Principal Investigator
Viktor J. Cybulskis, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor,
Biomedical & Chemical Engineering
Syracuse University
vjcybuls at syr dot edu
2018 Postdoctoral, Caltech, Chemical Engineering
2016 Ph.D., Purdue University, Chemical Engineering
2005 B.S., Purdue University, Chemical Engineering
CV | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | ResearchGate
Biography
Viktor J. Cybulskis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University. He was born in South Bend, Indiana and received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 2005. He began an industrial career with LyondellBasell Industries, holding various roles in manufacturing and research and development for fuels and petrochemicals, and then joined TPC Group in 2009. He returned to Purdue University and received his Ph.D. in 2016 under the direction of Fabio H. Ribeiro and W. Nicholas Delgass after completing his dissertation on supported metal catalysis for water-gas shift and alkane dehydrogenation reactions. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology with Mark E. Davis, where his research focused on zeolite synthesis and enantioselective catalysis of light oxygenates. In August 2018, he joined the faculty at Syracuse University.
Viktor leads an experimental research group focused on designing and synthesizing zeolites and microporous materials for applications involving energy and sustainability. Current research topics in his laboratory include carbon-carbon coupling of oxygenates over cooperative acid-base sites in zeolites, tandem catalytic pathways for direct alkene epoxidation, methane abatement by low-temperature catalytic oxidation, and removal of perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) from water. He also specializes in laboratory and pilot plant engineering, safety, and design. He currently serves as the Secretary for AIChE’s Licensing and Professional Development Committee and is a licensed professional engineer in Indiana and New York.
Graduate Students
Jingzhi Liu
jliu140 at syr dot edu
2019 B.S., Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering
I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University and joined the Cybulskis group in August 2019, focusing on the synthesis and application of high silica, palladium-containing zeolites for low-temperature methane oxidation. I was born in Beijing, China and received my B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University in May 2019. Previously, I interned at Siemens Factory Automation Engineering Ltd. at Beijing as a product commercial assistant. My personal interests include automobiles, cooking, and flying small jet aircraft.
Weixin Li
wli116 at syr dot edu
2021 M.S., Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering
2015 B.S., Hunan Normal University, Chemical Engineering
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University and joined the Cybulskis group in August 2020. I was born in Hunan, China and completed my B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Hunan Normal University in 2015 and was a visiting student at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2016, where my research focused on fabrication of graphene/carbon nanotube hybrid sponges. Prior to joining the Cybulskis group, I worked as a master’s student in the Bond research group on the synthesis and characterization of supported copper catalysts. My current research focuses on the development of gold-containing titanosilicate zeolite catalysts for propylene epoxidation.
Baqi Atimah
boatimah at syr dot edu
2016 B.E., Federal University of Technology Minna, Engineering
I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University and joined the Cybulskis lab in October 2023. I did my undergaduate studies at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria, where I obtained a Bachelors in Engineering in 2016. Prior to joining the Cybulskis group, I worked as a Graduate Assistant at my alma-mater and also trained as a Pipeline Engineer at the Subsea Engineering level with ExxonMobil’s Human Capacity Development training and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). My current research focuses on designing solid Lewis acid catalysts for liquid-phase carbon-carbon coupling reactions involving bio-renewable oxygenates.
Nelson Donkor
ndonkor at syr dot edu
2021 B.S., University of Mines and Technology, Mineral Engineering
I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University and joined the Cybulskis lab in October 2023. I was born and raised in Accra, Ghana and earned my B.S. in Mineral Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology in 2021. I interned as a research assistant in the minerals laboratory for a year and a half, contributing to various projects with mining companies in Ghana and across Africa. My current research involves developing multifunctional hydrophobic zeolites for removal and destruction of recalcitrant PFAS from contaminated groundwater, wastewater, and aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF). In my free time, I enjoy swimming and playing soccer.
Research Group Alumni
Undergraduate Students
- Jacob Shellhamer (2020), Associate Nuclear Engineer at Naval Nuclear Laboratory
- Brent Gosselin (2020), Supply Chain Management Associate at Gorton’s
- Reem AlQasayar (2020), Ph.D. Student at UPenn (Daeyeon Lee, Ray Gorte)
- Dakota Story (2019), Thin Films Process Engineer at WaferTech
Cybulskis Research Group 