Maria Carreon Joins Chemical Engineering Faculty

Photo Submitted

Maria Carreon, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

The Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering is excited to welcome Maria Carreon to the department as associate professor. Carreon brings an emerging research program in non-thermal plasma processing to the University of Arkansas.  

"I'm so glad to be among chemical engineer peers and students who are truly committed to learn about the limitless chemical transformations in science and engineering," said Carreon. "I'm very excited for the future talent we can shape into excellence." 

Adding to the excitement is that this new chapter at the University of Arkansas will be a family matter. Joining Carreon at the university is her daughter, Lucia, who will be enrolled as a first-year student in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. 

Carreon's research includes plasma catalysis, production of platform chemicals, and materials synthesis and design. Her work has recently been published in Catalysis Today, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. She will lead the Carreon Research Group within the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering. 

"We are excited to welcome Maria to the department and have her research and teaching expertise strengthen our department," said Keisha Bishop Walters, department head and professor of chemical engineering.   

Carreon joins the chemical engineering department this month after serving as a faculty member at the University of Tulsa, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and most recently, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Coinciding with her research, she has developed a "Plasma Materials" course and published an online tutorial on "Plasma Catalysis."  

Carreon completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering at Universidad Michoacana in Mexico and holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville.  

About the Department of Chemical Engineering: Chemical engineering has been a part of the University of Arkansas curriculum since 1903. Today, the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering has an enrollment of over 300 students in its undergraduate and graduate degree programs and houses five endowed chairs and eight endowed professorships to support its faculty. Faculty expertise includes cellular engineering, chemical process safety, advanced materials, computational modeling, and membrane separations. A wide range of fundamental and applied research is conducted in the areas of energy, health, sustainability, and computational chemical engineering. The department is also home to the Chemical Hazards Research Center and is one of three national sites for the Membrane Science, Engineering, & Technology (MAST) Center. The Department of Chemical Engineering is named for alumnus Ralph E. Martin (B.S.Ch.E.'58, M.S.Ch.E.'60) in recognition of his 2005 endowment gift.