School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
July/August 2026

Professor named to AAEES 40 under 40

David Kwabi, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering, has been named to the 2026 American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) 40 Under 40 Recognition Program, which honors early-career professionals who have made significant contributions to the fields of environmental engineering or environmental science.

Kwabi’s research focuses on developing energy- and resource-efficient electrochemical systems for decarbonization and climate change mitigation. Kwabi, also a member of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, joined Yale Engineering in 2025 from the University of Michigan. 

Building a better, more precise droplet

Droplets can be very useful tools for a number of fields, from medicine to manufacturing. Controlling the size of the droplet, though, is important—and very tricky. With unprecedented precision, a team of researchers led by Professor Corey O’Hern determined how droplets break up into smaller ones, at what size, and under what conditions. To do so, they designed a chamber with an array of tiny obstacles that break a droplet into many smaller droplets. The researchers then analyzed the conditions of each breakage. They conducted 5,000 of these experiments, and ran computer simulations of the droplets’ breakages.

Enhancing a superconductor’s potential

A material known as “nickelates” is recognized for its ability to achieve superconductivity—the unrestrained flow of electric current—at elevated temperatures. But its instability limits its potential. A new study from the lab of Professor Charles Ahn reveals a way to better harness its potential for quantum computing, medical imaging, and a number of other fields. Ahn’s research team discovered that when they doped the nickelates with a material known as europium, it allowed the superconductivity in nickelates to persist under conditions that would normally weaken or destroy the quantum properties. Next up, the researchers plan further studies to better understand why europium has these effects on nickelates.