Columbia professor Jingyue Ju, early co-inventor of the fluorescence energy transfer labeling technology that enabled the development of high-throughput DNA sequencers, finds himself in the middle of a patent protection lawsuit that will affect some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies.

During the poster session at the Spring Meeting in Houston, we spoke with Ryan Vano of Natural Composites Inc. He shared with us his company's work with coconut fibers and the composite materials it's making from this largely untapped natural resource.

This month, CEP Magazine's Back to Basics looks at minimizing the risks of flammable materials. Also covered this month are bulk solids segregation problems, Taiwan's chemical industry, and news about the latest in chemical engineering, from nanoglue to carbon management and a progress report on the recovery of Japan's chemical industry.

Joe Stough of IHS spoke with us at the Spring Meeting poster session in Houston to explain his company's research on better understanding how the best-performing companies are working towards improved safety in their facilities.

The Featured YP for April is Lauren Deitch. Learn more about her background, her advice to other young professionals, and what she'd be doing if she hadn't chosen to study chemical engineering.

When a large, well established organization determines that it cannot internally provide the level or speed of innovation and new product development that it needs to survive and grow, it will often engage a small innovative start-up company to make up for the shortcoming.

ChEnected sat down with Michael Dolan, senior vice president of ExxonMobil following his keynote address in Houston. Hear his thoughts on process safety as it relates to chemical engineers and the petroleum industry, including a discussion on the balancing of risk and the future challenges for chemical engineers and industry.