David Dandy Named Department Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering
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Dr. David Dandy
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Professor David Dandy has recently been named head of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. A faculty member since 1992, Dandy joined Colorado State after working as a senior member of technical staff in the Advanced Materials Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California.
Dandy's research focuses on optical biosensor and bioassay development, and reacting flow processes, with additional expertise in chemical vapor deposition of thin films and combustion. His work includes application of dense medium plasma technology to contaminant degradation and inactivation of viral and bacterial agents. He serves as a participating faculty member in the biosensor and microfluidics program, an interdisciplinary program with ongoing research in the areas of chemical, biological and electrical engineering and chemistry. He is also a professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering.
Dandy is chair of several engineering and university committees and adviser to undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. He is co-author of the book Diamond Chemical Vapor Deposition Processes: Nucleation and Early Growth Stages and has published more than 65 peer-review journal publications. Dandy also serves as associate editor of the New Diamond and Frontier Carbon Technology journal.
The recipient of numerous awards, Dandy has twice been the CSU National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow nominee and has been awarded the College of Engineering Dean's Council Award.
As department head, Dandy's plans include recruiting additional faculty to meet the needs of an expanding student population, providing for more elective courses and research opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
"The department is committed to growth in the emerging area of synthetic biology, including protein and metabolic engineering, and systems biology," said Dandy.
In addition, with the fall freshman class double in size from previous years, he hopes to continue this trend in graduate student numbers through a regional chemical engineering recruitment program.
Dedicated to addressing U.S. energy and environment needs, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State is a key partner on a new venture known as the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2). A collaborative undertaking between the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the joint project will develop new biofuels and biorefining techniques and assist in the transfer of the new technology to the public. Dandy and other Colorado State University faculty with expertise in the area will work with large corporations and small to mid-sized companies to expand business opportunities and provide a new source of fuel.