Luke Landherr

Luke Landherr serves as a COE Distinguished Teaching Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University's College of Engineering. He is also a Center Member at The Plastics Center, where he bridges materials science with educational outreach.

His academic credentials include a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Lafayette College (2005) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University (2010), followed by an NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship at NIST.

Dr. Landherr's research pioneers comics and visual tools for STEM education across all age groups. His Drawn to Engineering series, published in Chemical Engineering Education, transforms complex concepts like thermodynamics and unit operations into accessible narratives. Collaborating with artists, he creates comics adopted internationally—from U.S. colleges to institutions in the U.K., Belgium, and Denmark—and serves as engineering consultant for PBS's Crash Course Engineering YouTube series. His work targets student engagement, confidence, and conceptual understanding through innovative visual pedagogy.

Analysis of his publications reveals consistent focus on comics as assessment tools, diversity in engineering, and real-world problem-solving. The Drawn to Engineering comics systematically address classroom challenges—from exam anxiety to inclusive teaching—while his NSF-funded research quantifies comics' impact on learning conservation principles.

His scientific awards include:

• Joseph J. Martin Award (2023) for Chemical Engineering Division paper excellence
• Diversity Recognition Award (2025) from ASEE
• Multiple Omega Chi Epsilon Professor of the Year Awards (2015-2023)
• Ray W. Fahien Award (2019) and AIChE Innovation Award (2018)
• Faculty Leadership Award (2019) from student engineering chapters

Dr. Landherr secures substantial grants including a $300,000 NSF award (2023) for comics-based conservation principles research and AIChE Foundation funding for high school/college learning tools. He mentors students who win national AIChE poster competitions and present at ASEE conferences. His leadership spans AIChE's Societal Impact Operating Council (chair 2019), K-12 Committee (chair 2020), and co-founding the Disabilities Outreach and Inclusion Committee. Departmentally, he chairs the Undergraduate Education Committee and Student Awards Committee.

He actively promotes inclusive engineering through comics addressing diversity statements, LGBTQA advocacy (Gratitude Award 2019), and accessible education frameworks developed with student artists. His work with The Plastics Center integrates polymer science outreach with K-12 curriculum development.