Assistant professors honored for excellence with junior faculty awards
The School of Engineering and Applied Science has recognized six assistant professors for outstanding teaching and research. Each recipient of the 2026 junior faculty awards will receive $50,000 to support their work. Two faculty members from the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Jerelle Joseph and Ryan Kingsbury, received the Howard B. Wentz, Jr. Junior Faculty Award.
Jerelle Joseph
Jerelle Joseph, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, develops theoretical models and computer simulations to understand the organization of living cells’ interior compartments. Her research also seeks to engineer new cellular functions to address diseases and disorders, especially those linked to a class of cellular compartments without membranes separating them from their cellular environment. These compartments condense from their surroundings into droplets, like oil in water, and have been linked to gene regulation as well as a range of severe health problems. Since arriving at Princeton, Joseph and her group have uncovered key principles governing these biomolecular condensates, from their internal molecular structure to the mechanisms that degrade them over time. Christos Maravelias, chair of chemical and biological engineering, said “her service… to the University, as well as the external engineering and biophysics communities, has been stellar.” Joseph earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. She joined Princeton in 2023.
Ryan Kingsbury
An assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Ryan Kingsbury works to develop electrochemical technology to advance the production of clean water and energy. Kingsbury’s research seeks to increase fundamental understanding at the interface of electrochemical separation, computational design and ion-selective material such as membranes and electrodes. Branko Glišić, chair of civil and environmental engineering, noted that in addition to making significant research contributions, Kingsbury has created a new undergraduate design course as well as a graduate-level class on membrane separations that has been cross-listed across the engineering school. He was recognized with a SEAS teaching award in the fall semester. Glišić calls Kingsbury “an exemplary citizen in the department.” He serves as chair of the Andlinger Center’s Early Career Leadership Forum and has been appointed by the governor to the New Jersey Water Supply Advisory Council. Kingsbury received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and performed post-doctoral work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He joined the Princeton faculty in 2023.
The original article and the complete list of awardees is on the Princeton Engineering home page.