Mark Swihart Named SUNY Distinguished Professor

Mark Swihart is UB Distinguished Professor, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Empire Innovation Professor in the UB RENEW Institute. He is recognized globally for developing new nanoscale materials, engineering practical processes for producing unique materials, and generating fundamental understanding of those processes. Nanoscale materials exhibit size-dependent properties and functions that enable new high-impact applications from biomedical imaging to renewable energy, and Swihart has made key contributions to the synthesis and post-processing of these materials. His research group has developed methods and materials that have been adopted by researchers and industry worldwide.

He has published more than 285 manuscripts on these subjects, which have been cited roughly 20,000 times. He co-authored the two most recent editions of the best-selling chemical engineering undergraduate textbook of all time and has co-founded two startup companies. He is a fellow of AIChE and AAAS, and has been recognized with the Schoellkopf Medal from the American Chemical Society and the Whitby Award from the American Association for Aerosol Research.

Swihart has led multiple campus-wide initiatives, including the UB 2020 Strategic Strength in Integrated Nanostructured Systems and the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics, and has collaborated broadly within and beyond UB, promoting interdisciplinary and convergent research approaches.