Graduate student Ken Kostenbader was selected as the BASF Corporation Catalysts Division Fellow for the 2018-2019 academic year in recognition of his strong academic record, honors, awards, outreach, and other meritorious credentials. Working with the York Group, Ken is engaged in the development of computational methods and molecular simulation tools to study the principles of biocatalysis, with the long-term goal of enabling computational enzyme design for industrially relevant chemical conversions.

This fellowship reflects BASF Corporation’s strong commitment to support chemistry education and further solidifies their relationship with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Dr. Robert Ianniello, Vice President of Analytics & Services in the Catalysis Research Division of BASF Corporation, worked closely with Professors John Brennan, Gregory Herzog, and Ralf Warmuth in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology to establish criteria for this award.