An accumulation of accolades continues for UC Santa Barbara Chemical Engineering alumna, Christina M. Borgese, 2005, who was recognized for AIChE’s 30 Under 30 in 2014, and four years later has again been honored with the prestigious AlChE 35 under 35 Award.

The recognition acknowledges her leadership skills, innovation, and forward thinking methods of applying the transferable principles of chemistry to business management and technology.

Borgese is the Vice President at PreProcess, Inc., a company she cofounded in 2010 with fellow Gaucho alumnus Marc Privitera, 1986.

“I bring the youthful enthusiasm, he brings the gray hair experience, and it all works out,” Borgese exclaimed.  

Today, the chemical engineering consulting firm for entrepreneurs works with major clients on mid-to-large projects from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, to execute on time and on budget in an array of varied industries and projects from mining to foods to wastewater.

“We really like working with startups, we love working on new technology, and we like applying the chemical engineering aspects to different applications in the field,” she said.

This background and her desire to be involved in leading edge technologies, are augmented from her Bay Area office in San Ramon, where PreProcess is in close proximity to the venture capital community and investors.

“Being in an entrepreneurial environment and working hands-on, is really where you learn a lot of your practical skills and applications.”

AIChE and the Young Professionals Committee, joined by the support of the AIChE Foundation, recognizes 35 outstanding young professional AIChE members, who have made significant contributions to the chemical engineering profession. 

The award recognizes the young faces of chemical engineering who are providing new ideas in the industry, in the areas of bioengineering, chemicals, education, energy, Borgese’s category innovation, leadership, and safety. 

Her innovative approach was honed from a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and experiences while earning the Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate with a team in the Technology Management Program.

TMP at UC Santa Barbara provides a path for students to acquire deeper understanding of cutting-edge entrepreneurial and business practices in global-technology based companies. 

Upon leaving UC Santa Barbara, her first position was at Clorox, where  she translated the scale-up principles she learned towards viable complex systems. At the corporation, she was a co-inventor on four patents and applications, including broad functionality of solids agglomeration and low cost waste materials.

Borgese was hired at Clorox into product development on a cat litter project that was essentially a materials properties project for taking small powder and agglomerating into structured materials to reduce the weight of the final product. From this experience she found her passion, and moved from product development into process development. 

Next, she went on to startup BioFuelBox with Privitera, who had recruited her to Clorox. At BioFuelBox, the duo joined to develop and scale the world’s first commercial scale supercritical biodiesel reactor with technology licensed from Idaho National Labs. 

Yet, despite winning the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award, in 2010, the company was not immune to the economic downturn of the Great Recession. Borgese was not deterred and PreProcess was started that same year, together with Privitera.

Her work has also expanded to other smaller companies, including a snowboarding product PowPouch, and North American Lithium, extracting minerals from brine sources. This year, she is also part of the first commercial license, since 1936, to grow hemp in the state of New York. 

At UC Santa Barbara, Borgese was also Engineering Student Council President, helped to restart an AIChE chapter, and was honored with a University Award of Distinction for her contributions to the College of Engineering. 

She originally applied to college as an electrical engineer, however after meeting Professor Bob Rinker in the Chemical Engineering department, she was inspired by the work of the department and opportunities in the industry. 

“Rinker not only convinced me to come to UCSB, but he also convinced me to switch to chemical engineering,” Borgese shared. “I am very grateful to him, and he played a very large role in my life.”

She often returns to campus to share her industry experiences and coaches students in professional development. Her passion for mentorship has translated towards the future success of the science and businesses fields through participation in STEM, guiding and recruiting students from as early as elementary school to the university level. 

Additionally, a PreProcess program called Engineering Bootcamp is the only program designed to provide employees new to process engineering with a hands-on, industry focused understanding of the concepts covered in engineering school.

“Being in an entrepreneurial environment working hands-on, is really where you learn a lot of your practical chemical engineering skills and applications,” she said. 

Borgese has been invited to join the other award recipients at a reception during the 2017 AIChE annual meeting to be held this fall in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 29 to November 3, 2017. ChE

Melissa Walker is the Communications & Seminar Coordinator/Faculty Assistant for the Department of Chemical Engineering.