C H E M N E W S

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY • SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING • VOL. 9 NO. 1 • SPRING 2001

I N S I D E :

Colleagues gathered in the GordyRoom of the Wardlaw Centeroverlooking the Georgia TechFootball Stadium on October 23,2000 to toast and roast a dearfriend and mentor, Gary W.Poehlein. A graduate of PurdueUniversity, Dr. Poehlein receivedhis Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D.in 1958, 1963 and 1966, respec-

tively. He moved to Atlantafrom Lehigh University in July1978 to become the Director ofthe School of Chemical Engineer-ing, and also act as interimDirector of the School of Materi-als and Science Engineering atthe time the School was formed.From July 1985 to July 1993, heserved the administration and

students of Georgia Tech asAssociate Vice President of Grad-uate Studies and Research. In1993, he transitioned into therole of Professor in the School ofChemical Engineering, and in1997, he left Atlanta for Washing-ton D.C. to serve as a ProgramDirector at the National ScienceFoundation. He has been there Continued on page 8

Alumni Events ......................Pg. 3

Faculty News ......................Pg. 5

Alumni News ..............Pg. 10-11Environmental Science & Technology Building aMagnet for Scholarship and Support

Professor Gary W. Poehlein Retires after 22 Years of Service to Georgia Tech

Contractors and constructionworkers are hard at work onwhat will be not only GeorgiaTech’s largest building oncampus, but also ChemicalEngineering’s future home.The Environmental Science and

Technology Building (ES&T)has become one of the corner-stone buildings on Tech’s ever-improving campus, and hasattracted both individual donorsand corporate supporters. ES&Twill be one of three state of the

art facilities included in theplanned BEM complex;Biotechnology and BiomedicalEngineering, EnvironmentalScience & Technology, andMolecular and Materials ScienceEngineering. The 270,000square foot building will housemulti-disciplinary learning andresearch areas within ChemicalEngineering, EnvironmentalEngineering, Earth and Atmos-pheric Sciences and the Tech-nology Development Center.

Among the most generous ofalumni supporters is Mr.Thomas L. Gossage, ChE 56,who has made a $2.5 millioncommitment that will appropri-ately name the Atrium of ES&Tthe Thomas L. Gossage Atrium.(Please see page 6 for image.)

Mr. Gossage is currently theChairman and CEO of Hercules,Incorporated, and has played asignificant role in the Campaignfor Georgia Tech as Vice Chair-man of the National CampaignSteering Committee. Mr.Gossage has always been atremendous supporter of theSchool of Chemical Engineer-ing, but this incredible gift tothe School typifies his vision toenhance education. Otheralumni who have made signifi-cant contributions to ES&T areJohn L. and Karen Kiappes,ChE 70 and W. Norman andJanice H. Phillips, ChE 77 andCoC 77 respectively. Bothalumni families have gener-ously

Continued on page 4

This rendering of the BEM Complex shows the Environmental Science &Technology Building with the completed Institute for Bioengineering andBiosciences in the foreground.

This image bears close resem-

blance to the mythological

Loch Ness monster; however,

it was actually generated by

research in the School of

Chemical Engineering. Can

you guess what it is?

Taken from a scanning elec-

tron micrograph, this image

actually shows an initial

(failed) attempt to make poly-

meric microneedles for painless

drug delivery across the skin.

Better solvent removal from the

polymer during the molding

process yielded needles of a

more suitable shape. The

thesis of Devin McAllister, PhD

’00, has all the details.

2

Loch Ness Monster Discovered at Georgia Tech. . .?

Capital Campaign Ends on a High Notehreshold of a New Era: The Campaign for Georgia Tech offi-cially ended on December 31, 2000. Five years, 52,720donors, 40 Roll Outs, 52 new faculty chairs, and $711.973million later, Georgia Tech successfully completed the largest

fund raising initiative in its 115-year history. The School of ChemicalEngineering played a large role in the fundraising activities, raising atotal of $30.6 million, $5.6 million over the School’s $25 Million goal.During these past five years, ChE has secured five new faculty chairsand more than $11 million in endowment funds. The accompanyingillustration gives a breakdown of the funds raised during the campaign.

Never before has the School been so well positioned for financialsecurity. The funds available for student scholarships and graduatefellowships will dramatically effect the makeup of our student popula-tions. In addition, the resources allocated to student and schoolprogramming will continue to enhance the rankings of the schoolamong competing ChE departments. While ChE recognizes thegenerosity and faith of the many alumni and corporations whosupported the School during the campaign, it is critical that wecontinue to look for ways to fund new initiatives in the coming years.If you would like more information on making a charitable gift toChemical Engineering, be it a multi-year pledge, a deferred tax savingsvehicle, or a stock transfer, please contact Ms. Kelsey Evans at404-894-0987, or e-mail her at kelsey.evans@che.gatech.edu.

Thank you to all who participated in fulfilling the dreams of the Schoolof Chemical Engineering.

Campaign Fund StatisticsT Chemical Engineering Goal:$25,000,000

Chemical Engineering Total:$30,664,194

Funds by Source:Alumni ~ 31%

Corporations ~ 53%Faculty/Staff ~ 0.5%Foundations ~ 10%

Other ~ 5.5%

Number of Campaign Donorsto Chemical Engineering:

447Including Roll Call Giftsmade by ChE Alumni/ae:

2,279

Funds by Use:Endowment: $11,031,611

Facilities: $8,717,321Current Operations:

$10,915,259

Georgia Tech Goal:$600,000,000

Georgia Tech Total: $711,973,834

Funds by Source:Alumni ~ 48%

Corporations ~ 26%Individuals ~ 12%

Foundations ~ 12%Other ~ 2%

Number of Donors tothe Campaign:

17,647Including Roll Call Giftsmade by GT Alumni/ae:

52,720

Funds by Use:Endowment: $321,060,298

Facilities: $179,155,380Current Operations:

$208,909,142

The Seventeenth AnnualAshton Cary Lecture

“Colloidal Scale Engineering”

presented by

Eric W. KalerUniversity of Delaware

will be held April 18, 2001 at 4:00 p.m.in College of Computing, Room 16

For additional information, please see:www.che.gatech.edu/ashton_cary.htm

Symposium 2001

“Exploring Solutions For Today”

sponsored by

The GT Association ofChemical Engineering

Graduate Students (AChEGS)

will be held April 19-20, 2001

For additional information, please see:www.che.gatech.edu/symposium

v

3

he School of Chemical Engineering welcomed four newmembers to the External Advisory Board in Fall 2000. Dr.Robert C. Armstrong, ChE 1970, Mr. Cecil C. Chap-pelow, friend, Mr. Charles A. “Chuck” Hall, ChE 1985,

and Mr. James P. Harris, ChE 1970.

Dr. Armstrong is Head of the School of Chemical Engineering atMassachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts;Mr. Chappelow is Director of Corporate Research and Technologyfor Air Products and Chemicals in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Mr. Hallis Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing at William Barnet &Sons in South Carolina; and Mr. Harris is Senior Vice President ofExxonMobil Chemical Corporation in Houston, Texas. Join us incongratulating them on their appointments to the Board.

Board Members Mark your Calendars!The next School of Chemical Engineering External Advisory Boardmeeting is scheduled for April 26th and 27th, 2001. Please callKelsey Evans at 404-894-0987 with any questions.

Pictured left to right, going up and around: Chuck Hall, Bill Martin,Rick Gross, Kelley Williams, Cecil Chappelow, Dean Jean-LouChameau, Dixie Goins, Richard Phillips, Bill Koros, Jim Harris, RonRousseau, Bob Armstrong, Cheryl Johnson, Lisa Korslund, JohnBurson, Jim Simmons, Bud Moeller, Glenn Wright and Tom DeLoach.

Not Pictured: Garry Betty, Ralph Cooper, Joe Miller, Doc Outlandand Matt Tirrell

New Board Members Welcomed

College of Engineering Honors Six Chemical Engineers

t the annual College ofEngineering AlumniAwards Induction

Ceremony, six chemical engi-neers were honored for theircareer achievements. On Octo-ber 7, 2000, Dean Jean-LouChameau inducted sixteen Techgraduates into the Hall ofFame, twenty-eight graduatesinto the Academy of Distin-guished Engineering Alumni,and sixteen graduates into theCouncil of Outstanding YoungEngineering Alumni. Of these,Chemical Engineering proudlynominated the following alumniin recognition of their contribu-tions to their respective fields:

Hall of Fame

Mr. Thomas C. DeLoach,ChE 1969Executive Vice President andDirector (Retired), Mobil OilCorporation

Academy of DistinguishedEngineering Alumni

Mr. Charles “Garry” Betty,ChE 1979Chief Executive Officer,EarthLink, Inc.

Mr. Larry J. Bloom, ChE 1972President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, BioLab, Inc.

Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer,M.D., FACP, ChE 19792000-2001 President, AmericanCollege of Physicians ~American Society of InternalMedicine

Council of Outstanding YoungEngineering Alumni

Mr. Jeffrey L. Brinen,ChE 1985, 1989Manager, Catalyst Manufactur-ing Technology, ExxonMobilChemical Company

Mrs. Cheryl A. Perkins, Chem 1983, ChE 1989Vice President of Research,Senior Technical Officer,Kimberly-Clark Corporation

A

T

Pictured left to right, top row: Cheryl A. Perkins, Larry J. Bloom, Dr.Sandra Adamson Fryhofer; bottom row: Charles “Garry” Betty, Jeffrey L.Brinen and Thomas C. DeLoach.

CoE AlumniAwards2000

4

donated funds at the $25,000level to name Faculty Suiteswithin the building. Lastly,Mr. Cecil J. “Pete” Silas, ChE53, and his wife, Theo, havedonated funds totalling$250,000 to name the SchoolChair Suite in the north wingwhere ChE will be located.Donors’ generosity will berecognized with plaquesmounted in the new building.

In addition to alumni support,many of Chemical Engineer-ing’s most valued industrypartners have made commit-ments to support the buildingof ES&T. ExxonMobil wasone of the first companies topledge its support, and hasdone so with a $250,000commitment to name theExxonMobil Research Lab.Most recently, the BASFCorporation made a $125,000commitment to name theBASF Seminar Room. Accord-ing to Mr. Marion Campbell,ChE 73, BASF OperationsDirector, “BASF Corporationcontinues to rank Georgia

Tech as one of our ‘keyuniversities,’ and is delightedto interact with faculty, admin-istration, and students as acontributing partner to ES&Tand the education process.”Other companies have showntheir support for ES&T by

naming conference rooms at the $50,000 level. Both Inter-national Paper CompanyFoundation and local Atlantacompany, BioLab, Inc., haveattached their names to multi-use conference rooms and willalso be recognized for theirgenerosity.

ES&T will be a tremendousaddition to campus when itsdoors open in Fall 2002. If

you would like more informa-tion on ES&T or supportingChemical Engineering as weprepare to move into this newbuilding, please contact KelseyEvans in the DevelopmentOffice at 404-894-0987. Formore renderings, please seethe ChE weblink:http://www.che.gatech.edu/ES&T.htm.

This image of the ES&T construction site, taken on November 16, 2000, shows the crew completing the finalpreparations before laying the foundation.

Mr. Marion Campbell, ChE 73, presents School Chair, Ron Rousseau,with BASF Corporation’s check in support of the ES&T building.

Environmental Science & Technology Building contd.

Contd. from page 1

The Thomas L. Gossage (ChE 56) Atrium, which will be at the center of theEnvironmental Science and Technology building, is represented in thisartist’s rendering of the interior space.

5

Mark Prausnitz was recognized as a finalist for the CoulterAward for Innovation and Entrepreneurship by the Coulter Foun-dation, which carries with it a $100,000 prize. Also, Dr. Praus-nitz’s research on developing more effective methods of drugdelivery through microneedles was featured in the Winter 2001edition of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. To read the articlesee: http://gtalumni.org/news/magazine/win01/profile.html.

Amyn Teja gave the plenary lecture entitled “The Solubility ofSolids in Dense Fluids” at the XV Congreso de Termodinamica inOxaca, Mexico in September. While in Mexico, he also visited theMexican Institute of Petroleum in Mexico City and presented atalk on “Wax Deposition in Natural Gas Systems.” Dr. Teja alsogave an invited talk at the 3rd China/USA Joint Chemical Engi-neering Congress held in Beijing in October, 2000. The talk wasentitled “The Thermodynamics of Dilute Mixtures in the CriticalRegion.”

Arnold Stancell was appointed to the Board of ChemicalScience and Technology of the National Research Council. TheBoard advises the U.S. Government on technical and policyissues affecting the nation and draws on the Board’s expertise inchemical engineering and chemical sciences.

Jude Sommerfeld gave a talk this past year on “Batch ProcessSimulation” to the local Albany/Tallahassee Section of the Ameri-can Institute of Chemical Engineers. The meeting was held at theMerck pharmaceutical manufacturing facility located in Albany,Georgia.

Paul Kohl was recently granted three new patents: FabricationProcedure for Integrated Planar Cavities with Applications toDisplays and Advances Hybrid Systems, Drabik, T., Kohl, P.A.,Patent #6,141,072; Air-Gaps for Electrical Interconnections, P.A.Kohl, Q. Zhao, and S.A. Bidstrup, U.S. Patent #6,165,890; andPorous Insulating Compounds and Method for Making Same,Kohl, P. A., U.S. Patent #6,162,838.

Larry J. Forney chaired a session entitled “Mixing in ReactionEngineering” at the Annual AIChE Meeting in Los Angeles. Hewas also co-author of three papers presented at the same meeting.

This past year Peter J. Ludovice gave invited lectures at ArizonaState, Virginia Tech, the University of Rhode Island, Florida StateUniversity and Case Western Reserve University. However, hismost challenging audience was encountered while telling thestory of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to his daughterMiranda’s kindergarten class.

Faculty News

hen a Dublin manufac-turer of recyclednewsprint had troublescaling up new flotation

technology, it called on GeorgiaTech for help with the $1.2million investment. SP Newsprint,formerly Southeast Paper Manu-facturing, began using a pilotversion of a new technologicallyadvanced system called theLawson tubes separation system.The system removes contaminantsfrom aqueous solutions of recov-

ered paper fiber. However, when the company tried to scaleup the system from a pilot version (which processes 100gallons per minute) to a commercial version (whichprocesses 7,000 gallons per minute), the Lawson tubes sepa-ration system failed to meet performance standards. Whenno one at the company could agree on the problem or solu-tion, Alan Lawson, vice president at the company, suggestedthe company consult with Georgia Tech.

Lawson consulted with Georgia Tech EDI engineer AlanBarfoot of the Dublin office, who then found the best Geor-gia Tech expert to analyze the problem ~ Dr. Jeffery Hsieh,Director of Pulp and Paper Engineering at Georgia Tech anda professor in the School of Chemical Engineering. Lawsonhad only two questions for Dr. Hsieh: “Why is the systemnot working and can it be made to work?” Hsieh studiedcomponents of the system such as chemistry, velocity, andflow. Then he pored over performance data from the pilotto commercial scale and made recommendations andreviewed fixes with Lawson. As Lawson implemented someof Hsieh’s ideas, he provided feedback to Hsieh regardingthe ongoing results.

“He had a very good idea,” Lawson said “He tried to makethe pilot unit fail and perform like the commercial unit.Instead of going forward as researchers do, his idea was towork backwards until you work out the problem. Hsiehconstructed theories on why the system wasn’t working andimplemented the theories on the pilot unit. This trou-bleshooting process quickly and inexpensively verified theproblem’s true cause, one that everybody could agree on.”

Within five weeks, Dr. Hsieh was able to get the Lawsonsystem operating. “Hsieh didn’t necessarily solve every-thing,” Lawson said, “but because he narrowed that focusdown and came in as independent, he came up with a logi-cal approach for us to use.”

Lawson projects that if the Lawson Separation system is fullyimplemented across the Dublin mill, cost savings could besignificant. In addition, the technology could be licensed toothers. Prior to the Lawson system ink removal capacity waslimiting, and bleaching chemical consumption was very highon the mill’s number one paper machine. The company is

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Dr. Jay Lee

Professor Jay H. Lee comes toGeorgia Tech with ten years ofteaching and research experi-ence. Prior to joining ChE thisfall, he was a faculty memberat both Auburn University inAlabama and Purdue Universityin Indiana. He has held visit-ing appointments at E. I. DuPont de Numours in Delawareand at Seoul National Univer-sity in Korea. He obtained hisB.S. degree in Chemical Engi-neering from the University ofWashington, Seattle, in 1986,and his Ph.D. degree in Chemi-cal Engineering from CaliforniaInstitute of Technology in 1991.

First at Purdue University andnow at Georgia Tech, Dr. Leeis directing a research groupcalled ISSICL (a name inspiredby icicles frequently seen fromhis laboratory at Purdue),which stands for IntegratedSensing, System Identification,and Control Laboratory. As thename implies, his researchfocuses on integrating novelsensors, data-based modelingtechniques, and numericalsimulation/optimization tech-niques into a computer-basedcontrol system that canimprove the efficiency andsafety of chemical and biologi

cal processes and also enhancethe quality and variety of prod-ucts.

In academia, sensing, modelingand control have long beenregarded as independentresearch disciplines and theirintegration for process opti-mization and control haslargely been ignored. Advancesin computing and communica-tion technologies have madecomputer-based control andoptimization of an entireprocess or even an entire planta reality (integrated design ofsensor, model and control algo-rithms has surfaced as animportant challenge). Lee’sresearch group is one of thefew that span the three areasand emphasize their integra-tion.

His group is currentlycomposed of seven Ph.D.students, a postdoctoral fellow,a visiting professor from Koreaand a visiting student fromGermany. The group is veryactive and has published morethan 100 journal and confer-ence papers. The group’sactivities can be divided intotwo categories: The first isdesigned to engender tools andinsights of a fundamental andgeneral nature that will help

integrated system design. Thesecond is intended to breedtools and insights that arespecific to particular processproblems. These involveunderstanding the process fromthe viewpoint of control, tailor-ing existing tools, inventingnew tools that do not existand integrating them into asystematic solution.

The group is currently engagedin a number of applicationprojects including the designand operation of a simulatedmoving bed system, startup ofa mammalian cell reactor, parti-cle size distribution control in aparticulate system, productquality control in pulpdigesters and polymer reactors,and spatial profile controls inmicroelectronics manufacturingsystems. For details, pleasevisit the group’s homepage:http://dot.che.gatech.edu/infor-mation/research/issicl.

Dr. Lee has also been involvedin writing a new graduate-leveltextbook that puts due empha-sis on a new computer-basedoptimizing control technique

called Model Predictive Control(MPC). MPC has already revo-lutionized the practice ofprocess control, so Dr. Lee’sgoal is to modernize a text-book that will educate thecurrent and future engineersabout the fundamentals of thetechnique.

As this project draws nearcompletion, Dr. Lee is in themidst of launching a newproject intended to advanceundergraduate control educa-tion. He intends to write anew textbook that embodies amore balanced treatment ofselected topics.

Along with this effort, it is hisbelief that well-designedcomputer and web-based toolscan contribute greatly to thestudents’ learning of abstruseconcepts. Along with a visitingprofessor from Korea, Dr. Leeis currently co-developing asuite of web-based interactivesimulation and visualizationtools for undergraduate controleducation, with the intention ofcombining them with the newtextbook. On a more general

6

Chemical Engineering Welcomes Four New Faculty

Dr. Jay Lee Dr. Carson Meredith

he School is proud to announce the addition of four

new faculty members: Assistant Professors Christo-

pher Jones and Carson Meredith and Professors Jay

Lee and Andreas Bommarius. Drs. Meredith and Lee are

featured in this issue with in-depth articles on their back-

grounds, interests and future plans. Articles spotlighting Drs.

Jones and Bommarius will appear in the next newsletter.

T

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level, Dr. Lee is a strongproponent of tighter integrationof the curriculum. He sees thecurrent curriculum as an acci-dental result of the historicalevolution of various chemicalengineering science domains.He is interested in bringing toGeorgia Tech a more goal-driven, tightly-integratedcurriculum, in which the roleof each topic is made clear tothe students in a problem-solv-ing context.

His effort and achievement incontrol research and educationhave brought him severalhonors. Notably, he was arecipient of the NationalScience Foundation’s YoungInvestigator Award in 1993 andthe Alumni Research Awardgiven by the Auburn AlumniEngineering Council in 1996.

He currently has a number ofresearch contracts with nationalagencies like the NationalScience Foundation andDepartment of Energy as wellas with companies like AspenTechnology, DuPont, Weyer-haeuser and Honeywell.However, the awards he cher-ishes the most are the onesthat past students have givenhim, such as the KimberlyClark Mentoring Award that hereceived last fall at PurdueUniversity.

On the personal side, Jay Leewas born in Seoul, Korea andimmigrated to the U.S. duringhis high school years. He iscurrently married with twodaughters and the family livesin Alpharetta. He enjoys golf,hiking and other outdoor activ-ities and likes the climate herebetter than that of Purdue, butregrets that, with two little chil-

dren and a long commute, littletime is left for diversions.

Dr. Carson Meredith

Professor Carson Meredithjoined the School of ChemicalEngineering faculty in July2000, after finishing a two-yearpostdoctoral position at theNational Institute of Standardsand Technology (NIST) Poly-mers Division, in Gaithersburg,Md. Prior to that, hecompleted his Ph.D. in Chemi-cal Engineering at the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin in 1998.He received his Bachelors inChemical Engineering fromGeorgia Tech in 1993.

Excited to returnto his almamater, hedirects theAdvancedPolymerThin FilmandColloidresearchgroup. Theprimary goal ofthis research effortis fundamental thermo-dynamic and kinetic characteri-zation of polymer thin film andcolloid advanced materials.The applications of thesenanometer-to-micrometer scalematerials include novel opticalcommunications and data stor-age devices, biomedical materi-als, nanotechnology, sensors,as well as conventional coat-ings, paints, and adhesives. Acommon example is hard diskdrive surfaces, which arecoated with an approximately 2nm thick film of fluorinatedpolymer to provide lubricationand protection of the magnetic

surface and reading head.

Rather than focusing on asingle application, his researchcenters on the fundamentals ofphase transitions, self-assembly,and stability in these materials.In this way, discoveries tend toapply to several applications atonce. Two unique approachesare used to carry out thisresearch: combinatorial meth-ods and computer simulations.

Combinatorial methods wereoriginally developed for phar-maceuticals research in theearly 1990s to allow rapid andcomprehensive measurementsover large numbers of reactantsand conditions. The goal of

Dr. Meredith’s approachis to apply these

techniques tocharacterizecolloidal andthin filmmaterials.Thesehigh-throughput

methodslead to faster

development ofprocess models and

new pathways for mate-rials processing. The key ispreparation of thin film andcolloid samples that containthousands of compositions andprocess variables each, over anarea the size of a microscopeslide. He recently developedthree such methods for thick-ness, composition and tempera-ture variation in polymer films.These samples, called combina-torial libraries, are thencoupled with automatedmicroscopy and spectroscopyto allow measurements over abroad range of variable combi-nations in orders of magnitude

less time than with conven-tional methods.

This combinatorial techniquewas recently applied to studythe stability of thin polymercoatings on silicon surfaces, aproblem that is relevant to thepreparation of microelectronicspackaging and optical coatings.When thin films become unsta-ble, they begin to break upand de-wet the surface, muchlike rain drops beading up ona waxed car. By studyingcombinatorial libraries thatcontain about 1800 variationsin temperature and thicknesseach, Dr. Meredith discovered anew relationship governing thekinetics of film de-wetting overa wide range of temperaturesand thicknesses. The tech-nique has also been applied toinvestigate phase separation ofpolymer mixtures and the inter-actions between cells andbiomaterial coatings.

Under certain conditions ofcomposition, temperature, andpressure, colloidal andnanoscale particles sponta-neously arrange into ordered,crystalline arrays that havespecial optical properties. Acommon and beautiful exampleof these colloidal crystals is theformation of natural opals fromsilicate particles, noted for theirrich diffraction of colors. Bylearning to control preciselythe self-assembly of colloidalparticles, engineers can buildnew types of advanced elec-tronic devices and opticalswitches for communications.The key, however, is learningto control the thermodynamicsof self-assembly. He uses computer simulationsto investigate self-assemblyContinued next page

8

since his leave and retiredfrom Georgia Tech effectiveSeptember 1, 2000.

More than 50 colleagues,many from outside the Schoolof Chemical Engineering, gath-ered to bid a fond farewell toGary and his wife, SharonPoehlein, who attended theevent with three of their fourchildren. Dr. Poehlein hiredmany of the School’s facultymembers during his first fewyears at Georgia Tech. Severalof the faculty recalled their

favorite memories and firstimpressions of Gary Poehlein.The recurring theme however,was the great impact that hehad on the School. In hiseight years as Director of theDepartment, he hired morethan 15 faculty members,increased the graduateschool’s enrollment from 10 to100, and helped to propel theSchool to national recognition.His energy and commitmentwere cornerstone to theDepartment’s success over theyears.

Ron Rousseau, thecurrent School Chair,presented Gary with acrystal vase inscribedwith the Institute Sealand the followingwords: “In apprecia-tion of your contribu-tions and leadership,School of ChemicalEngineering, GeorgiaInstitute of Technology,1978 ~ 2000.

Dr. Teja recalls some favoritememories of Gary and SharonPoehlein:

. . .inviting my wife and I to“dinner” and forgetting tomention that it was a “poolparty” and not a “black-tieaffair” (hey, my wife and Iwere visitors from England, soguess what we turned up in!!!)

. . .driving through Louisianafrom Baton Rouge to New

Orleans after a visit to Dow’sPlaquemine Plant. As wemeandered through thebayou, Gary pointed out the“sights.” I think this was hisidea of a “reward” for a newfaculty member from England.

. . .sending me to Mary Mac’sfor dinner during my “recruit-ing visit.” This was to be my“exposure” to Southerncuisine (after lunch at Bren-nan’s in Buckhead).

Dan Tedder, Connie Stancell (Arnold Stancell’s wife), Amyn Teja andRonnie Roberts gather to bid Gary Poehlein (center) a fond farewell lastOctober.

Ron Rousseau presents Gary Poehlein with acrystal vase at his retirement celebration.

POEHLEIN Contd. from page 1

during the processing ofcolloids. With this technique,two “boxes” filled withcolloidal particles are simulatedon a computer. Equilibriumbetween the colloidal fluid andthe ordered colloidal crystal isapproached by exchangingparticles between the boxes.This process searches for andfinds the liquid-solid phasediagram, analogous to theliquid-solid freezing of water.Simulation describes how thephase diagram can be alteredto achieve precise control overstructures and provides basicthermodynamic informationthat can be translated intoprocess design applications.

In his previous position atNIST, Dr. Meredith developednew techniques to createcombinatorial libraries of poly-mer thin films. He also discov-ered a new phase transition forblends of biodegradable poly-mers. This means that usingtemperature, one can controlhow well these polymers mix,altering the mechanical andbarrier properties. Thesebiodegradable polymer mixturesare useful in tissue engineering,drug delivery and for degradablepackaging.

He will teach chemical engi-neering courses that relate tohis research interests. Theseinclude Numerical Methods(ChE 2120) and Thermodynam-ics (ChE 2110 and 3110)

at the graduate and undergrad-uate levels. He also plans todevelop a new Surface Scienceand Chemistry course to beoffered as an elective to under-graduates and graduates. Thiscourse will be taught as a teamwith other professors in thedepartment.

Becoming a professor is not theonly new thing in CarsonMeredith’s life: on February 13,2000, his first child, Lorraine“Kate” Meredith, was born. Heresides in the Atlanta area withhis wife, Jennifer, a sign-language interpreter for thedeaf. When at home, he enjoysjogging and spending time withhis wife, daughter, and black-and-white Springer Spaniel(Gershwin).

He enjoys music of all formsand plays jazz piano for enjoy-ment. Favorite artists includeBill Evans, Pat Metheny, andEarth Wind and Fire.

FACULTY Contd. from page 7

2001ChE FacultyOverview

Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Professors: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Associate Professors:. . . . . . 9

Assistant Professors: . . . . . . 5

Joint Professors: . . . . . . . . . . 3

Adjunct Professors: . . . . . . . 5(Not included in total count.)

9

A Message from the ChairA Message from the Chair

The School of Chemical Engineering was foundedin April 1901, so this spring marks 100 years ofChE at Georgia Tech! Engineering Chemistry, asit was called back then, started with only twostudents and three Ph.D. faculty members.Compared to today’s 800 students and 36 facultymembers, I’d say we have done quite a bit ofgrowing. In fact, there are not many chemicalengineering programs that have been in existenceas long as we have. We intend to celebrate theCentennial with a special series of seminars inthe fall semester, a homecoming event in Octo-ber, and other exciting initiatives. I invite you tosend in your thoughts regarding other appropriateactivities to mark this exciting benchmark.

As you have read on page 2, Georgia Techcompleted the Capital Campaign on December31, 2000. I am pleased to report that both theInstitute and Chemical Engineering exceeded theirgoals, thanks to the many generous alumni,corporate partners and friends of the School.

It is a pleasure to announce that Dr. William J.Koros has accepted our offer of the Roberto C.Goizueta Chair in Chemical Engineering. Bill hasbeen a faculty member at the University of Texas,where in addition to developing an outstandingresearch program in membrane science and tech-nology, he served as chair of the Department ofChemical Engineering. He will start at GeorgiaTech in fall 2001.

This fall we hired Josie Giles to be our ExternalCommunications Specialist. She has been atremendous addition to the School, and I nowwish we had hired her much sooner. She hasbeen instrumental in redesigning the ChE website,and is also producing our newsletter, our publica-

tions and the many brochures that are sent to ourconstituency.

The External Advisory Board welcomed fournew members to the October meeting: Dr.Robert C. Armstrong, ChE 70, Dr. Cecil C.Chappelow, Charles (Chuck) A. Hall, ChE 85,and Mr. James P. Harris, ChE 70 (corporate affil-iations listed on page 3). Dr. Richard M. Gross,Vice President of R&D, Dow Chemical Companyrotated off the Board after our October meeting,but we are grateful for all that he has done onbehalf of the School throughout his 12 years ofservice.

The annual College of Engineering AlumniAwards Ceremony was held in October, and anumber of chemical engineering alumni werehonored. It was especially gratifying to have sixChE alums inducted: Thomas C. DeLoach, ChE69, into the Hall of Fame; C. Garry Betty, ChE79, Sandra A. Fryhofer, ChE 79 and Larry J.Bloom, ChE 72 into the Academy of Distin-guished Engineering Alumni; and Jeffrey L.Brinen ChE 85, Ph.D. 89 and Cheryl A. Perkins,Chem 83, ChE 89 into the Council of OutstandingYoung Alumni. I know there are additionalalumni deserving of recognition. Please help us tohonor them by submitting nominations to me forfuture awards.

As you can see from the cover, construction hasbegun on the Environmental Science andTechnology (ES&T) building. We have spentmany hours over the past few months goingthrough building plans in order to maximize thespace allocated for chemical engineering. I ampleased to report that we will have classroom,seminar, lab, conference and lecture hall spacedesignated for ChE in this building.

As you may have noted from our Strategic Plan,http://www.che.gatech.edu/information-plan.htm,we wish to produce the most capable chemicalengineers in the world, and to have our graduatesrecognized for their excellent technical, leader-ship, and teamwork skills. We set several goals inour pursuit of this objective, including the formu-lation of a 130-hour (not counting PE) curriculumwith sufficient electives to provide students theflexibility to supplement their core education,broaden the knowledge and skills that sustainlife-long learning, and enhance their opportunityto obtain a minor or certificate.

With lots of effort from the UndergraduateCurriculum Committee (chaired by MarkWhite) and area committees in a number offields at the core of Chemical Engineering, wedeveloped a curriculum that we think will meetmany of our goals. The Institute UndergraduateCurriculum Committee has now approved ourproposed curriculum, and it will become effectivewith fall 2001. Among the things it achieves arethe following:

• 18 hours of electives, 12 hours of technicalelectives, three of which must be in ChemicalEngineering, and six hours of completely freeelectives.

• Integration of course work – faculty committeeshave worked on developing linkages in severalareas, especially in the transport phenomena andseparations sequence, the thermodynamics andphysical chemistry sequence, and the processdesign and safety sequence.

• Greater opportunities for our undergraduates toparticipate in faculty-led research. This will givestudents a view of the frontiers of our discipline,bring them into closer contact with facultymembers, and, we hope, stimulate a higher frac-tion to consider pursuit of advanced degrees.

Improvement of the facilities for laboratorycourses is another action called for in our Strate-gic Plan. Under the leadership of Joe Schorkand Bill Ernst, and with the assistance of JoePolinsky and Elaine Thompson, great progresswas made over the summer and into the fallsemester. The process control lab was completelyrevamped, with about three-fourths of the hard-ware replaced and all of the electronics and soft-ware updated. Several new experiments, includ-ing a packed-bed absorption and CSTR, were putinto the unit operations lab. Within a few weeksa new extraction column experiment will comeon line.

We will continue to be guided by our StrategicPlan and encourage you to view it and relatedmaterial on our web site. As in the past, I urgeyou to let me know if you have questions orcomments on any aspect of the School’sprograms…Let us hear from you!

Professor Ronald W. Rousseau

10

Alumni News1963Walter Busbee, BChE 63/MSChE 71, recently becameChairman of the Chemical andBiological Defense Division ofthe National Defense IndustrialAssociation (NDIA). NDIA is anot-for-profit industry associa-tion focused on national secu-rity issues and efforts to im-prove the industrial base thatsupports the armed forces. Inhis professional life, he servesas President/CEO for MajescoBiologicals, Inc. in Edison,New Jersey.

Allen W. Johnson, an attorneyin Augusta, Ga. will be acti-vated and deployed for mobi-lization and deployment toBosnia with HQ Co 1st Bn121st Infantry (Mechanized)Ga. Army National Guard,Winder, Ga. He will bestationed at Camp Eagle inTuzla, Bosnia from Mar. 2001to October 2001. He will bepart of a peacekeeping effort.

1966Donald B. Givens receivedthe 1999 Air Conditioning andRefrigeration Institute SchulzeAward for distinguished serviceto the industry. He is a SeniorTechnology Fellow withDuPont Fluoroproducts inWilmington, Delaware.

1967Charles Churchman, P.E.,was awarded his Fellow plaqueat the Atlanta ProfessionalChapter of AIChE meeting inSeptember, after being electeda Fellow of AIChE in March.According to ProfessorsHenderson Ward and JudeSommerfeld, Charlie is the 7thGeorgia Tech graduate inChemical Engineering tobecome a Fellow of AIChE.After Charlie graduated from

Tech, he did his graduate workat U.C. Berkeley and Tech. Apast chair of the Atlantasection, he currently is theChief Process Fellow forAGRA-Simons in Decatur,Georgia, and is actively practic-ing in chemical process plantdesign.

1974Artie Schroeder, BChE74/MChE 76 has recentlyformed a new business calledEnergy Valley. Headquarteredin Houston, Texas it bringsmoney, marketing and manage-ment to early stage companiespossessing technologies andtalent of potentially extraordi-nary value to the energy indus-try. The company addresses avoid created in the last severalyears as major energy produc-ers and service companieshave moved away from tech-nology development in anattempt to shore-up short termprofits during a period of lowproduct prices. As pricescontinue to firm, EnergyValley’s technologies areexpected to play a significantrole in increasing energyproduction in a safe and envi-ronmental responsible manner.More information can be foundby visiting the company’s website at www.EnergyValley.net.

1983Brian Lander recently wasappointed Manager, QualityAssurance at Eastman ChemicalCompany’s Carolina Operationsin Columbia, S.C. Eastman’sCarolina Operations producespackaging plastics for use inthe beverage and food packag-ing industry and is the largestmanufacturer of PET (polyeth-ylene terephthalate) polymer inthe U.S.

1984Alice Williams Griffin andher husband, Mike, announcethe birth of a daughter, LauraPatrice, on July 9. Laura joinsolder brother Matthew, 5, atthe family’s home in Kingsport,Tenn., where Alice is a busi-ness unit manager for EastmanChemical Corporation.

1985Enrique A. Vizoso has beennamed executive director oflogistics for Cummins EngineCompany. Vizoso, his wife,Karyn F. Vizoso, ISyE 86, andtheir family relocated from SanLuis Potosi, Mexico, toMemphis, Tenn.

1986Elaine Hare-Sturm and herhusband, Ray, announce thebirth of a son, Jason Eric, onAug. 21. The family lives inSpartanburg, S.C., where Hare-Sturm is the environmentalmanager for Milliken Chemical.

1987John Hammond was recentlynamed Vice President, e-Prod-uct Management for ChemCon-nect, Inc., the leading globalchemical industry B2Bexchange and chemical trans-action Internet company. Johnjoined ChemConnect(www.chemconnect.com) inApril 2000 as an e-ProductManager, Specialty & FineChemicals, after nearly thirteenyears with DuPont.

1988Steven R. Alexander, BChE88/PhD ChE 92, is a SeniorProduction Engineer forCelanese Chemicals EuropeGmbH. After graduating from

Tech, he married ChristineFullmer (Masters in Architec-ture, Ga. Tech 91) and went towork for Celanese (thenHoechst Celanse). Theymoved to Texas and now havetwo sons: Christopher Ray andStefan Charles. Steven workedat the Corpus Christi TechnicalCenter from 92 until 95 as aDevelopment Engineer. Hethen started project work on anAcrylic Acid facility expansionin Clear Lake, Texas for 95 and96 and worked on the projectteam for a Greenfield AcrylicAcid and Butyl Acrylatecomplex in Böhlen, Germanyfrom late 96 until early 98. Hetransferred off this project teamand worked as a Process Engi-neer at the Acrylic Acid expan-sion facility in Clear Lake for98. In early 99, He went toGermany for the constructionof the Böhlen project as aProduction Engineer, which iswrapping up.

He says, “building and operat-ing a plant in the former EastGermany has been a real expe-rience. Working with construc-tion contractors that spoke noEnglish and no German wasvery interesting. We hadcontractors on site from nearlyevery country in Europe. It’samazing what you can accom-plish with pictures, mime, andshouting. However, start-upwas on time, under budget andon spec. We have spent thelast year working out a fewbugs and getting the Germanstaff trained and experienced.In Clear Lake we had theluxury of a fully trained staff.In Germany we had to startfrom scratch, in a foreignlanguage. I hope to be movingon to my next assignment inJune of 2001. It will probablybe back in the States, but Ihave no firm idea at this pointwhat it will be or where.”

11

Steven R. Duke was awardedthe Birdsong Superior TeachingAward given April 21, 2000, atAuburn University. This is thehighest teaching award givenby the Auburn College of Engi-neering and it carries a $10,000prize. Steve has served as anAssistant Professor of ChemicalEngineering since 1996. Helives in Auburn, Ala. with hiswife Robin and their childrenKate (6) and Bram (4).

1991Todd A. Whittemore andMegan Lane Whittemore,announce the birth of their son,Brendan Joshua, on June 1.The family, including big sisterCourtney, lives in Singapore,where Todd is a senior processengineer for Shell Chemicals,working on the design of anolefins/aromatics complex.Megan is on leave fromBP/Amoco.

1994Laura Taylor and herhusband, Bill, announce thebirth of a daughter, KathleenElizabeth, on Aug. 4. Thefamily lives in Massachusetts,where Bill is a senior MEMSdesign engineer for Intel-liSense and Laura is a full-timemother.

1999Heather Simon and BrianPyne, IE 96, were married onFeb. 26 in Chapel Hill, N.C.Brian is an organization andhuman performance consultantwith Andersen Consulting andHeather is a process engineer-ing with Honeywell. Thecouple lives in Durham, N.C.

O B I T U A R I E S

1934 Mr. Shelton E. Hendricks ofCovington, Louisiana on June12, 2000. Mr. Hendricks wasthe retired President of Interna-tional Lubricants.

1936Leon Kaniecki of Clearwater,Fla. on Aug. 19. Mr. Kanieckiwas retired as vice president ofCity Service International,formerly Tenn Corp. He was acommander in the Navy duringWorld War II and retired fromthe Reserve as a captain.

Mr. Rayford P. Kytle of Rich-mond, Virginia on January 5,2001. Mr. Kytle was the VicePresident of Reynolds MetalsCompany.

Dr. Wilber B. Ratterree ofAthens, Georgia on April 26,2000. Dr. Ratterree was retiredfrom the University of Georgia.

1939John Clayton Jacobs, Jr. ofBrenham, Texas on May 21. Mr.Jacobs retired in 1980 as vicechairman of the board of TexasEastern Transmission Corp. Mr.Jacobs, who graduated from YaleLaw school in 1948, earlier hadserved as an attorney in Dallasand, before law school, as anengineer. He was a member ofOmicron Delta Kappa and AlphaChi Sigma engineering fraterni-ties and Beta Theta Pi socialfraternity.

Mr. Charles C. Rippberger ofAlbuquerque, New Mexico onJuly 20, 2000.

1941Matthew H. H. Manley ofPowder Springs, Ga., on July15, 1999. Mr. Manley wasretired as a chemical engineerfrom TVA in 1980. He was aNavy veteran of World War II.

1943Mr. Hugh N. Powell of Madi-son, Wis. on June 27, 2000.Mr. Powell was a retired facultymember from University ofWisconsin.

1948 Dr. Peter K. Baumgarten ofAiken, South Carolina on July16, 2000. Dr. Baumgarten wasa retired employee of E.I.DuPont.

Mr. Don T. Evans of RockyMount, North Carolina onAugust 30, 2000.

1949 Mr. W. E. Saunderson ofCockeysville, Maryland inDecember 2000. Mr. Saunder-son was a retired employee ofRayonier, Inc.

1950 Mr. Artie R. Ward of Holly-wood, Florida on May 16, 1999.

1953Wen Han Li , ChE 53, ofHixson, Tenn., on Nov. 11,1999. Mr. Li was retired fromE.I. DuPont.

1998 Class Contribution to the 2000AIChE National Student DesignCompetition

As a follow up to the article “2000 AIChE National StudentDesign Competition” which appeared in the Summer 2000issue, it is important to acknowledge that hard working Techstudents enrolled in the ChE Plant Design course in spring of1998 solved a preliminary version of the problem. The earlyversion had not been written with the contest in mind;however, after the authors saw the quality of the solutions bysome of the Tech students and their high level of interest inthe subject, they decided that with some modifications, theproblem would be ideal for the contest. The authors learnedmuch as a result of the efforts of the Tech class. For exam-ple, for the National Contest problem we felt it necessary thatthe scope be reduced a slight bit, that more data on variousunit operations and reactors be provided, and that drivingconditions be more well defined.

The fact that the 1998 class had already solved a version ofthis problem was purposely withheld from the article forsecurity reasons, because at the time the article was written,the National contest was taking place. The input of thestudents from the class of 1998 was acknowledged during theAIChE 2000 National Meeting in Los Angeles this fall, whenDr. Matthew Realff presented to the judges the solution tothe problem during the session on the Contest Problem. Nosolutions were sent to AIChE from either the 1998 or 2000classes at Georgia Tech.

We Welcome Your Questions, Comments or News:

ChE Newsletter:Josie Giles (404) 385-2299

Email: josie.giles@che.gatech.edu

ChE Alumni News:Kelsey Evans (404) 894-0987

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

School of Chemical EngineeringGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA 30332-0100www.che.gatech.edu

Alumni/ae: What Are You Doing?You may mail your news, fax it to 404-894-2866

or e-mail it to kelsey.evans@che.gatech.edu

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