معرفی
Merlin L. Bruening is the Donald and Susan Rice Professor of Engineering and a full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Leading the Bruening Lab, he oversees a multidisciplinary team of six graduate students, two postdocs, and two undergraduates.
Education & Career
- Postdoc, NIH Fellow, Texas A&M University, 1995–1997
- PhD in Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1990–1995
- MS in Chemistry, Brigham Young University, 1989–1990
- BS in Chemical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, Brigham Young University, 1983–1989
- Assistant → Associate → Full Professor, Michigan State University (1997–2016)
- Full Professor, University of Notre Dame (2016–present)
Research Interests
The Bruening group develops functional thin films and membranes for:
- Protein purification via high-capacity affinity membranes.
- Ion separations using electrodialysis and counter-flow electromigration for battery, rare-earth, and salt recycling applications.
- Controlled proteolysis with enzyme-immobilized membranes to accelerate mass-spectrometry workflows for antibody characterization and glycosylation analysis.
- Microfluidic integration of membranes for point-of-care quantitation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in serum.
Publication Trends
Recent publications (2022–2025) emphasize electrically driven membrane processes for critical mineral recovery, rapid quantitation of therapeutic antibodies, and environmental contaminant detection (PFAS, opioids). The work spans analytical chemistry, membrane science, biopharmaceutical analytics, and environmental engineering, reflecting a commitment to both fundamental transport phenomena and translational applications.
Awards & Honors
- Benedetti-Pichler Award, American Microchemical Society (2016)
- MSU Innovation of the Year (2015)
- MSU College of Natural Science Distinguished Faculty Award (2014)
- Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Young Investigator Award (2000)
- Notre Dame College of Engineering Outstanding Teacher (2025)
Funding & Collaborations
Current research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0017618), the National Science Foundation (CHE-1903967, 1916601, RAPID-IIP-2031090), and the NIH (1R21AG062144 with Prof. Amanda Hummon, OSU). These grants enable collaborative efforts in electrodialysis, membrane-based proteomics, and tissue imaging.
Group & Alumni
The lab has graduated >30 PhD and MS students and >35 undergraduates who now hold positions in industry (Dow, Janssen, Abbott, Intel) and academia worldwide. Active students include Chao Tang, Joshua Berwanger, Hui Yin Tan, and Dong Ding, among others.
