Celebrating excellence: Get to know Rose Cersonsky, one of AIChE’s 35 under 35 members

Every three years, AIChE and the Early Career Community recognize 35 outstanding AIChE members under the age of 35 who have made significant contributions to the field of chemical engineering. This year, AIChE recognized Rose Cersonsky, the Conway Assistant Professor in chemical and biological engineering, within the chemical and materials category.

With over 70 nominations, the 2026 class represents visionary leaders and pioneers dedicated to bringing positive change to society and and shaping the future of chemical engineering. The award is supported by the AIChE Foundation. Cersonsky and the other 34 awardees will be highlighted at AIChE’s Annual Meeting, scheduled for November 8-12, 2026.

To celebrate her achievement, Cersonsky shared 35 fun facts about her life, research, mentorship, and journey in engineering:

Pushing computational research forward

1. She is immensely proud of several authored research papers that have significant contributions to her field, including The diversity of three-dimensional photonic crystals.
2. For her graduate research in colloid and surface chemistry, Cersonsky was recognized by her peers receiving the ACS Victor K. LaMer Award for most impactful student dissertation across a three-year period.
3. Helped develop chemiscope, an interactive visualization tool for exploring materials and chemical datasets.
4. She shared the stage with prominent mathematician Max Welling during a panel.
5. Nearly filling her passport—she has been invited to present her research across 8 countries on multiple continents!
6. As part of an international research appointment at EPFL, she lived in Switzerland and explored the Alps most weeekends.
7. She published two academic papers co-authored with her sister.
   1. Placental lesions associated with stillbirth by gestational age, according to feature importance: results from the stillbirth collaborative research network
   2. Placental lesions associated with stillbirth by gestational Age, as related to cause of death: Follow-Up results from the stillbirth collaborative research network
8. Until becoming a faculty member, she never received a manuscript rejection after peer review.
9. A rarity in any academic field, Cersonsky achieved every researcher’s dream of having a paper accepted and published exactly “as is” without revisions.
10. Contributing to the computational and material science community, she built and maintains affiliate open-source packages integrated with popular scientific tools like scikit-matter.
11. She authored a published scientific book chapter in Quantum Chemistry in the Age of Machine Learning.
12. Inspired to teach “Statistical mechanics as humans–crowd dynamics” by listening to Scott Page.
13. Dedicated to pushing her science and research to the forefront of the field.

Building community, inclusion and opportunity

1. A champion for gender equity in STEM, she authored and published a paper highlighting the need for systemic change to make computational research a more welcoming field for women.
2. With a powerful voice emphasizing the “human part of science”, she served as her university commencement speaker.
3. Former costume contest winner, she continues the tradition and hosts Halloween costume contests in her classes!
4. Launched a teacher workshop initiative in Michigan to support STEM educators.
5. Built an inclusive, community-focused lab culture at UW–Madison—her team even started their own Euchre club!
6. Established a lab tradition where graduating students decorate a small canvas with paint and markers to leave their mark.
7. During graduate school at the University of Michigan, she tutored middle school students who are now pursuing STEM fields, including computer science.

Cersonky takes pride in her family

1. Recently welcomed her child into the world!
2. Married to the love of her life, who she met when they were roommates and lab-mates.
3. Debt-free after paying off student loans.
4. Takes immense pride in making her mother proud, who raised Rose and her four siblings independently after her father passed away.
5. She is proud of her siblings who have built successful careers in diverse areas, ranging from campaign management to gynecology.

With gravity-defying energy, Cersonsky conquers trails and peaks

1. Completed a full marathon along with several half marathons.
2. Climbed a 250-foot cliff, complete with ropes and gear, while seven months pregnant.
3. Ran a full half-marathon under two hours while five months pregnant.
4. Reaching elevations past 14,000 feet, she completed a multi-pitch climb up the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado.
5. Helped design and build a climbing gym wall in her basement.

Beyond the lab

1. Performed in several theater productions and even flew across the stage in a harness!
2. Broke two bones simultaneously—her collarbone and her leg.
3. Her favorite book and movie is The Princess Bride.
4. First public tasting of a limited-edition Piña Colada-flavored Almond Joy!
5. Can quote the vast majority of the Final Destination franchise, an odd comfort watch.