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 in heterogeneous catalysis focusing on the design and synthesis of zeolites and microporous materials for reactions involving carbon-based feedstocks, both conventional and emerging. 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, and methane abatement by low-temperature catalytic oxidation. He also specializes in laboratory and pilot plant engineering, safety, and design; professional development; and educational outreach. 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
Wenlin He
whe100 at syr dot edu
2019 B.S., Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University. I was born in Hefei, Anhui, China and received my B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University in 2019. Previously, I worked in the Nangia research group on examining the dynamic properties of lipid-protein interactions within different tissues by using molecular dynamics simulations. In 2017, I interned at Johnson & Johnson, OTC R&D Asia Pacific as a lab assistant focusing on scientific and marketing research for product development. I joined the Cybulskis group in January 2020, where my research focuses on synthesizing and tailoring acid-base cooperativity in zeotype catalysts to carry out aldol condensation reactions between small oxygenates in liquid media. My long-term career interests include cosmetics manufacturing and engineering consulting. In my free time, I enjoy music composition and oil painting. I am an active member of the Syracuse University Badminton Club, where I served as Secretary in 2015.
Jingzhi Liu
jliu140 at syr dot edu
2019 B.S., Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering
I am a fourth-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 third-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.
Research Group Alumni
Undergraduate Students
- Jacob Shellhamer (2020) Syracuse University
- Brent Gosselin (2020) Syracuse University
- Reem AlQasayar (2020) Syracuse University, Ph.D. Student at UPenn (Daeyeon Lee, Ray Gorte)
- Dakota Story (2019) Syracuse University
Visiting Researchers
- Hansheng Li (2021) Syracuse University, Ph.D. Student at Syracuse (Quinn Qiao)
Cybulskis Research Group 