Christopher Burcham, professor in LAS and Engineering, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering on Feb. 10.
Burcham was selected for his contributions to crystallization, particle engineering and process control to help bring new therapies to markets and advance pharmaceutical engineering. However, he credits all the people he has worked with for the honor.
“I couldn’t have done any of it … if it wouldn’t have been for the people that worked for me and worked around me,” Burcham said. “To me, that’s who this recognition is for.”
Crystallization is the purification of elements from a chemical reaction to get a desired molecule: the active ingredient. Essentially, Burcham worked to form the molecule into an improved size and shape to ensure its efficiency in pharmaceuticals.
Burcham likened the shape transformation to pencils and marbles. A bunch of pencils would struggle to flow down a pipe — just as molecules do when being formed into a pill or tablet — while marbles would “flow like water,” as Burcham said.
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These molecular shapes influence how pills are created. One project Burcham worked on first crystallized in long fibers, like Burcham’s pencil analogy. For a patient to reach the necessary dose, they needed to take eight of these pills.
“That’s not fun,” Burcham said. “It’s like breakfast on its own.”
After changing the crystallization process, they increased the purity and reduced the necessary intake to the expected one pill.
Burcham’s process included creating new technology and blending previous industry work. His team adapted the environment — mainly temperature, solvents and growth rate — of the crystal formation.
Previously, Burcham led the particle engineering group of Eli Lilly and Company and was an executive director and scientific team leader in the synthetic molecule design and development department.
As scientific team leader, Burcham led around 100 people and supervised the entire production process. Burcham emphasized the importance of trusting his team members to inspire efficiency.
“Early in my career, I had someone tell me, ‘Chris, try it,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, what if I fail?’” Burcham said. “And he tells me, ‘We’ve got your back. If you fail, it’s on us.’ That really stuck with me. Those are super empowering words.”
Since then, Burcham has worked to incorporate that same perspective into his leadership.
Burcham attended the University for his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering before receiving his master’s and doctorate degrees at Princeton University. After working in the pharmaceutical process industry for 23 years, Burcham returned to the University.
“I found I really enjoyed giving back to that next generation,” Burcham said.
Returning to education has been interesting, according to Burcham. After nearly 30 years in industry, Burcham said he feels like a student again, and that so far, the experience has been “very fun.”
According to Burcham, the honor was a complete surprise. Burcham said he almost did not click into the email, figuring it was a regular NAE update. Burcham needed to read it multiple times and have his wife check before the election clicked.
The NAE is a prestigious organization that “honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education,” according to a press release. The members are “among the world’s most accomplished engineers.”
Burcham is one of 130 members and 28 international members elected by their peers for the NAE Class of 2026. According to the NAE, there are now 2,534 members in the United States and 356 members across the world.
Burcham, alongside the other Class of 2026 elected members, will be formally inducted in the fall during the NAE Annual Meeting in Washington.
