Paul Kenis

Paul Kenis is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He leads the Kenis Research Group, which focuses on microchemical systems for energy and biological applications. His work spans electrochemical systems for CO2 conversion, microfluidic platforms for crystallization and cell studies, and chemical synthesis in microreactors.

Research Interests

• Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to valuable chemicals and fuels
• Microfluidic technologies for protein and pharmaceutical crystallization
• Development of microreactors for quantum dot synthesis and radiopharmaceuticals
• Autonomous materials discovery and high-throughput experimentation

Recent Articles highlight advancements in CO2 capture/conversion, hydrogen production via ammonia electrolysis, and AI-driven nanomaterial synthesis. His team collaborates with institutions like the University of Illinois at Chicago and AbbVie.

Awards include the ECS Carl Wagner Memorial Award and the Walter van Schalkwijk Award for contributions to sustainable energy technology. Current research involves optimizing CO2 electrolyzers and developing scalable membranes for carbon capture.

Labs/Teams include the Electrosynthesis, Autonomous Synthesis, and Membranes groups, with projects funded by NSF, DOE, and industry partners.