Courtney Pfluger

About

Dr. Courtney Pfluger received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University in 2004. She then went to work in the Biotechnology Industry, where she worked on Protein Purification at Sanofi and on process development of recombinant proteins from mammalian cell cultures at Ipsen-Biomeasure. In 2006, Dr. Pfluger pursued a PhD in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University focused on polymer thin films to create biomimetic scaffolds of small intestine. Completing her PhD in 2011, she began as an Assistant Teaching Professor in First-year Engineering Program at Northeastern where she redesigned the curriculum and developed courses with sustainability and clean water themes. In 2017, she moved to Chemical Engineering Department where she has taught core courses and redesigned the Capstone design course. She has also developed and ran 8 Faculty-led Dialogue of Civilization programs to Brazil focused on Sustainable Energy. She has won several teaching awards including Residential Life Faculty Member of the Year Award, Chemical Engineering Sioui Award for Excellence in Teaching, COE Essigmann Outstanding Teaching Award, COE Fostering Innovation in Education Award, and the Northeastern Global Educator Award.

Selected Publications

• Pfluger, C., Martínez, D. L.; Implementing Industrial Engineering statistical tools to enhance students’ understanding of heat transfer for a Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory module on heat exchangers, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, 2020
• C. Pfluger, R. Koppes, L. Landherr; The River Project: an Open-Ended Engineering Design Challenge from Bench-Scale to Pilot-Scale, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, 2017
• A.N. Koppes, M. Kamath, C.A. Pfluger, D.D. Burkey, M. Dokmeci, L. Wang, R.L. Carrier; Complex, Multi-Scale Small Intestinal Topography Replicated in Cellular Growth Substrates Fabricated via Chemical Vapor Deposition of Parylene C, Biofabrication, 8(3), 2016, 035011
• S. Freeman, D. Goldthwaite, J. Hertz, B.K. Jaeger-Helton, J. Love, B. Maheswaran, C. Pfluger, K. Schulte-Graham, M. Sivak, C. Variawa, R. Whalen; Cranking Up Cornerstone: Lesson Learned from Implementing a Pilot with First-Year Engineering Students, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 2016
• C. Pfluger; Maximizing the Global Experience: Lessons Learned from Running a Month Long Faculty-Led Program to Brazil, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, 2015
• S. Freeman, D. Goldthwaite, B.K. Jaeger-Helton, C. Pfluger, K. Schulte-Graham, R. Whalen; First-Year Student Assumptions on Diversity in Engineering Education, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, 2015
• C. Pfluger, K. Schulte-Graham; Introducing Sustainability into Engineering Design: A First-Year Course, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, 2014
• B. McMahon, C.A. Pfluger, B. Sun, K. Ziemer, D. Burkey, R. Carrier; Photoinitiated Chemical Vapor Deposition Of Cytocompatible Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Films, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 201(7), 2014
• Pfluger, C. A., McMahon, B., Carrier R.L., and Burkey D.D.; Precise, Biomimetic Replication of the Multiscale Structure of Intestinal Basement Membrane Using Chemical Vapor Deposition, Tissue Engineering Part A 19(5-6), pg. 649-656, 2013
• Pfluger, C. A., Burkey D.D., Wang L., Sun B., Ziemer K.S., and Carrier R.L; Biocompatibility of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) films for biomimetic replication of the intestinal basement membrane. Biomacromolecules 11, pg. 1579-1584, 2010
• Pfluger, C., Carrier, R., Sun, B., Ziemer, K. and Burkey, D; Cross-Linking and Degradation Properties of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate). Macromolecular Rapid Communications 30, pg. 126-132, 2009

Faculty

Apr 10, 2023

‘You Have the Power to Make Change.’ Sustainability Trips to Brazil Earn Professor Northeastern’s First Global Educator Award

ChE Associate Teaching Professor Courtney Pfluger received Northeastern University’s inaugural 2023 Global Educator Award. The award recognizes the contributions of faculty to students’ global learning and acknowledges and celebrates the value of these experiences to Northeastern’s students and to our mission as a global university. Pfluger’s work on developing meaningful cooperative partner projects, including nine Dialogue of Civilizations visits to Brazil since 2013, made her nomination stand out.

Faculty

Jul 05, 2022

Pfluger Wins Best Division Paper and Best PIC 5 Paper at Annual ASEE Conference

ChE Associate Teaching Professor Courtney Pfluger won the best paper in the Design in Engineering Education Division and won the best paper in the Professional Interest Council 5 at the Annual American Society of Engineering Education Conference.

Student Groups

Nov 08, 2021

AIChE Wins Multiple Awards at Student Conference

The AIChE student group had an exciting weekend at the 2021 AIChE Annual Student Conference placing third in the Chem-E-Car poster competition, winning “most innovative car design” at the 2021 Annual Student Conference Chem-E-Car Competition Finals, and winning the Outstanding Student Chapter Award for their exceptional level of participation, enthusiasm, program quality, professionalism, and involvement […]

Faculty

Oct 19, 2021

Pfluger Receives Award for Innovation in Chemical Engineering Education

ChE Associate Professor Courtney Pfluger received the “2021 Award for Innovation in Chemical Engineering Education” for the development of an immersive, sustainability-focused, global learning experience through an innovative in-country and virtual faculty-led program applying chemical engineering concepts to global issues.

Student Groups

Dec 01, 2020

Chemical Engineering Students Compete in National AIChE ChemE Car Competition

At the national American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) virtual conference in November, the Northeastern student chapter took part in the ChemE Car competition by developing a car that runs on a chemical reaction that must carry a certain weight, and travel a specific distance. 

Student Groups

Mar 31, 2019

ChemE Car Places Second at Regional Conference; Advances to Nationals in Orlando

The Northeastern ChemE Car team placed second at the annual Eckhardt Northeast Regional AIChE Conference at UMass Amherst which qualifies them to compete at the AIChE National Conference this fall in Orlando.

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