Faculty member invited to National Academy of Engineering symposium

July 2, 2025

By Jocelyn Bilker

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Amir Sheikhi, associate professor of chemical engineering and the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering at Penn State, has been invited to participate in 2025 Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposiumorganized by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The symposium will take place from Sept. 14 to 17 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Sheikhi was selected to join a cohort of 100 early-career engineers from across the United States, representing academia, industry and government. According to the NAE’s invitation letter, participants were chosen based on their “exceptional engineering research and technical work” and their potential to contribute to cross-disciplinary innovation.

The symposium will feature four themed sessions: neural engineering, next-generation and quantum computing, fusion energy, and sustainable aerial mobility.

“Receiving an invitation to the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering symposium is both humbling and encouraging,” Sheikhi said. “I see it less as a personal accolade and more as a recognition of the collective effort of my students, trainees, collaborators and mentors who have shaped our work in bio-soft materials. Knowing that our research might contribute to human well-being and broader engineering conversation motivates us to keep asking hard questions and refining our ideas.”

In addition to plenary talks from leading researchers, the event will include breakout discussions, networking opportunities and facility tours.

“I’m genuinely excited to spend time listening to other early-career engineers whose expertise spans areas far outside my own,” Sheikhi said. “The symposium’s mix of perspectives, whether on neural engineering, next-generation computing and quantum computing, fusion energy or sustainable aerial mobility, creates a space where I can discover unexpected connections. I hope to come home with new questions, constructive critiques and perhaps the beginnings of collaborations that push our work in directions we haven’t yet imagined.”

Sheikhi’s research focuses on engineering soft materials for biomedical and environmental applications, including injectable hydrogels, nano-bio interfaces and intimate mixtures of two substances, one of which could be uniformly distributed finely throughout the second substance. His work has been recognized by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and other national and international organizations.

“The department loves to see its faculty win recognition and opportunities such as participating in this Frontiers Symposium,” said Phillip Savage, the Walter L. Robb Family Chair and former head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. “It demonstrates Amir’s standing in the field today, but more importantly, his potential for even greater impact in the days ahead.”

In addition to the Grainger Foundation, sponsors for the annual symposium include the National Science Foundation, Cummins and Dow. For a full list of recipients, see the Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering’s press release.