chair in Bioengineering.

A Michigan Tech alumna, Heldt has been on the faculty since 2010.  She is recognized both for her teaching and her research.

“Dr. Heldt cares deeply that her students learn and grow,” says. S. Komar Kawatra, chair of chemical engineering.  “This caring is highlighted in her success in training students for research careers. Her high standards, mentoring abilities, industrial experience, biomanufacturing knowledge and instructional innovations benefit all chemical engineering students.”

In her research, Heldt uses surface chemistry to remove and/or purify pathogens and toxins. Her goal is to reduce disease burden worldwide. Heldt also develops point-of-care devices to detect pathogens and toxins quickly and inexpensively.

With a prestigious 2015 NSF CAREER Award of $525,000, Heldt is developing new virus removal techniques. One hypothesis she will explore is how virus surfaces repel water and how that hydrophobic tendency could impact virus removal.