CISTAR congratulates David Hibbitts, Associate Professor in Purdue University's Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, on being named the Vern W. Weekman, Jr. Rising Star Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering.

The appointment was announced at the College of Engineering's 2026 Faculty and Lecturer Excellence Awards ceremony, held April 26, and is awarded to faculty and lecturers whose work advances the college’s mission in research, education, and innovation. The award is funded by an endowment established in honor of distinguished Purdue alumnus Vern W. Weekman, Jr.

Hibbitts joined the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering as an Associate Professor in 2024 as part of an initiative to recruit young faculty to CISTAR. He received his B.S. cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University in 2007 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2012. Following his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of California, Berkeley, in the group of Prof. Enrique Iglesia —a world-renowned expert in catalysis and CISTAR faculty member— before joining the faculty at the University of Florida in 2015.