Rate My Professor Ty Johannes

Tyler Johannes, Ph.D., P.E., serves as Professor and the Wayne Banes Rumley Chair of Chemical Engineering, as well as Department Head of Chemical Engineering, at The University of Tulsa. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State University in 2002, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2005, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2008. A licensed Professional Engineer in Oklahoma, Johannes leads the Johannes Lab, dedicated to advancing directed evolution, synthetic biology, algae biofuels, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). His research has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, and industry partners. Key publications include "Directed evolution of enzymes and biosynthetic pathways" (Current Opinion in Microbiology, 2006, with H. Zhao), "Efficient regeneration of NADPH using an engineered phosphite dehydrogenase" (Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2007, with R.D. Woodyer and H. Zhao), "Directed evolution of a thermostable phosphite dehydrogenase for NAD(P)H regeneration" (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2005, with R.D. Woodyer and H. Zhao), and "Cloning, expression, and biochemical characterization of Streptomyces rubellomurinus genes required for biosynthesis of antimalarial compound FR900098" (Chemistry & Biology, 2008, with A.C. Eliot et al.).

Johannes is distinguished for his teaching excellence, receiving the Tau Beta Pi Teaching Excellence Award at The University of Tulsa in 2013 and 2022, serving as Chapman Professor from 2020 to 2022, and earning the Omega Chi Epsilon Beta Psi Chapter Chemical Engineering Outstanding Teacher award in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022. He also holds the Outstanding Teacher Award (2016), Kermit Brown Award for Teaching Excellence for the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences (2014), and was listed on the AIChE Advisor Honor Roll from 2009 to 2014. Through his leadership, research innovations, and mentorship, Johannes significantly influences chemical engineering education and the development of sustainable biotechnologies.