Two UT Austin chemical engineers have received Hill Prizes and seed funding of $500,000 for their high-risk, high-reward research ideas that have significant potential for real-world results. Both faculty members are within the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at the Cockrell School of Engineering.
Professor Joan Brennecke won the Hill Prize in Engineering for work on a membrane important to certain liquid fuels; her co-principal investigator is UT’s Benny Freeman. Meanwhile, professor James Chelikowsky was awarded the Hill Prize in Physical Sciences for his ongoing research in batteries.
Why it matters: Brennecke and Freeman will use the prize to help develop an advanced, stable and energy-efficient membrane to separate olefins from paraffins. Oelins are compounds used to make plastics, detergents, medical tubing and adhesives, and paraffins are a kind of combustible hydrocarbon liquid that is burned as a fuel. Currently, this separation is energy-intensive and challenging. Building on a recent breakthrough in chemically stable facilitated transport membranes, the team seeks to create robust, thin-film composite membranes with improved performance for commercial applications.
Also in the realm of energy, Chelikowsky was recognized for his approach to designing and discovering permanent magnets. Energy materials for green technologies — such as batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy systems — rely on rare earth elements (REEs) for permanent magnets. This presents two challenges: First, as the name suggests, they are scarce, which makes scalability a challenge for technologies like wind turbines or companies looking to expand. Second, REEs face supply-chain security and disruption issues as they are shipped and traded across the globe.
- Recognizing this, Chelikowsky and his team will use AI, quantum simulations and experimental techniques to design and discover non-rare-earth abundant permanent magnets — alternatives that exhibit comparable magnetic properties. Chelikowsky’s team will collaborate with researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington.
Funded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Hill Prizes recognize innovators in six key areas: medicine, public health, engineering, biological sciences, physical sciences and technology. Each award comes with $500,000 in funding to advance groundbreaking science and boost Texas’ capabilities as a premier destination for research.
A committee of TAMEST members (Texas-based members of the National Academies) selected the recipients, and finalists were endorsed by a committee of Texas Nobel and Breakthrough Prize laureates and approved by the TAMEST Board of Directors.
Lyda Hill, founder of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, said, “It is with great pride that I congratulate this year’s Hill Prize recipients. Their innovation is remarkable, as is their unwavering dedication to creating game-changing discoveries that address such crucial issues in our society.”
David E. Daniel of UT Dallas, the 2025 Hill Prizes Committee chair, said, “The Hill Prizes are designed to catalyze groundbreaking ideas and offer seed funding that bridges the gap between research and real-world impact. There is no shortage of innovation in Texas, and it was an honor to help put forward recipients whose deserving high-potential projects can now move forward thanks to Lyda Hill and her team’s support.”
The awardees will be recognized in February at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2025 Annual Conference in Irving, Texas.
