S C H O O L O F C H E M I C A L & B I O M O L E C U L A R E N G I N E E R I N GG E O R G I A I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O LO G YAT L A N TA , G E O R G I A

� Guest Editorial: Our GreatestChallenge by Clinton Bastin, ChE ‘50 ...............................................2

� ChBE Welcomes AssistantProfessor Lakeshia Taite..........4

� ChBE Welcomes Melisa Baldwin as Its NewDirector of Development......5 ChBEnews

C. Judson King Becomes First Speaker to Deliver Two ChBE Named Lectures

W I N T E R / S P R I N G V O LU M E 1 5 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 0 8

C. Judson King, a 45-year veteran of theUniversity of California system, became the firstindividual to deliver both of ChBE’s named lec-tures. In 1989, he was the fifth Ashton CaryLecturer and last fall, he gave the tenthConocoPhillips/C.J. “Pete” Silas Lecture inEthics and Leadership. This honor is not sur-prising given the diverse roles in which he hasexcelled throughout his academic career. Dr.King officially stepped down from his eight-yearposition as provost and senior vice president ofacademic affairs of the University of Californiasystem in 2003, but has remained on theBerkeley campus as the director of the Centerfor Studies in Higher Education. Since joiningthe University of California in 1963, Dr. Kinghas served in a variety of academic and adminis-trative posts, including as system-wide viceprovost for research. At Berkeley, he has servedas provost of professional schools and colleges,dean of the College of Chemistry, and chair ofthe Department of Chemical Engineering.

In addition to his academic appointments, Dr.King is also a member of the National Academyof Engineering, has chaired a number of activi-ties of the Academy and the National ResearchCouncil, and has been closely involved with theCalifornia Council on Science and Technology.He was a co-founder and subsequently chair ofthe Council for Chemical Research. He hasreceived awards from the American Institute ofChemical Engineers, the American ChemicalSociety, the American Society for Engineering

Education, the Council for Chemical Research,and the Yale Science and Engineering Associ-ation. Dr. King has published more than 240papers with colleagues and wrote the textbookSeparation Processes, which was widely usedthrough two editions.

Dr. King’s successes in chemical engineeringand in academia are rivaled by very few, makinghim a natural choice to speak on the ethicalchallenges facing research universities today. Hebegan his lecture, entitled “Ethics and Leader-ship: Reflections from a Public ResearchUniversity,” by commenting that the broad sub-ject of ethics and leadership is one that thosewho work in science and engineering must payparticular attention, especially those who workat a public research institution. He then nar-rowed the topic into five major categories ofethical consideration: selection of research top-ics, handling of ethically sensitive material, rela-tionships with industry and donors, and the lessexpected topics of admissions procedures andthe content of education itself.

The drive towards accountability is very impor-tant, Dr. King said,and as the climateof ethical concernschanges, research institu-tions must adapt andchange with them. Hesaid that public interestcombined with the

financial support of both individuals and indus-tries places universities in a position where theymust balance issues such as academic freedom,research topics, and admissions criteria. Citingan issue that arose in California, Dr. King illus-trated how public opinion can impact researchfunding. Once the tobacco industry came underattack after the revelation that they had fullknowledge of the addictive and damagingeffects of smoking, about 15 different University

Continued on page 4

Cracking a Hard Problem: Recovering Calcium Carbonate from Eggs

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By Clinton Bastin, ‘50

America’s energy crisis began in 1970when we lost the ability to produceenough oil to meet demands. The 1973oil embargo, high gas prices, and longlines at gas pumps were a wake-up call tomost Americans. In response to theseemerging energy challenges, electric utili-ty companies stopped converting coalplants to oil and ordered the construc-tion of nuclear plants; the Navy builtmore nuclear-powered ships and sub-marines; and President Richard Nixondeclared a national commitment to effi-cient use of nuclear materials.

Additionally, the Atomic Energy Commission implemented changes toavoid problems from the use and export of laboratory reprocessing technol-ogy and provided accurate information about energy and nuclear technologyto Americans.

American individuals and private corporations also consciously began doingtheir part to use energy more efficiently by developing fuel-efficient automo-biles, organizing carpools, insulating homes, and building rapid rail transportsystems such as the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

During the first twelve years of the energy crisis, our use of oil decreased by19 percent. Then, America’s leaders created the Department of Energy(DOE) and Americans went back to sleep.

Unfortunately, the DOE stopped providing accurate information to thepublic about energy and nuclear technology. Natural gas became the fuel ofchoice for generating electricity, which tripled the cost to heat homes andproduced additional chemicals in the environment. During the past 20years, our use of oil has increased 30 percent and continues to rise.

President George W. Bush said we must end our addiction to imported oiland build nuclear power plants. However, the Southern Company andother electricity suppliers plan to build new plants.

Nuclear power is our safest, least polluting, and potentially mostabundant source of usable energy. But nuclear materials must be usedmore efficiently in facilities that preclude access to or accumulation ofweapons-usable materials.

Our long neglect of energy issues has created the greatest-ever challenge toAmerica’s leaders, managers, scientists, and engineers. We should learnfrom the past by applying lessons from earlier energy challenges to the ener-gy crisis we are facing today.

Clinton Bastin, ‘50, provided technical leadership for U.S. nuclear programs andnonproliferation initiatives. The Russian Ministry adopted his ideas for worker-man-ager partnerships for improved safety for Atomic Energy and the Russian NuclearWorkers Union.

Clinton Bastin

Our Greatest Challenge

Dr. Jeffrey Hsieh and his team of researchers have successfully developed anovel separation technology and built a pilot-scale separation facility to recov-er calcium carbonate from eggshells for commercial use. Funded by Georgia’sTraditional Industries Program for Food Processing, the project focused ondeveloping a process that extracts value-added byproducts from eggshellwaste. More than 37 million pounds of eggshells find their way to landfillseach year in Georgia.

Dr. Hsieh proposes that there is an alternative to wasting the calcium carbon-ate from eggshells because it is renewable and can be used as a partial substi-tute for mined calcium carbonate, which is used in paper and plastic manu-facturing. For example, the calcium carbonate can be used as a component inink jet paper coatings or compounded into plastics to reduce the use of petro-leum-based products.

Working with industrial partner American Dehydrated Foods (ADF), theresearch team constructed a pilot-scale separation facility at ADF’s egg pro-cessing plant in Social Circle, Ga. The pilot-scale system can process 500pounds of eggshells per day, thus allowing researchers to generate greater vol-umes of calcium carbonate for use in product testing and to evaluate the sys-tem’s design under actual process conditions.

The pilot unit, explains Dr. Hsieh, has a series of washing stations that sub-ject the eggshells to severe agitation in order to separate the membrane fromthe calcium carbonate. The eggshells are ground into small pieces and fedthrough the system counter to the flow of water. This countercurrent pathhelps to separate the membrane from the calcium carbonate. The membrane

is lighter than water and floats out, whereas the calcium carbonate fallsthrough to the bottom.

“The ultimate goal is to have a calcium carbonate that is clean, or in otherwords, has no biologic activity, with a very low level of membrane stillattached,” says Dr. Hsieh. The membrane has to be at low levels so that sub-sequent grinding of the calcium carbonate is not impaired. The research teamhas been able to make a clean calcium carbonate and reduce the amount ofmembrane. But, Dr. Hsieh says, the membrane still has to be reduced more.

Researchers are now exploring methods to reduce the amount of remainingmembrane. “We have shown that the amount of membrane can be reducedto slightly below a two percent level with only mechanical separation,” saysDr. Hsieh. The team has decided on evaluating three different approaches toreduce the membrane.

Interest in the project remains strong among industrial collaborators. EvCoResearch, a supplier of coating and wet end treatment chemicals to the paperindustry; Imerys, a mineral processor; and Heritage Plastics, a plastics com-pounder and processor, have all expressed a desire to use the calcium carbon-ate in the manufacturing of their products.

Ultimately, the project should yield significant environmental benefits. Dr.Hsieh says that the “successful conclusion of the project will provide thepoultry industry with an environmentally better solution than landfillingeggshells. In addition, the calcium carbonate can be used to replace petrole-um-based plastics, reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil feedstocks.”

GerriCarlos Barroso’s, ‘80, dedi-cation to his career isequaled only by his passionfor his family. Like manywho pursue chemical engi-neering, he enjoyed mathand science in high school.Yet unlike most, he alsoexplored the “real world” ofthe profession prior to enter-ing college. In his senioryear of high school, he visit-ed Bell Labs and met withseveral chemical engineers.“I knew immediately that itwas the right choice for me,”he said. Selecting Georgia

Tech for his studies was a logical decision for Carlos because he receivedin-state tuition and it offered a program in chemical engineering. Heappreciated the practical, real-world approach the Institute offered andcredits that environment for contributing enormously to his successfulcareer. As a member of ChBE’s External Advisory Board for five years,Carlos has had the opportunity to visit campus numerous times and learnmore about the current ChBE program. He says that those same qualitiesthat benefited him in the late seventies are still true today. “I think it’s apoint of differentiation among the top engineering schools,” he said.Carlos is extremely impressed with how GT, the College of Engineering,and of course, the school of ChBE have grown in capability since he wasa student and he is “very proud and grateful to be an alum.”

A pattern involving food and international enterprise was establishedearly in Carlos’ career. Upon graduation, he was about to decline a joboffer from Procter & Gamble until the recruiter, John Brock, ‘70, M.S.‘71, inquired if Carlos would be interested in the coffee division. The pos-sibility of applying his engineering training to the complexities of thefood industry piqued his interest. Carlos says that he “loves the challengeof trying to marry the art of flavor with the science of category andprocesses.” After three years in Cincinnati, he transferred to Italy to workwith P&G’s coffee business. Next, he worked for a few years in P&G’spaper division, which he says was a great experience and included moreassignments that were international. However, Carlos says that his “heartremained in the food & beverage business,” so it was a natural fit whenPespsiCo’s Frito-Lay division offered him a position in its internationalresearch and development group. Carlos started with the Latin Americandivision in 1996, added the Asia Pacific division in 2000, and in 2002, hemoved to his current position as senior vice president of research anddevelopment for PepsiCo International, which includes all of the compa-ny’s food and snack divisions.

In addition to serving on ChBE’s External Advisory Board, Carlos serveson the Board of Trustees for the Dallas Opera and has volunteered withJunior Achievement for many years. Although he travels a lot for his job,Carlos often travels for pleasure. He spends almost all of his free timewith his wife, Kay, and their sons, Michael and Andrew, who all enjoy ski-ing, boating, and hiking. The family also enjoys trying new restaurantsand Carlos loves all types of food, which, of course, is fortunate given hisline of business.

Dr. William Koros recently gave an interview toAtlanta television station WXIA reporter MarcPickard. What was the topic? Precisely what is onevery Georgian’s mind right now: the continuingdrought and what to do about the state’s waterresources. Dr. Koros’ research involves the compli-cated science of membrane-based gas separationand selected liquid separation topics. As an experton using high-tech membranes to filter impuritiesfrom water, Dr. Koros commented on the feasibili-ty of Georgia employing desalination of oceanwater to help solve its water-shortage crisis.

“Desalination is really just a super-fine filtrationthat’s actually able to pull even ions out of thewater, and ions are incredibly small entities,” Dr.Koros says. However, although desalination is a rel-atively simple process that has been used since theend of World War II, he does not believe that it isan economically realistic option for Georgia.

Dr. Koros explains that for every 100 gallons ofuntreated ocean water that come into the filter, 60gallons come out and return to the ocean, but theremaining 40 gallons come out as purified freshwater. It takes ten times the energy to desalinate

ocean water than to purify ground or surfacewater, and because Atlanta is landlocked, piping itinto the city would be an expensive operation.Atlanta is approximately 250 miles from the shoresof Savannah, Ga. and almost 300 miles fromPanama City, Fla. Although it is reasonable tounderstand why desalination is a viable solutionfor coastal cities like Tampa, Fla., which provides10% of the city’s 2.4 million inhabitants withfresh water, Dr. Koros says that “I think the wisestthing is not to try to run off and spend a lot ofmoney doing that but rather to figure out how todo things more efficiently.”

Although membranes can be used for water purifi-cation, Dr. Koros is currently using water to helpsolve another crisis on the minds of Georgians, therising cost of gas. Dr. Koros, along with Dr. SankarNair and a team of researchers, is working on twoseparation projects aimed at improving the energyefficiency of the biofuel process so as to eliminatethe expensive and energy-intensive distillationprocess. A membrane-based approach minimizesthe need to supply heat energy, and instead relieson differences in the transport rates of the compo-nents through a membrane to achieve separation.

The challenge is in producing selective membranesystems that can produce pure ethanol.

Currently, Drs. Koros and Nair are exploring mem-branes that contain nanoparticles of porous inor-ganic materials called zeolites that are so small theycan be dispersed efficiently into a polymer matrix.The very specific porosity of the zeolite shouldallow separation of ethanol from water. By usingtwo membranes in series—the first hydrophobic toremove ethanol from a large mass of water and thesecond hydrophilic to remove any trace water inthe ethanol product from the first membrane—itmay be possible to design an economical mem-brane process for biofuel separation from water.

External Advisory Board ProfileCarlos J. Barroso, ‘80

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Researchers Address Practical Solutions to Water and Gas Crises

Shown left to right: Kay, Michael, Andrew,and Carlos Barroso on vacation in the SanJuan Islands.

William Koros (right) and postdoctoral fellowWulin Qiu working in the laboratory.

Although it has only been two years since Dr. Lakeshia Taite completedher doctoral and postdoctoral training, the native of Grove Hill, Alabamahas already achieved an impressive number of accomplishments, includingseveral awards. After earning her undergraduate degree in chemical engi-neering from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where she partici-pated in a computer-based honors program that included research experi-ences in chemistry and chemical engineering, she entered the graduate pro-gram at Rice University.

Dr. Taite completed her thesis work in bioengineering titled “Biocom-patible Copolymers for Localized Cardiovascular Drug Delivery and TissueEngineering” in December 2005, and received the Ralph Budd Award forBest Engineering Thesis as well as the Outstanding Thesis in Bioengi-neering award. Her research focused on development and application ofnitric oxide-releasing materials for prevention of arterial disease andincreasing patency of small-diameter vascular grafts, as well as developmentof biomimetic materials for the study of cellular interactions at the vascularwall. In addition to receiving two awards for her thesis, Dr. Taite was aNational Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education andthe Professoriate (AGEP) Fellow and an NSF Integrated GraduateEducation Research Traineeship (IGERT) Fellow in Cellular Engineeringwhile at Rice. She also participated in research activities within the Centerfor Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology.

Prior to defending her thesis, Dr. Taite completed an NSF IGERT-spon-sored internship in 2005 in the Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine andPharmacobiology (LMRP) at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne(EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she gained research experience incombinatorial chemistry and gene delivery. The LMRP conducts researchin the field of biomaterials, with applications in tissue engineering anddrug delivery. The LMRP is one of the world’s premier research entities ofits kind and tends to select research problems requiring a substantial under-standing of biology and the development of novel materials. Additionally,Jeff Hubbell, who heads the group, is one of the top biomaterialsresearchers in the world. Dr. Taite’s acceptance as an intern at LMRP is a

distinction reflective of her talentat such an early point in her pro-fessional career.

Dr. Taite joined the School in fall2007 as an assistant professor aftercompleting an eighteen-monthpostdoctoral fellowship in bioengi-neering at the University ofWashington in Seattle. Herresearch focus while atWashington was on syntheticmatrices for long-term protein stor-age, which was part of a collabora-tive effort funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s GrandChallenges in Global Health to develop a rugged microfluidics-based diag-nostic device for improvement of global health.

A bright smile and infectious enthusiasm for her work are evident to bothDr. Taite’s students and colleagues. She says that she is very excited aboutbeing at Georgia Tech and although her research group is just now form-ing, her graduate and undergraduate researchers are eagerly beginninginterdisciplinary research projects. The projects span several fields, includ-ing localized drug delivery, diagnostics, tissue engineering, and regenerativemedicine with the goal of producing biocompatible materials having broadclinical relevance.

After spending eighteen months dealing with the ceaseless rain in Seattle,Dr. Taite says that she is “glad to be back in the South, closer to home andfamily” and is looking forward to exploring Atlanta. When she is not inthe lab, you are likely to find her relaxing with her favorite pastimes,including baking, reading about almost any subject, and listening to music.

The School welcomes Dr. Taite and looks forward to the contributions shewill make to GT and the chemical and biomolecular engineering discipline.

ChBE Welcomes Professor Lakeshia Taite

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of California professors were pres-sured to relinquish their fundingfrom the tobacco industry. Peoplebelieved the tobacco giants couldnot be trusted to use the results ofthe research in an ethical manner.Essentially, because they had beendeceptive in the past, they lost cred-ibility in the public eye. Now thatuniversities commonly partner withindustries to fund and advanceresearch, engineers and scientistsmust consider not only their ownethical decisions in the lab but alsothe ethical choices of those whofund their research.

“Academic research needs to becross-fertilized with industry,” Dr.King said. “It helps make thingsmove along more efficiently andmore economically.” He believes

that ethical issues may be con-trolled through practical policiessuch as technology licensing, publi-cation policies, facility usage, andhandling research misconduct.Scientists must also consider thepotential restrictions that may beplaced on their research whensecuring private and federal fund-ing. They must be mindful thatwhen working with industry part-ners, public access may be restricteddue to confidentiality require-ments, damaging results may not bepublicized, and ownership ofpatents may not belong to theresearch investigator.

When federal programs fundresearch, the influence on thenature and scope of the projectoften increases because scientists

must draft proposals on topics thathave a better chance for approval.

When dealing with an ethical ques-tion, whether it is a sensitive topicsuch as stem cell research, selectionof curriculum content, or industryrelations, scientists must put them-selves apart from the controversy athand. Dr. King said that it is “use-ful and perhaps necessary whendealing with these issues that youhave to be able to explain to allsides that you are looking at it seri-ously, that you do not have a prede-termined position, and that you aresimply looking for the best outcomeand taking all views into account.”

Dr. King concluded his lecture byemphasizing that maintaining strictethical standards is an integral part

of what engineers must do in thelaboratory, in the classroom, and inthe workplace.

The ConocoPhillips/C.J. “Pete”Silas Program in Ethics andLeadership was established to incor-porate principles of ethics into theChBE curriculum and to bring alecturer to campus each year tospeak on practical methods ofapplying these complex ethical prin-ciples in the current scientific com-munity. Dr. King believes that engi-neers have an advantage whenfaced with ethical dilemmas. Hesaid, “engineering tends to be solu-tion oriented, and the tools of engi-neering thinking are useful becauseof the tendency to be able to struc-ture a very complex situation andderive the essentials back out of it.”

Ethics continued from page 1

Dr. Lakeshia Taite

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Alumni and Friends of the School:

In the last newsletter, I pointed out the importance of transitions and renew-al to the vibrancy of an academic community. This year we mark more ofthese: after 14 years as president, G. Wayne Clough leaves Georgia Tech tobecome Secretary of The Smithsonian Institution (www.si.edu). The legacy ofthe Clough presidency is marked by accomplishments in many arenas, includ-ing growth in research, enrollments, facilities, and resources. Provost GarySchuster has been named interim president and, by the time you read this, aSearch Committee will have been formed and charged to recommend candi-dates to the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia (www.usg.edu)and the Board of Regents.

Other transitions that I want to highlight include personnel actions thatbecome effective July 1, 2008: Sujit Banerjee has been awarded tenure asprofessor, Rachel Chen has been awarded tenure as associate professor,YulinDeng has been promoted to professor and awarded tenure, and Chris Joneshas been promoted to professor. Additionally, Lakeshia Taite (see oppositepage) joined the faculty last fall. Elsa Reichmanis and David Sholl (look forfeature profiles on both in the next issue of ChBENews) joined the faculty inJanuary. Elsa is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a former

President of the American Chemical Society, and wasdirector of the Materials Research Department atBell Labs, Lucent Technologies. Her researchinterests include the chemistry, properties, andapplication of materials technologies for photonic

and electronic applications, with particular focuson polymeric and nanostructured materials for

advanced technologies. David holds TheMichael E. Tennenbaum Family Chair

and is the Georgia Research Alliance(GRA) Eminent Scholar for EnergySustainability. His research focuseson materials whose macroscopicdynamic and thermodynamicproperties are stronglyinfluenced by their atomic-scale structure.

The School of Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering has

an outstanding group of faculty members, and the awards and recognitionsresulting from their accomplishments confirm that opinion. But I would liketo highlight that the group includes six women: Sue Ann Bidstrup Allen,Rachel Chen, Martha Grover Gallivan, Hang Lu, Elsa Reichmanis, andLakeshia Taite. Michelle Dawson will be added this fall and JulieChampion in fall 2009, bringing the total number to eight. While this isalmost 25% of the faculty, our undergraduate and graduate student popula-tions are about 40% women. Don’t get me wrong: I do not think demo-graphics of student and faculty populations need to match in order to havegreat educational and research programs; on the other hand, we want ourstudents to see and have the full range of career opportunities, so matchingthese demographics is a desirable goal. Accordingly, while we take pride inthe number of women who are our colleagues, we recognize that our goal isstill before us, both with respect to gender and even more dramatically withrespect to progress in developing ethnic diversity.

Many of you had communications with Jenny Daley Peterson in her role asdirector of development for ChBE, and know that she left GT to accept apart-time role with The Children’s School in Atlanta. We are happy to intro-duce Melisa Baldwin (see above) as the new director of development forChBE. She is an experienced development officer, having been a GT region-al director of development with responsibilities for Florida and theCaribbean since January 2007, and prior to that, director of major gifts atGeorgia State University. I am confident you will enjoy meeting with her asshe interacts with you in fulfilling our development goals.

Finally, congratulations go to our outstanding graduates—for the year(Summer 07 through Spring 08), 60 B.S., 5 M.S., and 31 Ph.D. degrees wereawarded. We trust that they will go on to successful careers and that somewill join their forerunners that were honored with College of EngineeringAwards in November: Hall of Fame: John Burson, ‘55, M.S. Met ‘63, Ph.D.ChE ‘64 and George Spindler, ‘61; Academy of Distinguished EngineeringAlumni: Lewis Lee Rich, ‘74 and Richard Zalesky, ‘78; Council ofOutstanding Young Engineering Alumni: Dan Floyd, ‘97 and BrittanyRobinson, ‘95. Visit the website chbe.gatech.edu/alumni/awards.php to see thenames of all past award winners and criteria for nominations. Please sendme the names and brief biographical and professional information on thoseyou consider appropriate nominations. My email address isrwr@chbe.gatech.edu.

Melisa Baldwinjoined the Schoolas the director ofdevelopment inearly May, bringingwith her morethan ten years ofmajor gift and cor-porate developmentexperience in a col-legiate environment.Melisa previously

served as a regional director for Georgia Tech cov-ering Florida and the Caribbean.

She says, “I am very excited to be a part of theChBE team. There are wonderful funding

opportunities in the School, including scholar-ships, fellowships, chairs, and professorships.”Through her experience working at GT andother college campuses, Melisa recognizes thatalumni and friends play a huge role in the suc-cess of academic and research programs throughtheir generous gifts.

She says, “I look forward to talking with everyonewho is interested in learning more about theSchool and its financial needs to ensure we con-tinue to offer the best education and researchopportunities for our students and faculty.”

Prior to working at GT, Melisa served asdirector of major gifts at Georgia State Universityand worked extensively in development at the

University of Florida and the University of NorthFlorida in the area of health and medicine.

Melisa enjoys spending time with family andfriends, including her husband, Mark, their twocats, and two dachshunds. They enjoy trivia, play-ing tennis, and exploring the changing landscapeof Midtown and downtown Atlanta.

Her experience as a regional director increasedher love for travel, and Melisa is eager to visitwith ChBE alumni and friends. To inquire aboutgift opportunities within ChBE or to arrange forMelisa to visit with you, please contact her byphone at 404-894-0987 or via email atmelisa.baldwin@chbe.gatech.edu.

Message from the Chair

ChBE Welcomes Melisa Baldwin as Its New Director of Development

Melisa Baldwin

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Dr. Sue Ann Bidstrup Allen recently received two awards. She wasselected by the Council for Chemical Research to receive the 2007-08Diversity Award. The award is given to an individual whose leadershiphas had a positive impact on advancement of minorities, women, andunderrepresented groups within chemistry-based sciences and engineer-ing through recruitment, retention, mentoring and increased access toresearch careers. Dr. Bidstrup Allen also received the 2008 SharonKeillor Award. The award is given by the American Society ofEngineering Education to recognize and honor outstanding women engi-neering educators.

Dr. Andreas Bommarius was elected to the College of Fellows of theAmerican Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Hewas selected for this honor because of his exceptional contributions tomedical and biological engineering. Election to AIMBE places him with-in the top two percent of the medical and biological engineering commu-nity comprising AIMBE. AIMBE has earned a reputation as a prestigiouspublic policy leader on issues impacting the medical and biological com-munity and is the preeminent voice on the subject. Through its Collegeof Fellows, Academic Council, Council of Societies and IndustryCouncil, AIMBE represents approximately 50,000 influential leadersacross the globe.

Dr. Victor Breedveld received the 2008 Ziegler Outstanding FacultyAward. Additionally, he developed a 5th grade science module,“Supermarket Science: Complex Fluids in Everyday Life,” which was pre-sented in the classroom in January and at the Georgia Science TeacherAssociation meeting in Athens in February. (Look for a feature storyabout the module in the next issue of ChBENews.)

The School welcomed four new NSF Fellows in 2007: Krystle Chavez,Andria Deaguerro, Mallarie McCune, and Jennifer Munson. Krystlealso received a Goizueta Fellowship and Mallarie received a FACESFellowship from Georgia Tech.

Invited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Rachel Chen gave a talkon “Metabolic Engineering for Medically Important Oligo- andPolysaccharides” at the International Symposium of IndustrialBiotechnology held last fall in Beijing. She also received grants of morethan $500,000 from the USDA and Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) todevelop a novel enzyme system for biomass process (USDA) and cellu-lolytic microbes for biofuels (GRA).

Dr. Yulin Deng’s research group published 16 papers in 2007. Hisresearch covers a broad area including nanotechnology, biomaterials andenergy, polymers, and papermaking. In collaboration with Dr. Z. L. Wangin GT’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, his research groupfound that by coating a UV responsive polymer thin layer to a ZnOnanobelt, the conductivity of the ZnO nanobelt could increase 107 timesunder UV radiation. This nanomaterial can be used to fabricate a highlysensitive nanosensor. This work has been published in the Journal of theAmerican Chemical Society. Dr. Deng was also elected to the editorial boardof the Journal of Biomaterials and Bioenergy.

Dr. Cerag Dilek, who is a postdoctoral fellow working with Drs. CharlesEckert and Charles Liotta, received a best paper award from TheAmerican Ceramic Society, The Nuclear & Environmental TechnologyDivision. The award is for a paper on Recyclable CO2-soluble binders for

injection molding of metal and ceramic parts that she presented at the2006 Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition.

Dr. Larry Forney wrote chapter 28, “Advances in DisinfectionTechniques for Water Reuse,” for the text Improving Water and EnergyManagement in Food Processing. The book was published in 2007. He pre-sented a paper, entitled “Optimum UV Pasteurization of Juices,” at theWorld Congress on Ozone and Ultraviolet Technologies in Los Angeles.

Dr. Tom Fuller received the Research Award of the Energy TechnologyDivision of The Electrochemical Society. He presented an invited lectureto the physics department at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotiain late October. The talk was entitled, “Durability of Proton ExchangeMembrane Fuel Cells,” and highlighted the work that his group has beencarrying out. The challenges that Dr. Fuller’s research group are address-ing include chemical attack of the membrane, carbon corrosion, and plat-inum instability. His students, Wu Bi, Kevin Gallagher, Cheng Chenand Norimitsu Takeuchi, described progress toward solving these chal-lenges during four presentations at the 212th Meeting of the Electro-chemical Society in Washington, DC. Additionally, a recent gift of$200,000 from the Hartley Foundation allowed Dr. Fuller to purchasenew research equipment and continue studying the degradation of fuelcells and how to improve/extend the life cycle and technology of theseenergy devices.

Dr. Martha Grover Gallivan gave invited lectures at the University ofPittsburgh, Auburn University, and UCLA.

Dr. Dennis Hess was appointed to the Thomas C. DeLoach Jr., Chair.

Dr. Christopher Jones received an Instrumentation Grant fromMicromeritics that provided his research group with an AutoChem II2920 Catalyst Characterization System. The instrument will directlyenable new research approaches in 21 projects covering four differentresearch groups and will play a central role in catalysis and adsorptive separa-tion research. Dr. Jones’s paper, “On the Nature of the Catalytic Species inPalladium Catalyzed Heck and Suzuki Couplings—Homogeneous orHeterogeneous Catalysis, a Critical Review,” which appeared as the coverarticle in Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis, has been determined to be themost cited paper of 3,449 total papers published in the major catalysisjournals in 2006, according to a search of the Web of Science database ofthe Institute of Scientific Information (ISI).

Dr. William Koros received the 2008 Alan S. Michaels Award forInnovation in Membrane Science and Technology. The $10,000 MichaelsAward, sponsored by the North American Membrane Society (NAMS),recognizes outstanding innovations and exceptional lifetime contributionsto membrane science and technology.

Dr. Hang Lu received the 2008 CETL/BP Junior Faculty TeachingExcellence Award.

Recent graduate Andrew Marin, ‘08, was named a Gates CambridgeScholar. Gates Cambridge scholars are selected on the basis of intellectu-al abilities, leadership capacity, and desire to use their knowledge to con-tribute to society throughout the world by providing service to theircommunities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve thelives of others.

Dr. Carson Meredith taught two courses at GT Lorraine in Metz, Francelast summer. Summer 2007 marked the second year ChBE participated inthe program, and 14 students participated. This summer, Dr. VictorBreedveld is teaching in Metz and 15 students are enrolled in two cours-es. Dr. Meredith also gave an invited lecture at the Materials Research

Faculty & StudentNews Briefs

Continued

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Society National Meeting on “Combinatorial Materials Development,” atthe Flanders Materials Centre “Workshop on HighthroughputDevelopment of Organic and Inorganic Coatings” in Ghent, Belgium,and at the Dutch Polymer Institute at the Eindhoven University ofTechnology in the Netherlands.

Dr. Sankar Nair received the Sigma Xi Young Faculty Award for 2008.

Kimberly Nelson, Ph.D. ‘07, received IPST’s 2007 Student of theYear Award. She conducted her doctoral work under the guidance ofDr. Yulin Deng.

Dr. Mark Prausnitz is currently working on a transdermal delivery systemfor drug and alcohol addiction in collaboration with pharmacists at theUniversity of Kentucky. The ongoing project involves collaboration withresearchers in GT’s School of Chemistry and others from MercerUniversity. Dr. Prausnitz, Jin Liu, Ph.D. ‘04, and their collaborator wereissued a new patent entitled “Assessment and Control of Acoustic TissueEffects.” Additionally, Dr. Prausnitz received $11.5 million, along withRichard Compans at Emory University, as the principal investigators on apair of grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health to developself-administered flu vaccine patches delivered using painless micronee-dles as an alternative to hypodermic needles.

Dr. Matthew Realff served as chair of the committee that developed anew sustainable carpet standard, which was approved by the AmericanNational Standards Institute (ANSI) and addresses chemicals and materi-als used in manufacturing carpet, the energy used in production, the useof recycled or bio-based content, methods of disposal and/or reuse, andthe overall environmental performance of manufacturers.

Graduate student Keith Reed served as one of four student members onthe Georgia Tech Advisory Board for 2007-08.

Dr. Amyn Teja presented a seminar entitled “Synthesis and Depositionof Inorganic Nanoparticles in Nearcritical Water” to the college of engi-neering faculty at Koc University in Instanbul, Turkey at the invitation oftheir provost, Dr. Yaman Arkun, who was formerly a member of GT’sChBE faculty. Dr. Teja and his students Anupama Kasturirangan, JamesFalabella, and Michael Beck also presented three papers at the 10thInternational Conference on Fluid Properties and Phase Equilibria forProcess and Product Design held in Crete, Greece last spring.

ChBE’s Association of Chemical Engineering Graduate Students(AChEGS) held the 20th Annual Graduate Student Symposium inMarch. Representatives from 12 corporations attended the event wheregraduate students showcased their research through oral presentationsand poster sessions. From first to third place, award recipients for oralpresentations were: Michelle Kasner, Michael Romeo, and VittoriaBlasucci, and for poster presentations the winners were: Imona Omole,Chris Gill, and Anne Ruffing.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. sponsored the second annualUndergraduate Student Symposium in April. The Symposium wasdesigned to provide ChBE undergraduates who participate in researchthe opportunity to present their work in a public forum. The Schoolgratefully acknowledges Air Products for their sponsorship of both theSymposium and a series of undergraduate awards to support research.From first to third place, this year’s award winners were: Cintia Nojima,Patrick Romine, and Michael Nolan.

The Excellence Awards Banquet is held every year by Georgia Tech’sCollege of Engineering to celebrate the academic excellence and leadershipof its undergraduate female students. This event brings together students,alumni, corporate partners, and Institute leaders to recognize the accom-plishments of female engineering students who have achieved “high hon-ors” status by earning a cumulative GPA of 3.35 or above. As a testimonyto the excellence of CoE’s female undergraduate students, more than 500women, representing nearly a third of its female students, qualified forrecognition at the event this spring. Ninety-nine of the students are major-ing in ChBE. The banquet also provides a platform to recognize studentand faculty leaders through Student Mentoring Awards, Faculty MentoringAwards, and Teaching Excellence Awards, which are given annually.

The overwhelming support of many companies for the banquet reflects agenuine commitment to the success and engagement of women engineersas they develop into future leaders. These corporate sponsors are commit-ted to increasing the number of women in the technical, engineering, andscientific fields. The active role of corporate sponsors gives them theopportunity to positively impact the careers of the best and brightestwomen students at GT. The banquet is made possible by a grant from theKimberly Clark Corporation.

This year, 88 ChBE undergraduate women qualified for recognition byreceiving a GPA of 3.35 or above. These students are:

Samantha Collins Anderson, Joselyn Baety, Jennifer Botwin, FelicityBrower, Courtney Brown, Viktoriya Buchko, Jessica Ong Calkins,Olivia Campos, Brittney Caristinos, Birgitta Caspersen, AlmaCastaneda, Candice Castellino, Sarah Jia-Hwa Chang, Lauren Cheplen,Katherine Croft, Whitney Davis, Kristina Deliso, Caitlin East,

Stephanie England, Shreya Erramilli, Yichen Fang, Ashley Farmer,Karissa Fleming, Iva Franjkic, Laura Cullen Frisbie, Erika Gemzer,Anne Guzzardi, Megan Harris, Holly Hicks, Pamela Jackson, LauraJanke, Emily Jennings, Eunhye Jeong, Erica Johnson, Hye Jin Kim,Nisha Mary Kurian, Bomy Lee Chung, Stephanie Lohr, Kristen Long,Amy McDaniel, Kathrine McFadden, Sarah McKibben, ShaziaMohammad, Danielle Murray, Ashley Newton, Cintia Nojima, MonaHimanshu Parikh, Sohyun Park, Jalpa Shantilal Patel, Krupa R. Patel,Nalini D. Patel, Huong Van Pham, Jacey Planteen, Gina Polimeni,Evelina Ponizhaylo, Anita Prakash, Kaycee Quarles, Jacqueline Rand,Alexandra Reavis, Alana Reynolds, Angela Rice, Carrie Ripberger, ErinRives, Allison Roberts, Lauren Russell, Georgina Schaefer, SydneyShaffer, Megan Shenstone, Kierston Shill, Amanda Sills, ArlyneBellamin Simon, Kendele Snodgrass, Stephanie Springfield, OlesyaSukhareva, Jessica Swearengen, Jemilat Bamidele Taiwo, Anne DouglasTalley, Katherine Taylor, Mongquy Vuong To, Kathryn ReidTramonte, Trinh Phuong Vo, Kellie Walker, Caroline Whitaker,Allison Wing, Meng-Chuan Wu, Hua-Hsiang C. Yu, Merin Zachariah,and Roshu Mary Zachariah.

Additionally, 11 outstanding ChBE students received $1000 scholarshipsat the banquet. Air Products presented awards to Courtney Brown andErin Rives; Alcoa to Karissa Fleming; Dow to Bomy Lee Chung; IBM toAshley Newton; Kimberly Clark to Lauren Cheplen, Stephanie Lohr,and Carrie Ripberger; Milliken to Sarah McKibben; and Shell to ErikaGemzer and Jemilat Bamidele Taiwo.

ChBE is proud of its best and brightest students and congratulates these99 women for being some of the best of the best.

Excellence Awards Banquet Honors Outstanding Women Engineers

News Briefs continued from page 6

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1963 Charles Guffey has been electedto serve a two-year term on thecity council of West UniversityPlace, an independent city of14,000 residents in metropolitanHouston. Charles operates anatural gas consulting businesspart time.

1987 Luther E. Walke, III has beenappointed executive manager ofproduct management forSmartPlant 3D, IntergraphCorp.’s Process, Power & Marinedivision’s next-generation auto-mated 3D CAD application. Healso has been elected by his peersto Intergraph’s Sapphire Circle, adistinction reserved for the topone percent of the company’semployees. Luther lives inHuntsville, Ala., with his wife,Laura, and two teenage children,Edmund and Katherine.

1991 Drew Meunier has joined Fish& Richardson PC’s Atlantaoffice as a principal in itspatent group. Prior to joiningthe firm, he was the head ofAlston & Bird’s chemical andpharmaceutical patents practicegroup and Atlanta patent prose-cution group.

1993 Jim Companik, Ph.D. ‘93, waspromoted to director of manufac-turing with Motorola, Inc, inSchaumburg, Ill. Jim resides inAlgonquin, Ill., with his wife,Jennifer, and son, Clark.

1995 Steve Richter and his wife, Beth,announce the birth of a son,Nicholas Lindan, on Aug. 25,2007. Nick joins brother Wil, 2,at the family’s home in HighlandPark, Ill. Steve is a research inves-tigator at Abbott.

Ed Gatzke has been a professorat the University of SouthCarolina for seven years. Lastyear he was tenured and promot-ed to associate professor. At vari-

ous times he has been graduatedirector and associate chair forthe department. He will be onsabbatical in Germany supportedby NSF and the Alexander vonHumboldt foundation. He andhis wife, Andi, have two chil-dren, Drew, 3, and Ellie, 2.

1997 Wendy Lemoine Bosmans andher husband, Olivier, announcethe birth of a daughter, SilvieCorinne, on May 29, 2007. Silviejoins sister Eliza, 2, at the fami-ly’s home in Durango, Colo.Wendy is an engineer with BP.

Steven P. Girardot, B.S. ChE‘97, M.S. Chem ‘00, recently wasnamed director of GeorgiaTech’s Success Programs, whichoversees FASET orientation, theGT1000 freshman seminarcourse, and academic supportprograms. He also teaches afreshman-level general chemistrycourse. Steven joined theInstitute’s Center for theEnhancement of Teaching andLearning in 2005 after receivinga Ph.D. from Emory University.

1998 Douglas Deal married LaurenLove on October 20, 2007. Dougis working as a software engineerwith Progressive Consulting inMacon, and Lauren is an assis-tant district attorney for the stateof Georgia. The family lives inthe Macon area.

1999 Mark J. Sackash, Jr. and KendraL. Sackash, Mgt ‘99, announcethe birth of a daughter, KellynAugust, on Aug. 14, 2007. Kellynjoins Kaelyn Mae, 1, at the fami-ly’s home in Lafayette, La.Kendra is a part-time CPA withCommunications Corp. ofAmerica. Mark is a well interven-tion engineer with HalliburtonEnergy Services.

Jennifer Stoudt Woodson andher husband, Damon, announcethe birth of a son, NicholasPerry, on April 3, 2007. NicholasPerry joins his sister, Persephone

Kathleen, 1, at the family’s homein Macon, Ga.

2000 Becky Ellis and her husband,Jeff, announce the birth of a son,Wittman Ray, on May 17, 2007.He joins brothers Nathan, 1, andWill, 4, at the family’s home inDecatur, Ala. A full-time mother,Becky is an independent consult-ant with Southern Living at Home.

2002 David A. Reed practices patentlaw with the intellectual propertygroup of Sutherland Asbill &Brennan LLP in Atlanta. Davidjoined the firm after receiving ajuris doctor degree from theUniversity of Virginia in 2006.

2003 Michael David Godbold graduat-ed from Emory Medical Schoolin May 2007. In July, he began afour-year residency in anesthesiol-ogy at the University ofTennessee’s medical hospital inKnoxville, Tenn.

Deaths1942 Glen Fortson Peacock ofTrenton, Mich., died on Sept. 21,2007. Mr. Peacock was a long-time employee of BASF.

1943 William Cotesworth “Billy”Lankford of Tifton, Ga., died onOct. 22, 2007. He owned andoperated Lankford Manor untilhis retirement. Following gradua-tion, he was commissioned inthe Army and served in theEuropean theater. His coastalartillery battery was credited withbringing down the first jet-pro-pelled aircraft.

Paul M. Morris of Rockwall,Tex., died on June 11, 2007. Heretired from Eastman Kodak.

1948J. William “Bill” Baros Jr. ofAventura, Fla., died in September2007. He joined the Miami RugCo., founded by his father, whichhe expanded into a group of 35

flooring stores throughoutFlorida and Georgia. He receivedthe Store of the Year award fromthe National Retail FloorCovering Association and Man ofthe Year award from the JewishFederation mercantile division.He was a founder of Mount SinaiHospital and the Jewish Homefor the Aged and a Pacesetter atthe Jewish Federation. He servedas international president of theJewish Vocational Service, whichtrains mentally and physically dis-abled people for jobs. DuringWorld War II, he served as anensign aboard a battleship in theNorth Atlantic.

1950 Jack Peck Haunson of Atlantadied on Aug. 9, 2007. A chemi-cal engineer, Jack worked forAMAX, Cities Service andTennessee Corp. and was anindustrial training consultant forthe Georgia Department ofEducation. He later foundedHaunson Realty with his wife.He served in the Army Air Corpsduring World War II. In lateryears, he was a volunteer with theBenson Center in Sandy Springs,Ga., Veterans of Foreign Wars,and American Legion.

1953 W. D. Bradbury Jr., B.S. ChE‘53, M.S. ChE ‘59, of TheWoodlands, Tex., died on Aug.27, 2007. He retired from theUnion Carbide Technical Centerin South Charleston, W.Va.,after 34 years of service.

1960John Douglas Askew Jr., B.S.ChE ‘60, M.S. ChE ‘61, passedaway on Dec. 26, 2006. He wasretired from Texaco, Inc. Hedied of acute cardiac arrest. Hehad battled cardiac disease since1984. He is survived by his wifeof 47 years, Maxine, and twochildren. He was in ROTC atGT and retired from the Armywith the rank of Major.

Class News

9

Dr. W. John Lee, ‘59, M.S. ChE ‘61, Ph.D. ChE ‘63, Regents Professorand holder of the L.F. Peterson Endowed Chair in the Harold VanceDepartment of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University, hasdedicated his professional life to exploring practical approaches to man-aging the petroleum energy challenges facing the nation. As a world-renowned expert in his field, he has been appointed to two individualsupply- and energy-related assessment committees. Last fall, theSecurities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of CorporateFinance appointed him as an academic engineering fellow. He is current-ly serving a one-year term that will end in August and has been workingon various issues related to the disclosure of oil and gas reserves.

As the nation faces a continually expanding fuel crisis, petroleum engi-neering provides crucial tools to evaluate and maintain critical suppliesof petroleum. Petroleum reservoir engineering is concerned with maxi-mizing the economic recovery of hydrocarbons from the subsurface. Thisbranch of engineering involves generating accurate reserves estimates foruse in financial reporting to the SEC and other regulatory entities. Italso plays a vital role in field development planning and recommendingcost-effective reservoir depletion schemes such as waterflooding or gasinjection to maximize hydrocarbon recovery.

John White, director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, isexcited about the opportunity to work with Dr. Lee. He says, “Dr. Leehas a unique background and a distinct area of expertise which I believewill significantly enhance our ability to evaluate, among other things,new technologies that companies may use to assess current, and identifynew, reserves. He will also assist us in determining what recommenda-tion we will make to the Commission, if any, about revisions to our cur-rent disclosure requirements.”

This spring, Dr. Lee was appointed to a second committee, the NationalResearch Council Committee on Understanding the Impact of Sellingthe U.S. Helium Reserve. The committee operates under the directionof the Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA) and the NationalMaterials Advisory Board (NMAB) of the National Research Council’s(NRC) Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences. Dr. Lee will workalong with other top scientists and engineers to assess the impact of sell-ing the Federal Helium Reserve as well as to examine the availability andreliability of worldwide helium supply, technical opportunities toincrease the supply, and the relationships among supply, demand, andmarket price. Additionally, the committee will assess the current andprojected helium marketplace; assess the role that organizational andfinancial factors play in meeting the goals of the Federal HeliumProgram; and identify measures that would enable the Program torespond more effectively to the dynamics of the helium industry.

“I am honored and excited to have this opportunity to serve again as amember of a National Research Council Committee,” Dr. Lee said.“This committee will be studying an issue of great importance to a seg-ment of the scientific and engineering community in the country andultimately of importance to the public as a whole.”

Since 1977, Dr. Lee has worked at Texas A&M University, where heholds a joint appointment with the Texas Engineering ExperimentStation (TEES). His areas of specialization include unconventionalresources, reservoir management, gas reservoir engineering, and pressure

transient testing. In spring 2008, he wasnamed a Regents Professor, making himone of only 106 faculty members in thestate of Texas who have received the des-ignation to date.

Dr. Lee is the author of three textbookspublished by the Society of PetroleumEngineers (SPE), Well Testing, Gas ReservoirEngineering, and Pressure Transient Testing.He was elected to the National Academyof Engineering in 1993, to Georgia Tech’sCollege of Engineering’s first class of its Academy of DistinguishedEngineering Alumni in 1994, and became an Honorary Member of SPEin 2001. His numerous distinctions include receiving the SPE DeGolyerDistinguished Service Medal in 2004, the AIME/SPE Anthony F. LucasGold Medal in 2003, the AIME Mineral Industry Education Award in2002, SPE’s Distinguished Service Award in 1992, the John FranklinCarl Award in 1995, and the Reservoir Engineering Award in 1986. Hewas named a Distinguished Member of SPE in 1987, and is a past mem-ber of its board of directors. Dr. Lee has been an SPE DistinguishedLecturer, has received the SPE Distinguished Faculty AchievementAward, and is an SPE Continuing Education Lecturer.

Prior to joining the Texas A&M faculty, Dr. Lee worked for theReservoir Studies Division of Exxon Production Research Companyfrom 1962 to 1968. His work focused on simulator reservoir studies ofmajor Exxon reservoirs in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and south Texas.Afterwards, he joined and later headed Exxon Company, USA’s majorfields study group, where he supervised integrated field studies ofExxon’s largest domestic reservoirs. In 1975-76, he was a district reservoirengineer for Exxon’s Houston District. He also joined S. A. Holditch &Associates, Inc., a petroleum engineering consulting company, in 1980,and retired as executive vice president in 1999.

Despite adding the additional responsibilities of serving on the preemi-nent petroleum and helium committees to his already demanding profes-sional life, Dr. Lee manages to find time for some of his favorite pas-times. He enjoys reading, especially literature, history, and philosophy,which he says that he missed during his college years and early profes-sional life. Dr. Lee and his family also play an active role in their church,where he has been both a teacher and an officer. He and his wife,Phyllis, who is a professional volunteer, have two daughters, Anne andDenise. Anne, the eldest, is an obstetrical nurse in Daytona Beach, Fla.,and Denise is a Presbyterian minister in Bartlesville, Okla. Each of theirdaughters has two daughters, ranging in age from college sophomore totoddler. With Dr. Lee currently in Washington, D.C. fulfilling his dutiesas an academic engineering fellow on the SEC committee, his wife hashad an opportunity to spend more time than usual with their childrenand grandchildren. When she visits him in Washington, Dr. Lee says,she has been keeping him “alive by giving free advice on cooking andwashing clothes, etc.” Somehow, Dr. Lee has managed to add jugglinghousehold chores to his growing list of responsibilities!

Alumni ProfileDr. W. John Lee, ‘59, M.S. ChE ‘61, Ph.D. ChE ‘63

Dr. W. John Lee

Chemical reactions occur in a variety of different systems and are essential tomost technological areas. Research in the field of catalysis, reaction kinetics, andreaction engineering plays an important role in the development and improve-ment of numerous applications, including the network of reactions during com-bustion, the chain reactions that form polymers, the multiple steps in the syn-thesis of complex pharmaceutical molecules, and the specialized reactions ofproteins and metabolism. Catalysts influence the rate of a reaction. Chemicaland biomolecular engineers study catalysts with the goals of improving the reac-tion conditions, emphasizing a desired product, or reducing waste. They areresearched to develop methods for increasing production, improving the reac-tion conditions, and emphasizing a desired product. Chemical engineers designcatalysts that are highly effective and stable and then they develop methods tomanufacture them. Current topics under investigation in the School include:

• Kinetics and mechanisms of reactions in solution• Reactions and catalysis in supercritical and gas-expanded fluids• Phase transfer catalysis• Tunable fluids for asymmetric catalysis• Dispersed-phase polymerization• Homogeneous catalyst immobilization• Ziegler-Natta and metallocene-mediated olefin polymerization• Zeolite catalysts• Catalysis and biocatalysis for pharmaceutical and fine chemical production• Deactivation mechanisms of protein-based catalysts• Engineering metal-mediated catalytic reactions in the presence of sulfur• Catalysis and reaction engineering for clean-up of paper-making waste

The profiles on this page highlight catalysts, reactors, and reaction processesresearch under investigation by Drs. Agrawal, Chen, and Jones.

Catalysis, Reaction Kinetics &Reaction Engineering

Rachel Chen Chris JonesDr. Jones is broadly interested in problems atthe interface of synthetic chemistry andchemical engineering. His research groupcurrently works in four related areas: (i) sup-ported organic and organometallic catalystsin organic synthesis, (ii) polymerization, (iii)new materials for separations, and (iv) con-version of biomass into fuels and chemicals.

Three of these topics concern catalysis and reaction engineering. Supportedorganometallic catalysts are developed and optimized for important reactionsused in the synthesis of complex organic molecules such as pharmaceutical pre-cursors and fine chemicals. A special emphasis is placed on rigorously evaluatingthe heterogeneity and recyclability of the catalysts, with an interest in developingwaste-free processes. Catalysts and processes for polymerization of olefins, byboth metal-mediated catalysis and radical polymerization, are also under evalua-tion. In biomass conversion, Dr. Jones directs a large program in collaborationwith Dr.. Pradeep Agrawal as part of the GT Strategic Energy Institute.Working with Chevron as a research partner, new routes for the synthesis oftransportation fuels from pine wood are sought.

Recently, the Jones group has started programs on new materials for separations.Working with Drs. Bill Koros and Sankar Nair, they are modifying zeolites foruse in polymer/zeolite mixed matrix membranes for gas separations. In addi-tion, the Jones group has developed promising new silica-polymer hybrid materi-als for CO2 capture from coal-fired power plants. These materials could fulfillcrucial technological needs in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions andglobal warming.

Dr. Agrawal’s research interests are in thearea of heterogeneous catalysis and reac-tion engineering. His current focus is onthe development of catalytic pathways forconverting renewable biomass to chemi-cals that can serve as precursors or addi-tives for fuels. The U.S. has an abundantsupply of coal as well as renewable bio-mass. Coal received a lot of attention 25-30 years ago as a feedstock for liquid fuels and other chemicals, but thereare two main problems with coal as an energy source which are not a fac-tor in renewable biomass: (i) coal typically has high sulfur content (3-5wt%), and (ii) it increases carbon dioxide in the environment. In con-trast, renewable biomass is CO2-neutral, and has only a small sulfur con-tent (less than 0.1 wt%). The chemistry of biomass conversion, on theother hand, has added complexity because of the presence of oxygen anddifferent structures formed in natural products, which vary from sourceto source.

Working in collaboration with Dr. Chris Jones, this work focuses onloblolly pine and switchgrass. A number of non-enzymatic pathways arebeing studied to separate the basic components of the lignocellulosicfeed. The aim is to develop a basic understanding of the effect of variousprocessing variables and how the yields and formation of different speciesare affected. The next step is to investigate different approaches for cat-alytic upgrading of the chemicals obtained in the first stage. Catalyticupgrading may involve (i) removal of oxygen from the products (contain-ing C, H, and O) obtained in the first stage, and (ii) developing catalyticpathways for tailoring the product’s molecular size so it can serve as adirect fuel additive.

Pradeep Agrawal

10

Dr. Chen’s group is capturing the excitementof the most recent developments in biologi-cal sciences and applying the most advancedtechnology in engineering microbial catalystsfor valuable biomolecules. Two applicationareas are highlighted as follows.

As molecular recognition elements, sugarmoieties of glycoproteins and glycolipids playcrucial roles in many biological processes, including numerous disease-causingevents. As such, they are a new class of molecules with excellent therapeuticpotential for a broad range of diseases such as cancer. Despite impressiveprogress in carbohydrate synthesis in recent years, the difficulty associated withthe synthesis is still one of the most challenging obstacles in the clinical devel-opment. Dr. Chen’s group has been applying metabolic engineering tools inengineering bacterial catalysts for the synthesis of these valuable molecules. E.coli and Agrobacterium sp. were engineered to produce di- and tri-saccharidesepitopes. Recently, Dr. Chen’s lab has successfully engineered both E. coli andAgrobacterium sp. for the synthesis of hyaluronan, a sugar polymer used in oph-thalmic surgery and other medical procedures.

While engineering microbes for bioethanol is not new, recent scientific andtechnological advances in biological research, notably the “omics,” have provid-ed powerful tools in engineering more efficient microbial catalysts. Dr. Chen’sgroup, in partnership with Chevron Corporation, is applying a holistic metabol-ic engineering approach in developing robust microbial catalysts for ethanolproduction. Her group is also engineering cellulolytic E. coli and othermicrobes for broader biorefinery applications.

11

Portions of this article appeared previouslyin various Georgia Tech online and printpublications and in M.D. News, WesternGeorgia Edition.

Two days shy of his 73rd birthday,Dr. John Burson, ChE ‘55, M.S. Met‘63, Ph.D. ChE ‘64, reported to FortBenning, Ga., for a two-week refresh-er course before shipping out to Iraqfor a second tour of duty to join the31st Combat Support Hospital. Inthe fall of 2005, the Army called formedical reservists to temporarilyrelieve active duty doctors, anddespite his wife’s objections, theretired Army Reserve lieutenantcolonel volunteered. Once he com-pleted the first tour, he received anemail asking for him to “sign on foranother hitch.” He left for the sec-ond time last August and returnedbefore the end of the year.

“When I signed in, the sergeant majorlooked at me funny and asked mehow old I was,” Dr. Burson recalled.“He was 50 and proud that he wasthe oldest soldier in the unit. I toldhim I had children older than him.”

During his first Iraq tour, Dr. Bursoncared for wounded soldiers and civil-ians at a combat support hospital nearBaghdad that once served as SaddamHussein’s private clinic. He was onduty the night ABC News anchormanBob Woodruff and an ABC photogra-pher were wounded by an improvisedexplosive device (IED), but because ofthe severity of their wounds, they wereflown by helicopter to a more techni-cally advanced hospital after firstbeing treated in Baghdad.

The following is taken from Dr.Burson’s personal Iraq diary:

My billet is a two-man room with ayoung dentist who has been here ayear and is getting ready to go back toGermany. I have a nice bed with areal mattress, a small nightstand, anda locker for my stuff. The latrine isjust a few doors down the hall. All inall, more than I expected or couldask for. Both my battle buddy and Iare attached to the 31st CombatSupport Hospital for our duty assign-ment, but the 535th is responsiblefor our administrative stuff. This ispotentially a very good situationbecause neither unit really knows

where you always are nor what regula-tions apply to you, and this can some-times be an advantage.

Most of the soldiers here wear indi-vidual body armor, a backpack, aweapon, and a soft cap and usuallycarry their Kevlar helmet as well. Allthis stuff is awfully hot and heavy in130-degree heat. Since my unit is notyet officially here, there are no regula-tions as to what I wear to work, andthere is wide variation among units.So, I wear my ACUs, a soft cap andmy weapon. I will don the more strin-gent stuff when I am instructed to doso. The natural question arises: Areyou adequately protected with whatyou are wearing? I think so. We get amortar round or two most every day,but getting hit by one is about thesame risk as getting run over whenyou cross the street.

The 31st Combat Support Hospital(CSH) is a relatively small hospital,much smaller than the one I wasdutied to on my previous tour. Since Iam a board-certified surgeon with pre-vious trauma experience at the 10thCSH, one would naturally expect meto be attached to the surgery staff. Notso. Instead, my battle buddy wasassigned to the ER and I was assignedto the detainee medical center (DMC).

The hospital side of the CSH takescare of both Americans and Iraqis,but the DMC takes care of onlydetainees, the proper term for prison-ers. I take care of detainees and oper-ate on occasion when they need me.The DMC has two main functions.On one day, there is a wound-careclinic where all the shot-up detaineesare brought in and their wounds eval-uated with dressing changes, etc.After this, rounds are made in thesecurity holding unit. This is a seriesof solitary confinement cells for badactors with a small subunit for thosewith tuberculosis. Medics screen theindividual cells for medical problemsand the M.D.s evaluate those withcomplaints. Detainees with a deathsentence already rendered by theircourts have a red band around theirnametags so we can keep a closewatch for suicides among them. Ifthey have a problem, which is usuallya headache or sore throat, we usuallygive them a single pill and move on.There are about 60 or so cells and it

takes about two hours to make therounds. If a patient needs follow-upcare, we make a notation and sched-ule them for the DMC clinic.

In the afternoon, we have generalsick call for detainees and any thathave been designated for follow-upcare. We have a lot of middle-agedIraqis with chronic diseases in thecamp, so there is a regular clinic forthose with high blood pressure andfor diabetes. We have about 3,000detainees here including some reallybad guys, “deck-of-cards types.” Thereis a much larger camp south of hereat Bucca. There are about 30,000detainees there and there is a lotof transfer activity between hereand there.

All holding areas here, even the tents,are air-conditioned. For the mostpart, these guys have much better sur-roundings than they do in theirhome villages. They get little or nomedical care in their villages, so thereis a real incentive for sick guys to getcaptured and detained where theycan get medical care.

Every morning on my way to work, Isee about four to six full-size buses rollin with new captures from the nightbefore. When there is a sweep througha village with suspected or actualinsurgent activity, usually all the adultmales are gathered up and brought infor questioning. About 90 percent areSunnis and the majority are 20 to 30years old, with a fair number of olderguys (the oldest so far being 77) and asprinkling of juveniles. If there is a firefight, we bring in the ones we shot thenight before and expend a lot ofresources in getting them well so theycan fight us again. Such are the con-tradictions of war.

Many of the young docs here are justout of residency and are using the

prisoners to hone their skills in clini-cal care. I have no problem with that.So, that is a typical day at the DMC.On every other day, we have what iscalled the IHA (Incoming HoldingArea). Here, the fresh captures aregiven a medical screening and thosewho may need continuing medicalcare are identified.

We usually see about 100 to 150 cap-tures per day. My fellow physiciansusually take about 15 minutes perdetainee for evaluation, whereas ittakes me about 1.5 minutes to screenone. So, I have become very popularwith the enlisted medical folks whohave to man this clinic—we usuallyfinish about two hours earlier thanthey did before, and I usually wind upseeing about 70 percent of those seen.You’ve got to be pretty sick to get afollow-up visit to the DMC from me.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not ignor-ing real medical problems, I am justmaking sure that I am not providingwhat I consider as unnecessary carefor them. I am trying to adopt theMother Teresa attitude—that is, theyare all God’s children and I don’t doanything as an act of commission oromission that would harm them (eventhough they may have set off an IEDand killed fellow GIs the nightbefore). Not being judgmental is notalways easy.

Dr. John Burson’s Iraq Journal

Dr. Burson entered Georgia Tech when he was 16 years old. Aftergraduation, he worked at an adhesives manufacturing plant beforedeciding to return to GT, where he earned his M.S. and Ph.D.degrees. He then remained at GT as an associate professor in ChBEfor many years. At the age of 37, he enrolled in medical school atEmory University School of Medicine. His successful medical careerled him to establish Chattahoochee Healthcare, LLC, a multi-spe-cialty practice in Villa Ricca, Ga. He has been a strong supporter ofGT athletics, has served on the ChBE External Advisory Board, andcurrently serves as a Trustee of the GT Alumni Association.

Dr. John Burson

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Pages six and seven of this edition ofChBENews chronicle the recent out-standing achievements of ChBE’sfaculty and students, spotlightingthe academic accomplishments ofits undergraduate women students.In addition to the numerous acco-lades and awards listed in this sec-tion, several other students receivedrecognition at ChBE’s annual stu-dent honors luncheon, which wassponsored again this year by Fluorand AIChE and held on April 1.Both undergraduate and graduatestudents were recognized for theirleadership roles in student-ledorganizations and functions.

ChBE undergraduates receivedthe following:

• Twenty seniors, seven juniors, eightsophomores, and nine freshmenreceived Exemplary AchievementAwards for receiving an A average(3.9 or better for seniors).

• Jacey Planteen and WhitneyDavis received Air Products andChemicals, Inc. Awards for 2007-08.

• Hyung Jin Oh received theGossage International ChBEScholarship for 2007-08.

• Jessica Swearengen received the2008 C. Garry Betty Scholarship.

• AIChE presented KendeleSnodgrass with its OutstandingSophomore Award, Andrew Marin

with its Outstanding Senior Award,and Joselyn Baety with its MinorityScholarship Award.

ChBE graduate students receivedthe following:

• Jeong Woo Lee received the 2008Ziegler Award for Best Paper andBalamurali Balu received the 2008Ziegler Award for Best Proposal.

• Laurent Nassif, CharleneRincon, and Eduardo Vazquezreceived Outstanding TeachingAssistant Awards.

• Laurent Nassif received theAIChE Outstanding TeachingAssistant Award.

• Prabuddha Bansal, Chien-ChiangChen, Jan Krajniak, JenniferMunson, Swati Rao, and AdrianaSan Miguel Delgadillo receivedExemplary Achievement Awards forreceiving an A average.

• Prabuddha Bansal (written) andShannon Capps (oral) were honoredfor outstanding performance on thequalifying exams.

• Shu Shu was honored foroutstanding achievement on herPh.D. thesis.

• Richard Moore was recognized asa 2007-08 Department of Energy(DOE) Fellow.

Parting ThoughtsChBE Recognizes Outstanding Students at Honors Luncheon

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Atlanta, GAGeorgia Institute of TechnologySchool of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering311 Ferst Drive, N.W.Atlanta, GA 30332-0100www.chbe.gatech.edu

ChBENews & Alumni NewsJosie Giles (404) 385-2299Fax: (404) 385-0185Email: josie@gatech.edu

ChBE DevelopmentMelisa Baldwin (404) 894-0987Fax: (404) 385-0185Email: melisa.baldwin@chbe.gatech.edu

ChBE Program InformationChBE Main Office (404) 894-1838Email: grad.info@chbe.gatech.eduEmail: ugrad.info@chbe.gatech.edu

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