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GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING VOL. 8 NO. 1 SUMMER 2000
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2000 AIChE National Student Design Competition Written By Tech Faculty The contest problem for the year 2000 focused on the process synthesis and design of a power generation system for a fuel cell driven automobile. It was contributed by Professors Bill Ernst, Matthew Realff and Jack Winnick. The problem was developed over a period of about 15 months, and pooled the expertise of the three professors -- reactor design (Ernst), process synthesis (Realff), and electrochemistry (Winnick). Because the problem was written here, the Georgia Tech students were not permitted to enter the national competition, sponsored by AIChE. However, as in the past four years, the winning groups shared a monetary prize of $1000 given by one of us to the local student Chapter.
Professors Bill Ernst, Matthew Realff, and Jack Winnick confirm that Jack’s Jeep is not powered by a fuel cell.
Each year, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers sponsors a design competition which is open to all student members. The contest problems are contributed by chemical engineers from industry or academia, and usually involve the design of a chemical
process, or major addition to a chemical process. Georgia Tech, like many other schools, uses the contest problems in the senior “capstone” design course, because the problems force the students to review essentially their entire undergraduate program.
Alumni Events Pg. 2 Student News Pg. 6 Faculty News Pg. 8 Alumni Responses Pg. 11
The subject of the problem is most appropriate for the new millenium since researchers at petroleum companies, automobile manufacturers, national laboratories and independent laboratories are racing to develop cleaner burning fuels and alternatives to the internal combustion engine. Fuel cells - used extensively on spacecraft - are potential longterm successors to the internal combustion engine. They operate with system efficiencies that are better than those of the conventional internal combustion engine and have lower emissions from the vehicle. A likely choice of fuel cell for vehicles is the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) design. These fuel cells would receive Continued on page 6
Professor Daniel I. C. Wang Delivers the 16th Annual Ashton Cary Lecture Daniel I.C. Wang, Institute Professor of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, delivered the 16th Annual Ashton Cary Lecture in April 2000, entitled, “Frontiers in Biotechnology” Professor Wang received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering in 1959 and M.S. degree in Biochemical Engi-
neering in 1961, both from MIT. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Pennsylvania in 1963 under the guidance of Professor Arthur E. Humphrey. He served two years in the U.S. Army and returned to MIT as an Assistant Professor in 1965. Professor Wang started the Biotechnology Process Engi-
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neering Center through the NSF Engineering Research Center Initiative and acted as its Director from 1985 to 1998. He was named an Institute Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT in 1996. Professor Wang has received awards from the American Chemical Society (Marvin J. Continued on page 7
Capital Campaign Nears Conclusion What started nearly 5 years ago is drawing to a successful close this December. Threshold of a New Era, the Campaign for Georgia Tech has raised to date $542.2 million towards the $600 million goal, marking the largest fundraising effort in Tech’s history. The funds raised will be used to support faculty chairs, student scholarships and fellowships, program endowments, facilities, and current operations. Of that total, the School of
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including the Air Products Communications Program, the Exxon Minority Mentoring Program and the Dow Minority Internship Program. All of these new initiatives and more have stemmed from the generosity of our alumni, our corporate and industry partners, as well as individuals and foundations throughout the country. The School of Chemical Engineering continues to strive for the best and brightest students, faculty, and research.
Chemical Engineering has a goal of $25 million. As of July 31, 2000, the School had reached a total of $21.7 million, 87% of its goal. Through this money, the School has set up five new faculty chairs, named two classrooms, two new seminar rooms, one research lab, one conference room, and the Atrium in the new ES&T Building, raised just under $2 Million for student scholarship and fellowships, and instituted numerous academic programs
Goal: 600
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To do this, we must secure the necessary resources to recruit and to retain these exceptional people through private funding, roll call gifts, and appreciated securities. It is not too late to be a part of this exciting campaign. To find out what you can do for Georgia Tech and the School of Chemical Engineering, please call Kelsey Evans at (404) 8940987, or e-mail her at kelsey.evans@che.gatech.edu
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Alumni Raised to date: 542.2 Million
Corporations Foundations Individuals/other
Chemical Engineering Goal: 25 Million
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Raised to date: 21.7 Million
Alumni, Faculty and Students Mix at AIChE Reception The School of Chemical Engineering was pleased to host an Alumni/Faculty Reception at the annual spring AIChE Meeting held this year in Atlanta. The reception developed out of an effort to join together AIChE meeting goers, alumni, current ChE students and faculty of the School. The reception was a great success with over 75 in attendance. We welcomed over 25 alums, 20 faculty members, 15 students and a handful of corporate liaisons involved with both the School and AIChE. Also in attendance was ChE School Chair, Dr. Ronald W. Rousseau and Dr. Jean Lou Chameau, Dean of the College of Engineering.
Planning on attending the Fall 2000 AIChE Meeting in Los Angeles November 12th through the 17th?
Those in attendance included from left, Dr. Ron Rousseau, General Raymond G. Davis, ChE ‘38 and Mr. Allen C. Merritt, ChE ‘67, ’69, ’76.
Please mark your calendars now for a Los Angeles AIChE reception, Tuesday, November 14, 2000. We will have a cocktail reception from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Jonathan Town Club, 545 S. Figueroa Street. The Jonathan Club is located 2 blocks south of the AIChE meeting site, Hotel Bonaventure. Invitation to follow.
Also, don’t miss Dr. James R. Fair, ChE ‘42, in a special Distillation Symposium honoring his research on Tuesday, November 14th.
All present enjoyed the opportunity to reunite with colleagues, meet current faculty and students, and learn about Chemical Engineering’s progress academically and in the Capital Campaign.
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As an honoree, he will be presenting a paper on Present and Future Developments in Distillation the day prior, Monday, November 13th. Be sure to stop by to wish him a Happy 80th Birthday!
Alumni Perspective The Chemical Engineer’s Role in Nuclear Technology By Clinton Bastin, ChE ‘50
Mr. Clinton Bastin
Clinton Bastin is listed in Who’s Who in Engineering - Ninth Edition, and is a member of the American Nuclear Society Special Committee on Nuclear NonProliferation and Secretary of the Atlanta Local Section of ANS. He writes about energy, the environment, national and global security aspects of nuclear technology and materials, and improved human interactions through partnerships. Mr. Bastin worked for the US Department of Energy for over 40 years in roles ranging
from manager for nuclear programs, US coordinator for collaborative nuclear research and technology exchange with other nations, to lead technical consultant to US national security agencies. At retirement in March 1997 he received the DOE’s Distinguished Career Service Award recognizing him as “the US authority on reprocessing and an advocate and initiator of total quality management and partnership agreements.” Mr. Bastin writes on issues concerning nuclear safety and technology, and has published more than twenty articles, including his most recent “Nuclear Technology: Need for a New Vision,” (Washington, DC, 1999). Clinton Bastin served in the
US Marine Corps during World War II and was a leader in the US Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign from 1983 to 1991. He lives in Avondale Estates, GA with his wife Barbara; they have two sons, two daughters and one grandson. He is also active on the Class of 1950 Reunion Committee, and is currently planning for this year’s Homecoming festivities. “Studying Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech during the late 1940s was an introduction to real world processes - and how our processes wouldn’t work unless we used good designs, took care of details and avoided hidden flaws. For me it was also a solid foundation for an interesting,
challenging, but often frustrating career as a chemical engineer and leader for nuclear programs: reprocessing, plutonium operations, nuclear waste management and limiting weapons proliferation. The most difficult technical problems in these programs were easily compared to the carefully hidden flaws in Professor Homer Grubb’s unit operations’ exams. Political problems were something else! “Chemists discovered nuclear fission; chemical engineers introduced nuclear technology to the world. DuPont Company chemical engineers - including many from Georgia Tech - designed, built and operated the world’s safest and most comprehensive, Continued on page 10
Industry Highlights The School of Chemical Engineering relies heavily on our industry partners to help support faculty research, program initiatives, and campaign funding. During the 2000 fiscal year, the School generated just under $8 million in expenditures. Sponsored research from industry partners accounted for almost 50% of that total. Below is a listing of corporations that either pledged commitments or made gifts to the School for unrestricted, general use or for specific programmatic initiatives. Here are some highlights of the 1999-2000 academic year*: 3M ~ $25,000 for undergraduate scholarships and lab upgrades
Air Products ~ Pledge of $200,000 for Air Products Critical Thinking and Communications Programs Albemarle ~ Pledge of $30,000 to support Albemarle Outstanding Sophomore Award BASF Corporation ~ Annual support of $10,000 Bio-Lab ~ Second payment toward $50,000 pledge in support of the Bio-Lab Conference Room in ES&T BP Amoco ~ Gifts totaling $18,000 for research programs, equipment and scholarships Celanese Acetate ~ Gift of $15,000 for general endowment Community Foundation ~ Third payment toward R.E.B Foundation’s $100,000 pledge Dow Chemical Company ~ Second payment toward $300,000 pledge in support of
the Dow Mentoring and Internship Program Eastman Chemical Company ~ Annual support of $6,000 ExxonMobil ~ Payment of $25,000 in support of ExxonMobil Minority Mentoring Program ExxonMobil Foundation ~ Matched alumni gifts totaling over $55,000 Englehard Corporation ~ Annual gift of $10,000 in support of Englehard Seminar Series Hercules Incorporated ~ Second payment toward pledge of $1,500,000 in support of the Hercules/Gossage Chair International Paper ~ Annual support of $2,000 Milliken and Company ~ Annual gift of $92,500 in
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support of the Milliken Rising Seniors Program National Starch and Chemical Foundation ~ Gift of $3,000 in support of undergraduate scholarships Proctor & Gamble ~ Gift of $15,800 for unrestricted purposes Rohm & Haas ~ Annual support of $8,000 Shell Oil Company ~ Gifts of $70,000 and $25,000 in support of instructional labs and unrestricted purposes, respectively Texaco ~ Gift of $25,000 in support of undergraduate scholarships Union Carbide ~ Annual support of $8,000 UOP ~ Annual gift of $3,000 * Corporate Donors of $2,000 and above listed alphabetically
Professor John Muzzy Spends Sabbatical Leave at ENSAM
After logging 30 years at Tech I welcomed the opportunity to take a sabbatical. This past April I completed a three month stay at Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Arts et Metiers (ENSAM) in Paris. (Their web address is: http://www.paris.ensam.fr/ Georgia Tech has a satellite campus in Metz called Georgia Tech Lorraine (GTL). One of ENSAM’s eight campuses is located in Metz, which led to the formation of a dual degree program between Georgia Tech and ENSAM. In this program the focus for Georgia Tech is MS and Ph.D. programs in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. If you are interested in how this program works please check the web address for this program: http://www.me.gatech.edu/me/ publicat/brochures/00gtl.html. Due to this program ENSAM is interested in collaborating with Georgia Tech on research programs. My office and research labs are located in the Manufacturing Research Center at Tech. I share these labs with Jon Colton, a Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. We both conduct research on processing of polymers and polymer composites and have had a number of research projects together. There have
been some students from ENSAM completing their Master’s thesis in our labs. While the expectation was that the students would start their research at ENSAM and complete it at Tech, this approach hasn’t worked well. In order to improve collaboration in the future Henri Jullien at ENSAM invited one of us to spend three months at ENSAM. Since Jon is a new father it wasn’t a good time for him to go, although he did allow that he would come for a visit. Being an old father, I welcomed the opportunity.
microwave curing at ENSAM has been supported for quite some time by CNRS, France’s equivalent to NSF. Since Jon and I had not conducted research on microwave curing in the past we both needed to determine whether we could accomplish some meaningful and worthwhile research on this topic and whether we could find support for conducting such research. I concluded we could do useful research but that it would be difficult to find significant support. I am still looking for sponsors. While at ENSAM I met with a number of research groups to discuss potential collaborations. Also, I edited a few papers ENSAM faculty were writing in English – this was a good way to learn what they were doing. I also gave seminars on my research. I was able to write a chapter on thermoplastics for a new encyclopedia called Comprehensive Composite Materials. It was a difficult task and it was a great help to have the flexible time a sabbatical provides.
Henri Jullien’s primary research interest is microwave curing of polymer composites. I visited his labs in July, 1999 to learn more about his research program and to ascertain whether spending time at ENSAM would be mutually beneficial. I was impressed with the quality of the research being performed; it is possibly the best in the world. Also, I felt I could contribute my expertise on composite materials, processing and applications to his program.
Most of my research at Tech concerns thermoplastic composites, which is not being studied at ENSAM. While in Paris, I visited some European universities where I knew research on thermoplastic composites was in progress. My first visit was to Katholieke University in Leuven, Belgium where Ignaas Verpoest was my host. I gave a seminar on recycling thermoplastics from carpet as reinforced composites, a technology we have commercialized through a start-up company, Georgia Composites, Inc. Georgia Composites has a European affiliate called European American Composites (EAC) which is located near Leuven. Bruno Blyaert, the marketing manager from EAC, brought a number of large automotive parts to the seminar which he had molded from our
Microwave curing has the same kind of benefits as microwave cooking – faster processing due to uniform heating. This benefit is best realized in thick composites, like glass fiber reinforced bridge decks. Although microwave ovens heat food quickly, the heating usually isn’t uniform. At ENSAM unique applicators have been designed to insure uniform heating of the composite part to be cured. An ENSAM/GTL dual degree student, Xavier Ottemer, selected this research area. Since he would start his research at ENSAM in February, Henri Jullien asked me to come at the same time. Xavier will go to Georgia Tech in August to continue his studies and research. The research on
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recycled material. The students and faculty were surprised to learn that this activity was happening virtually next door. Since Belgium is the center for carpet production in Europe, Katholieke University has been asked to address Belgium’s problems with carpet waste. We agreed to collaborate. Next I visited the polymers and composites groups under the direction of Jan-Anders Manson at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. One of my graduate students, Jurron Bradley, is conducting research on the consolidation of thermoplastic composites, which is similar to research in progress at EPFL. I visited Edith Maeder at the Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany because we are already working on collaborating. She has some of the best facilities for characterizing fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion. Jeff Toke’s research under my direction falls into this area. We have a NSF proposal pending that would enable him to conduct a significant portion of his research in her lab. I visited two colleagues in Ireland working on thermoplastic composites: Patrick Mallon at the University of Limerick and Conchur O’Bradaigh at the National University in Galway. Both have worked extensively on molding and forming thermoplastic composites. They are interested in evaluating the novel thermoplastic composites we have developed at Tech. At the five universities I visited I was struck by their interest in commercializing their technology. Like Tech, many had incubator centers. Since I have been involved in the startup of two companies I was bombarded with questions on how to get started. It looks like the US has exported its entrepreneurial spirit.
Polymer Reaction Engineering of Environmentally Benign Paints
Professor Gary Poehlein
Professor Joseph Schork
Have you ever used oil-based paint to paint a room, a house, or a piece of furniture? Do you remember the mess of cleaning up with mineral spirits? Did you wonder what the organic vapors were doing to you or the environment? Do you remember how you had to be careful not to handle the painted surface for 24 hours while it was still wet? Have you ever used latex (waterbased) paint? Do you remember the ease of clean up? The lack of odor? The 30-minute dry time? Did you ever wonder why oil-based paint still exists, given its disadvantages in application? The answer is easy; oilbased paints are more durable. This is because the modified
vegetable oils (linseed, soybean, etc.) in oil based paint react with atmospheric oxygen during the drying process to form an extremely hard, cross-linked matrix. By contrast, latex paint is held on the wall (and derives its hardness and durability) only from the fact that the polymers (vinyl, acryl ate, etc.) are below their glass transition temperature. In other words, they are simply very viscous liquids. The next generation of latex paints will contain a curein-place functionality. There are a number of ways of providing this functionality; one promising way is through hybrid miniemulsion technology pioneered by the Polymer Reaction Engineering Research
Group in the School ofChemical Engineering at Georgia Tech. The Polymer Reaction Engineering Group is led by Professors Gary Poehlein and Joseph Schork with collaboration from Professor Yulin Deng at IPST, and Dr. Jan Gooch of GTRI. They direct a group of visiting scientists, post docs and graduate and undergraduate students researching various facets of polymer reaction engineering (PRE). What is PRE? One can think of it as the application of the chemical engineering course in kinetics and reactor design to polymeric systems. It includes studies of basic kinetics, mathematical modeling, reactor selection and dynamics, on-line sensors, and digital control of polymer processes. Work has been completed in all the phases of PRE listed above in the past 20+ years. Studies of both polymerization and post-polymerization reactions have been completed. Most of the work has been in the area of heterogeneous free radical polymerization systems. These include suspension, dispersion, microsuspension, emulsion, inverse emulsion, and miniemulsion polymerization. Some of these technologies have long histories, and are the basis for well-known products.
Suspension polymerization is the basis for molding powders used in injection molding and extrusion. Dispersion and microsuspension polymerization have been used to prepare toners for electrostatic printing. Emulsion polymerization is used to manufacture synthetic rubber and latex paint. Inverse emulsion polymerization is used to produce flocculants for water treatment. Other processes, such as miniemulsion polymerization are not yet commercialized. Current projects include hybrid miniemulsion polymerization of acrylate/alkyd graft copolymers for waterbased architectural coatings; hybrid miniemulsion polymerization of acrylate/urethane graft copolymers for waterbased varnishes; miniemulsion polymerization of waterdispersible pressure sensitive adhesives (to decrease fouling in paper recycling systems); miniemulsion polymerization of novel ink-jet resins for textile and paper applications; fundamental studies of mass transfer limitations in heterogeneous systems, and fundamental investigations into living free radical polymerization (for controlled molecular weight and copolymer composition) in miniemulsions.
New Board Members The School of Chemical Engineering welcomed two new members to the External Advisory Board: Ms. Lisa G. Korslund, ChE ‘80 and Mr. Robert C. “Bud” Moeller, ChE ‘76. Ms. Korslund is the Director of Research and Development for General Mills Snack Division in Minneapolis. Mr. Moeller is a partner with Andersen Consulting in their San Francisco office. Join us in congratulating them on their new appointments to the Board.
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Students Recognized at Awards Ceremony Undergraduate and graduate students alike were recognized with a range of different awards from the School and from external organizations. Many of these students were honored at a luncheon and ceremony at Georgia Tech on April 18, 2000.
Anderson, President of Society of Women Engineers; Susan Fangman, President of AIChE; Ananth Shenoy, President of Omega Chi Epsilon; and Dana Smith, President of National Society of Black Engineers.
ing Junior Award) and Janna Billy (Outstanding Sophomore Award).
A number of undergraduate students were acknowledged for their outstanding academic performance. Jessica Brown, P. Griffin Smith and Elaine Thompson received national honors from the National Science Foundation with fellowships to support graduate education.
The capstone course of the chemical engineering curriculum features an in-depth design project conducted by teams of three students. The teams with the best design are selected by the instructors and recognized. This year, two teams tied for first place: Rick Good, Shelley Rehlin and Elaine Thompson and Gary Gray, Michael Mohseni and Edward Murphy. Second place winners were Ana Martin, James Rakestraw and Ginger Wilde.
Each year, outstanding senior, junior and sophomore students are selected. This year’s winners were Reuben Domike (Outstanding Senior Award), Melissa Bonk (Dow Outstand-
A number of students received awards for their commitment to leadership by serving as president of Georgia Tech student chapters of leading engineering societies: Wendy
Georgia Tech teaching and research awards for the year 2000 went to three graduate students: Jessica Johnson (Outstanding Teaching Assistant), Yaohui Lu (Ziegler Best Paper Award) and Brandon Travis (Suddath Award for
CONTEST Contd. from page 1 power from hydrogen, which could be either stored onboard the vehicle, or more likely, produced on-board by extracting hydrogen from gasoline or methanol. The effective design of the fuel processing system will be critical to the overall success of fuel cell vehicles. The students were assigned to make a preliminary design assessment of the most economic fuel processing system using methanol or desulfurized gasoline as fuel. The main functions of the fuel processing system are to generate as much hydrogen as possible from the fuel through partial combustion and the water gas shift reaction, and to reduce CO concentrations to a level which will not poison the platinum catalyst in the fuel cell. The assessment of the best fuel and operating conditions for the fuel processing system cannot be carried out
in isolation from the fuel cell design and hence a preliminary specification of the fuel cell was required. The starting point of the problem was the power required to provide acceptable performance for the vehicle. The students were provided with specifications on the mass of the vehicle, its cruising range, average speed, average power demand, and total distance traveled in a year. They were asked to design a system to minimize the five year cost of the vehicle. The key tradeoffs in the design were the choice of fuel, the system pressure, and the power density (mA/cm2) of the fuel cell. The importance of the latter variable is in the area of the fuel cell required to provide the power. Its capital cost increases with area but so does the fuel cell efficiency which determines the amount of fuel consumed for a given overall power requirement. A
secondary effect is the increase in the mass of the fuel processing system and fuel cell. The maximum power that must be provided by the system increases with mass, leading to significant iteration between the design and the performance calculations to converge the mass and power of the system. The final design that the instructors chose as the best solution was a system that operated at 3 atm and had gasoline as the fuel. A compromise was made on the power density so that the efficiency when operating at average power requirements was high, but that the maximum power requirements could be met without having a huge fuel cell area. Another key component of the design was to have good heat integration between the various components of the system to ensure as much water as possible could be shifted to hydrogen.
Graduate students in the School have also been recognized for their accomplishments. Punit Chiniwalla, along with his advisor Sue Ann Bidstrup Allen, were given the Best Paper of Session Award by the International Conference and Exhibition on High Density Packaging and MCMs.
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Predoctoral Students in Biology, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering). For their dedication and leadership for organizing and running the 2000 Chemical Engineering Symposium, Linda Holm and Jeffery Toke were recognized as the Symposium Chairs. In addition, Teamwork Awards were given to Christy Culp, Jessica Johnson, Kendra McCoy, Shane Nolen, Hollie Reed and Kip Sturgill.
Meet the Staff Kelsey S. Evans Position: Director of Development Starting date: January 2000 Education: Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing, University of Arizona What did you do before coming to GT? I moved to Atlanta in August, 1999 from Los Angeles, California. Prior to joining the development team at Tech, I worked as donor services coordinator for the $163M cathedral campaign in downtown Los Angeles. Personal interests: if all your time were free time, how would you spend it? My husband Scott and I recently bought our first home and we spend the better part of our time keeping Home Depot in business. When I am not attached to the tool belt, you’ll find me reading, cooking, gardening, swimming, bicycle riding, or yielding a hot glue gun while working on crafts. What is your favorite book or movie? Depending on the mood, favoritereading ranges from “The Great Gatsby” to “Bridges of Madison County” and favorite watching from “Tommy Boy” to “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Like I said, depending on my mood!
Kirk Guger Position: Systems Support Specialist IV Starting date: December 1999 Education: always What did you do before coming to GT? Network Specialist at UG.. errr some other university. Personal interests: if all your time were free time, how would you spend it? Playing lots of games. I love games - board games, card games, computer games, volleyball, tennis ... - If someone can win I’ll try it. Ironically, I’m not real competitive - go figure. My wife Heather and I are glad to be back in Atlanta. We’ve been living in Athens while Heather finished up her Grad. degree. The big news in our lives is that we just bought a house in Douglasville. Whoo Hoo. What is your favorite book or movie? “The Princess Bride” is my reigning favorite, but you can’t beat “Aliens” as a good Christmas movie. As far as mature movies go: “Saving Private Ryan”, and “Schindler’s List” are a good tie for first.
Tommie Taylor Position: Computer Services Specialist III Starting date: January 2000 Education: B.A. History; Human and Natural Ecology co-major, Emory University ; M.L.A., University of Georgia What did you do before coming to GT? Worked as an application analyst at Patient Care Technologies in Atlanta Personal interests: if all your time were free time, how would you spend it? Watching University of Georgia football; tennis; reading What is your favorite book or movie? I can’t think of one favorite book, so here is a list of a few favorites in no particular order: The Romanovs by Bruce Lincoln; What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey; Secret Formula by Frederick Allen; any of the collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle; anything by Max Lucado; The Partner by John Grisham; The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger As for movies, again, here are a few favorites in no particular order: Tombstone; the Indiana Jones trilogy; Hoosiers; Silence of the Lambs; The Fugitive; The Princess Bride.
WANG Contd. from page 1 Johnson Award, and David Perlman Memorial Lecturer), and from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Award; Institute Lecturer; and the William H. Walker Award). He was given the Amgen Award in Biochemical Engineering from the Engineering Foundation and he received the Asia-Pacific Biochemical Engineering Award. Twelve of his past graduate students have received the W.H. Peterson Award from the American Chemical Society for their outstanding papers at its annual meetings. Professor Wang has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Academia Sinica (Republic of China) and International Institute of Biotechnology. He has been invited as Plenary and Opening Lecturer to a number of international
tor engineering to metabolic engineering of protein glycosylation, and to molecular biology for improving protein quality. Challenges must be met by Chemists in concert with Chemical Engineers to address interfacial phenomena that occur with gas/liquid/cell interactions and lead to cell death. Material Science and Engineering will become increasingly important in various sectors in biotechnology. There will be a need for new principles and methods as we move from the era on “Genomic” to that of “Proteomics.” Lastly, the roles and challenges to the Chemical Engineer, Chemists and Material Scientists could become vital in the future of process development and process optimization from the perspectives of nanotechnology.
conferences and symposia including those in countries such as United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, People’s Republic of China and Mexico. The following is a brief summary of his lecture. “Frontiers of Biotechnology” Advancements in biotechnology have been driven by discoveries from the life sciences; however, enabling technologies outside the life science arena, in engineering, chemistry, material science and others, have also enhanced success in biotechnology. There are still many unmet challenges on the frontiers of biotechnology that will need to be addressed by these enabling technologies. In Chemical Engineering, one unmet challenge is the application of transport phenomena, especially in scale-up of animal-cell bioreactors. There are challenges involving applications of kinetics and bioreac-
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1999-2000
Seminar Series Professor Jay H. Lee Professor Pradeep B. Deshpande Professor Frederick G. Pohland Professor Christine Grant Professor Wayne B. Bequette Dr. Michael P. Thien Dr. David Edwards Mr. Raymond V. Gilmartin Presenting the Keynote Address at The Phillips Petroleum/C.J. “Pete” Silas Program in Ethics and Leadership
Professor John Walz Professor David L. Tomasko Dr. Sangtae Kim Professor Jackie Y. Ying Professor J. L. Duda Professor Robert F. Savinell Professor Nicholas Abbott Professor H. Scott Fogler Professor Doug LeVan Professor Harvey Blanch
Faculty News Pradeep Agrawal was given the W. T. Ziegler Award as the Outstanding Professor of the Year. This high honor is awarded by the Georgia Tech AIChE student chapter to the faculty member whom undergraduates elect as the best teacher. He accepted his award at a ceremony held during the annual Spring Picnic. Sue Ann Bidstrup Allen was promoted to Full Professor. Bidstrup Allen’s research addresses basic relationships between the structure, processing and mechanical properties of polymers, with particular emphasis on electronic packaging and interconnection. Chuck Eckert was selected by the Regents of the State of Georgia for their inaugural Research in Undergraduate Education Award. He also gave the 2000 Reilly Lecture at Notre Dame University. Eckert also served as a member of the Organizing Committee of the Engineering Foundation Conference: Supercritical Fluids in Materials Processing and Synthesis in Davos, Switzerland. Cliff Henderson recently received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. This distinction is given to an elite group of young faculty who have demonstrated great promise as both teachers and researchers. In addition to being a great honor, this award provides substantial financial support for Henderson’s academic activities. His research is focused in the area of microelectronics materials and processing, more specifically microlithography, microfluidics, and microelectronics packaging. The Materials Engineering & Sciences Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers awarded Dennis Hess its highest research honor, the Charles M.A. Stine Award. This award goes to an individual who has demonstrated significant discoveries, important research, the development of new processes and products, the initiation of
new materials and management, education concepts, or outstanding service to the materials community. The award was presented at the 1999 Annual AIChE meeting. Pete Ludovice and Matthew Realff have both been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Ludovice’s research has centered on computer simulation to elucidate the relationship between atomic level structure and properties in polymeric materials, including biomaterials. Realff’s research has addressed the design of reverse production systems that interconnect waste streams from industrial and post-consumer sources that are economically and environmentally beneficial, and the synthesis of new problemsolving methods that combine artificial intelligence with operations research. Ludovice and Realff have also worked together to advance the field of computer-aided education. Jeff Morris spent the summer as a Visiting Professor at Universite de Marseille in France. He and his host, Elisabeth Guazzelli, are experimentally and numerically examining particle interactions under pipeline slurry flow conditions and developing bulk modeling of these flows. Mark Prausnitz was recognized through the BP/Amoco Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award given to Georgia Tech’s top teachers among the young faculty. He was cited for excellence in undergraduate education and developing a novel course on technical communication. In addition, Prausnitz recently married Cindy Weinbaum, who works at the Centers for Disease Control. Arnie Stancell was appointed to the Advisory Board on Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and continues his previous appointment at MIT. In addition, Stancell was an invited panelist speaker on Curriculum 2000 at the annual AIChE meeting. He addressed the impact of new technologies and busi-
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ness models on possible changes in chemical engineering curricula. Amyn Teja, along with Chuck Eckert, cochaired the Fifth International Symposium on Supercritical Fluids. Over 400 people attended, with participants from over 30 countries and more than 350 presentations.
Graduate Student Symposium a Resounding Success Twenty-seven representatives from twenty-three companies attended Symposium 2000, Chemical Engineering’s annual congregation for academia and industry interaction. Fifteen students presented speeches, while 25 posters were also on display. The overall sentiment of the representatives was that the event was well organized and a great way to interact with students. A number of offers were extended to expected graduates, and a few students were even interviewed on the spot. The student volunteers could not have done a better job and all administrative help from the Chemical Engineering faculty and staff was also greatly appreciated. It take a lot of work from a lot of people to make a function of this size perform to the caliber that it did, and it is satisfying when everything runs as smoothly as this function did. In addition, the symposium committee would like to thank all of the professors that attended in support of their students and hope that the enthusiasm from this year can be carried into the next. Chairs Linda Holm and Jeff Toke, and Vice-chairs Alan Burke and Celesta White organized the event. The next symposium is scheduled for April 2001. Contact the graduate office if you would like more information about that event please email symposium@che.gatech.edu for the latest.
A Message from the Chair
A Message from the Chair Professor Ronald W. Rousseau The School of Chemical Engineering has never been healthier and prospects for continued improvement brighter. I am extremely enthusiastic about our students, faculty and staff, and believe our alumni can be proud of our programs. Here I highlight a few items, some of which are described more fully elsewhere in the newsletter. As in the past, I urge you to let me know if you have questions or comments on any aspect of the School’s programs. There will be four new additions to the faculty in Fall 2000. As reported in our last newsletter, Christopher Jones and Carson Meredith will join the faculty fresh from postdoctoral appointments: Chris at Caltech and Carson with NIST. In addition, we are pleased to report that Andreas Bommarius and Jay Lee have joined the faculty. Andy received his Ph.D. from M.I.T. and was employed by Degussa AG in Germany where he was head of the laboratory in R&D Specialty Chemicals. He will bring expertise in the area of biocatalysis and bioprocessing that we expect to accelerate our growth in these strategically important fields. Jay obtained a Ph.D. at Caltech and joins us from the faculty at Purdue. He is highly regarded in the field of process control, and we expect him to be a leader in that area. I want to offer congratulations to my colleagues who were selected for honors or awards during the past year. Charles A. (Chuck) Eckert received the 1999 William H. Walker Award for Excellence in Contributions to the Chemical Engineering Literature. Dennis Hess was tapped for the 1999 Charles M. A. Stine Award, which is given for substantial contributions to the scientific, technological, educational and service areas of materials engineering and science. During the past year, our colleagues Sue Ann Bidstrup Allen, Pete Ludovice, and Matthew Realff were promoted: Sue Ann to Professor and Pete and Matthew to Associate Professor with tenure.
Gary Poehlein is retiring from Georgia Tech at the end of the summer term. He spent the last three years at the National Science Foundation where he served as Director of the Division of Chemical and Transport Systems. Gary came to Georgia Tech in 1978 and led the School of Chemical Engineering through 1986 as director. I believe the success we enjoy today is due in large measure to the foundation constructed through Gary’s leadership. He made a huge difference in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech, and we miss his good humor, infectious enthusiasm, and boundless energy. I am sure all members of the Georgia Tech family wish him well as he and his wife, Sharon, sail, play tennis, and explore their future. Development activities have moved at a rapid pace. Kelsey Evans joined the School as development director in January and has done an outstanding job working with our alumni, corporate partners, and external organizations. An update on the Capital Campaign is given on page 2, so I won’t say much about it here. However, I would like to use the opportunity to note Kelsey’s outstanding work and to thank the entire development staff for their help as we work towards our campaign goal of $25 million for the School of Chemical Engineering. The External Advisory Board welcomed two new members to the May meeting: Lisa Korslund (ChE ‘80), Director of R&D Packaging at General Mills and Robert C. “Bud” Moeller (ChE ‘76), Partner with Andersen Consulting. These additions continue our attempt to insure that members of the Board represent the various segments of the profession into which our graduates go. Congratulations go to our graduates from the past year. Including Summer 99, Fall 99, and Spring 00, 141 students received B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 7 received M.S. degrees and 11 received Ph.D.s from the School of Chemical Engineering. While the number of graduate degrees is down a little
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from last year, we believe this is due in part to the change in our academic calendar. It is my perception that employment statistics were quite favorable, and that opportunities for our graduates continued to diversify. Based on a revised bidding process, Archer Western Contractors has been selected to construct the Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T) building. As this will be the future home of the School, we are pleased that construction will begin at the end of the summer. Completion is expected in 22 months. On page 10 in the newsletter, information is given about a reception honoring our faculty and alumni at the Los Angeles AIChE meeting in November. This is an outstanding opportunity for graduates to renew acquaintances and to learn more about programs and personalities in the School, and all are urged to attend. In an earlier newsletter, I reported that a faculty committee had been established to draft an updated strategic plan for the School. That plan was developed and approved by the faculty and the Vision, Mission and Objectives are given on page 10 of this newsletter. The plan also includes lists of actions and goals for each of the objectives, and I would be happy to send a copy of the complete plan to anyone requesting it.
BASTIN Contd. from page 4 diverse and successful nuclear complex, the Savannah River Plant (SRP) in South Carolina. Many of the major problems with nuclear technology would have been avoided if SRP chemical engineering systems and other practices had been used as models for nuclear operations in the US and other nations. “Employee empowerment for input on safety concerns was a major reason for the outstanding safety at SRP. This experience formed the basis for ideas shared with leaders of the Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy and Russian Nuclear Workers Union to improve safety of nuclear activities through worker-manager partnerships. Soviet engineers knew about the design flaw in Chernobyl type reactors; partnerships to ensure worker input on safety would have avoided the catastrophe. Similar partnerships would have avoided the US Challenger Space Shuttle accident. “Energy and the environment will be important challenges for chemical engineers in the new
century. The future home of the School of Chemical Engineering in the Environmental Science and Technology Building will be particularly important. The opportunities and challenges in nuclear technology - using nuclear materials more efficiently, good management of nuclear wastes and avoiding threats of nuclear weapons proliferation - will also be important for chemical engineers. “I envy those just starting their careers with an education in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech, but am enjoying retirement and writing about energy, the environment and partnerships for improved human interactions. I particularly enjoy work with the Committee for the “50th reunion of the Georgia Tech Class of 50 in the year 2000!” Our class project is “The Class of 1950 Tower Walk,” and our goal for contributions from our class to Georgia Tech during our reunion year is $6,500,000. It is a good feeling to know that these contributions will benefit Tech, its students and faculty, and the well-being of life on this planet.”
Homecoming 2000 Calling all Alumni! Coming back to campus for Homecoming 2000? Please join the School of Chemical Engineering for an Open House Friday, October 13, 2000 2:00 pm ~ 4:00 pm Bunger Henry Building 1st Floor Lobby There will be drinks, snacks and current School materials. Questions? Call Kelsey Evans at (404) 894-0987 For more information on Homecoming 2000, including a schedule of events, log onto www.gtalumni.org
School of Chemical Engineering Strategic Plan 2000 Vision The School of Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech will be recognized as one of the best chemical engineering programs in the world. Its graduates will be successful in leading industrial, academic, and government organizations; its research will make significant contributions towards improving the quality of life for the world community; and it will be a leader in the intellectual development of Chemical Engineering.
Mission The School prepares students for successful professional careers and advances the science and technology that form the basis of chemical engineering.
Objectives The School will achieve its mission through meeting the following objectives: 1. Produce the most capable chemical engineers in the world. Graduates should be recognized for their excellent technical, leadership, and teamwork skills 2. Conduct research that expands the knowledge base of chemical engineering, educates our students, has a beneficial effect on society, and acts as a catalyst for economic development 3. Maximize the talent available to the School and society by creating a learning environment that affords students of diverse backgrounds every opportunity for achieving success 4. Maximize the learning experience in the classroom and enhance all aspects of teaching, especially by leveraging information technology 5. Be recognized for leadership in fostering entrepreneurship, corporate interaction, and economic development 6. Attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest faculty and staff 7. Educate our students on the importance of the global/international nature of engineering practice and business activities 8. Create a chemical engineering community at Georgia Tech that fosters the success and growth of its members
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Alumni Responses Fall ‘99 1931
1974 & 1976
Clarence B. Drennon and his wife, Georgia, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on September 9, 1999. Clarence, a retired Army colonel, and Georgia have traveled the globe, living in 28 countries. They currently live in Lithonia, GA and have three grown children. Col. Drennon’s advice for a happy marriage: “The only advice I have is they’ve got to give to each other. It’s that simple. And, of course, marry somebody like I did.”
James (Jim) Bennewitz is a commercial director, Americas for ES Fibervisions. He currently resides in Watkinsville, GA with his wife Laura and four children, Nancy, Katie, Tom, and John.
1954 Donnan Martin was named member of the month in November 1999 by the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce. Martin started his own company, Ploy-Mart, Inc., in Kennet Square, PA., in 1990 after a 36-year career in sales and business and marketing management with DuPont. Poly-Mart specializes in polymers for use in highly specialized applications in elastomer and plastics markets, which go into such products as golf balls, shotgun shells, shoe inner soles, hubcaps and construction films.
1960 Vernon B. Chance, Jr. retired as director of manufacturing for UOP in Shreveport, LA in October 1997 after 37 years of service. Since that time, he has been occupied with many and various civic responsibilities. He also makes time for his family, various travels, and boating.
1968 Michael D. Wallace, director of research and development for the Mead Corp. in Chillicothe, OH, was elected vice president of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.
1971 Louis Wallen currently works as a financial analyst for Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY.
1972 Leonard A.Hite, Jr. was named director of investment services for the Eastman Chemical Co. Hite has been an employee with Eastman for 27 years. He and his wife, Anita, live in Kingsport, TN.
1973 David P. Buford, a colonel with the Alabama Army National Guard, was appointed commander of the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. Buford lives in Birmingham, AL.
research with the Eastman Chemical Co. He and his wife, Karen D’ Anne, live in Kingsport, TN.
1991 Janice Dodson Teske completed her master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellog Graduate School of Management. She is market manager, polybutene, for the Americas Region with BP Amoco. Teske and her husband live in Chicago.
Artie Schroeder, ChE 1974, M.S. ChE 1976, graduated in June with an executive’s master’s of business administration degree from the University of Houston. Schroeder manages Y2K issues for BP Amoco. He and his wife, Charlotte Young Schroeder, ChE 1976, and their four children live in Houston.
1993 Whitney Kirk McGuire was promoted to plant manager of Henkel Surface Technologies’ St. Louis production facility. She and her husband, Brian, live in Webster Groves, Mo.
1977 Curt Harrington has recently been appointed to the Continuing Education of the Bar joint-advisory committee for the State Bar of California. Harrington is a patent attorney in Long Beach, Calif.
1979 Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, an internist in private practice at Piedmont Hospital, became presidentelect of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. She will be the youngest person and only the second woman in ACP’s 84-year history to hold the office when she assumes the presidency in 2000. Fryhofer lives in Atlanta.
Sumit Rao, M.S. 1996, Ph.D. 1996, works as a solution architect in semi conductor factory planning for i2 Technologies, Inc. in Irving, TX.
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Elbert B. Morgan of Winston Salem, NC on March 15, 2000. Morgan was retired from Celanese Corporation.
John Hatcher of Gainesville, FL, on June 9. Mr. Hatcher was a retired employee of the DuPont Corp.
Jeffrey O. Stull, MS ChE, received a 1999 American Society for Testing and Materials Award of Merit from the ASTM Committee on Protective Clothing. Stull was also awarded the title of Fellow with the organization. Stull was honored for exemplary leadership and skill in the develop ment of a broad range of standards and guides for the committee and for his professional dedication, diplomatic and scientific resourcefulness, and perseverance. Stull is president of International Personnel Protection Inc., the company he founded in Austin, Texas, where he lives.
manager of strategy and business
1931
1933
Kimberly M. Cochran married Jason Kozakis, IE 1996 in July 1999. The couple lives in Pittsburgh where Kimberly is studying environmental science and management at Duquesne University, and Jason is working toward a master’s degree in industrial administration at CarnegieMellon University.
Phillip Crowder has been named
OBITUARIES
Brian Edward McGuire has joined Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, Mo. as a brewing supervisor. He and his wife, Whitney, live in Webster Groves, Mo.
J. Marcus Lewis was recently promoted to plant manager of the Freeport site of Rhodia, Inc., a Parisbased company. The site manufactures organic and inorganic chemicals. Marcus and his wife Lauri (Lauri F. Miller, IsyE, 1983) reside in Lake Jackson with their two children, Erica (10) and Mathew (9).
1986
Mary Ann Fletcher Smith married Kevin E. Smith in March, 2000. The couple resides in Dalton, GA where Kevin works in the carpet industry.
1996
Ellen McNeil Klug graduated in July, 1999 with a dual Master’s degree in chemical engineering and in chemistry from the University of Washington. In July,1999 Ellen also married. She and her husband, Jeremy, currently reside in Cleveland, OH where Ellen works for Ashland Specialty Chemical Company as a process engineer.
1983
center for scullers, and occasionally at Lake Lanier. Since Marc travels to train and to race, the best way to contact him is through his parents, (770) 641-8377 or through e-mail, rmillard@mindspring.com.
1997 Marcus Millard is taking a leave from his chemical engineering career to pursue a dream. While at Georgia Tech, Marc was on the GT Crew Team, and currently he is a member of the United States Rowing National Team. Last summer he raced with the team in England, Switzerland, and Canada. This winter he is training full time in Philadelphia at Malta Boat Club with his sights on the Olympics. He sometimes trains in Augusta, GA where there is a national training
Winston S. Cummings of Jacksonville, F L, on June 28, 2000.
1941 Joe C. Funderburk of Hattiesburg, TN on May 9, 2000. Funderburk was retired from Hercules Corporation. Henry Hopkins Manley of Powder Springs, GA, on July 14. Mr. Manley was a retired chemical engineer with the Tennessee Valley Authority. William A. Parks of Longview, TX on June 3, 2 0 0 0 . Parks was retired from Texas Eastman Company.
1943 Edward H. “Ted” Shaw of Charlotte, N.C. on July 14, 1988. Mr. Shaw was retired from Celanese Corp. He also taught real estate brokerage and valuation at Central Peidmont Community College. An Army veteran, he served as commanding officer of an ammunition detachment. Mr. Shaw was a member of Lambda Chi fraternity.
1947 James R. Hall of Tucson, AZ, on March 6.
1950 Stacy D. Bristow, jr. of Palatka, FL on April 11, 2 0 00.
1953 Leslie M. Nollkamper of Brookland, TX on January 27, 2000.
We Welcome Your Questions, Comments or News: ChE Newsletter: Bill Ernst (404) 894-2878 Email: william.ernst@che.gatech.edu ChE Alumni News: Kelsey Evans (404) 894-8987 Email: kelsey.evans@che.gatech.edu
ChE Program Information: ChE Main Office (404) 894-2867 ChE Capital Campaign: Kelsey Evans (404) 894-0987 Email: kelsey.evans@che.gatech.edu
We can all be found at the following addresses: School of Chemical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0100 Or check out our website: www.che.gatech.edu
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