Catalyst Center hosts successful summit on data science in chemical industries
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The second annual 2026 UIC Catalyst Center Summit saw 50 students, faculty, researchers, industry professionals, and national laboratory scientists come together to share insights, develop solutions, forge collaborations, and discuss trends and ideas within the industry.
This year’s summit—an international workshop on data science in chemical and allied industries—focused on the increasing significance of artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital twins, and autonomous systems within chemical engineering and associated industries.
“AI is transforming how we design materials, optimize processes, and manufacture chemicals, but fundamental scientific understanding remains the foundation for meaningful innovation,” said Meenesh Singh, UIC Department of Chemical Engineering professor and director and industry liaison of the UIC Catalyst Center. “Our goal at UIC CAT is to bridge these worlds through industry-engaged research and workforce development.”
The event included industry professional talks, research presentations, a poster session, and a panel discussion. Several talks and presentations focused on AI, biopharma and digital manufacturing, process systems engineering, high-throughput systems and automation. The panel discussion highlighted that while AI and machine learning tools are becoming increasingly powerful, strong foundations in engineering and scientific fundamentals remain essential.
Singh also noted that industry representatives consistently said they prioritize candidates with deep conceptual understanding, critical thinking abilities, and the capacity to independently evaluate AI-generated outputs.
“The open-panel discussion highlighted the growing need for universities and industry to work together on AI education and implementation, particularly in preparing students for successful careers in industry,” said Constantino Megaridis, UIC University Distinguished Professor and James P. Hartnett Professor of Energy Engineering.
Singh added that the summit also provided substantial opportunities for student engagement and networking. Industry leaders spent significant time interacting with students, discussing research projects, career opportunities, and future workforce needs in AI-enabled industries.
Singh also said that those who attended noted the importance of preparing students who can effectively combine domain expertise with modern computational and AI-driven tools.
Some of the summit’s speakers included
- Karl Rockne, UIC College of Engineering associate dean of research
- Kushal Sinha, Kortana AI CEO and founder
- Vimal Srivastava, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee professor
- Urmila Diwekar, UIC Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering professor
- Udit Gupta of Siemens
- Eric Murphy and Gian Prakash of AbbVie
- Ankur Kapil of Veranova
- Ilke Arslan of Argonne National Laboratory
- Andrey Invankin, Mattiq CTO and co-founder
- Nan Chen of Chevron
- IIT Kharagpur Professor Swati Neogi
The Center was established to strengthen industry-engaged research and workforce development at UIC by connecting fundamental scientific discoveries with industrial applications across energy, environment, healthcare, catalysis, and advanced manufacturing.