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 G

G E O R G I A I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O G Y

A T L A N T A , G E O R G I A

LINDA GRIFFITH, ‘82, RECEIVES“GENIUS AWARD” FROM THEMACARTHUR FOUNDATION....................2

TWO-GENERATION CHBE FAMILYMAKES MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONTO SCHOOL.........................................5

RENTIAN XIONG CHOSEN AS THE FIRSTCHBE STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE IN NEWINTERNATIONAL NSF PROGRAM............8 ChBEnews

Pradeep Agrawal Named Associate Chair for Undergraduate StudiesWhen you meet Pradeep Agrawal, you imme-diately notice his charm. His genuine smileand easy-going manner are distinctive, as wellas his quick wit. His proven leadership as thefaculty advisor to the AIChE student chapterand his remarkable ease at interacting withstudents made him the natural choice to suc-ceed F. Joseph Schork as the Associate Chairfor Undergraduate Studies. Joe retired thisfall to accept the position of Chair of theDepartment of Chemical & BiomolecularEngineering at the University of Maryland atCollege Park.

Pradeep earned his bachelor’s degree from theUniversity of Roorkee in India where he wasranked first in his graduating class of chemicalengineers. Then he received his master’s anddoctoral degrees from the University ofDelaware. After completing a brief post-doc-toral appointment at Delaware, Pradeep cameto Georgia Tech in 1979 and has been a facul-ty member in the School for more than 27years, currently as an Associate Professor.

As the faculty advisor to the AIChE studentchapter from 1988-2005, he led ChBE stu-dents and became not only their mentor butalso a true friend to each of them. AIChEPresident Will Reed said that Pradeep stillmakes time for him. “Even though he is nolonger our faculty advisor, I still drop by his

office if I have a question and he is alwayswilling to help,” Will said. An Nguyen,AIChE Vice President, agrees. He said, “Dr.Agrawal really cares about students, and thatis a big deal to each of us.”

During the seventeen years of his leadership,the AIChE chapter emerged as one of themost active chapters in the nation. It hasbeen recognized as an outstanding chapter15 times and also organized two successfulSouthern Regional Conferences in 1991and 2004.

The recipient of numerous awards, Pradeep’slist of honors includes many that are reflectiveof his popularity among his students. He hasreceived the W.T. Ziegler Award for the “BestProfessor of the Year” seven times and theOmega Chi Epsilon “Outstanding FacultyAward” four times. His remarkable teachingskills were also recognized outside of ChBEwhen he was presented with the “OutstandingProfessor in the College of Engineering”award by the Order of Omega in 1995 andthe “W. Roane Beard Outstanding Teacher”award by Tech in 1996.

In addition to teaching and conductingresearch in the fields of heterogeneous cataly-sis, modeling of chemical reaction processes,and biotechnology, Pradeep also serves as a

consultant to Milliken and Company, a rolethat he began in 1989. A true family man, hisfree time is devoted to his wife, Kanchan, andthe couple’s two children. Their son, Parth, is13 and their daughter, Monica, is 11. Bothchildren attend a magnet program and areaspiring ChBE students!

FALL VOLUME 14 2006

Linda Griffith, ‘82, was namedone of 25 MacArthur Fellows for2006, commonly known as the“genius awards,” by the John D.and Catherine T. MacArthurFoundation. Linda is currentlythe director of the BiotechnologyProcess Engineering Center and aprofessor in the Departments ofBiological and MechanicalEngineering at MIT.

“The award was a huge surpriseand I am incredibly honored –and owe much of the credit to thefantastic environment at Techwhen I was an undergraduate,”said Linda. “Tech fostered inde-pendence and rigorous thinking,but in an environment of collegial-ity and fun, it made engineeringseem like a wonderful career –Tech let my inner nerd hang out.”

MacArthur Fellows are selected fortheir creativity, originality, andpotential to make important con-tributions in the future. Each ofthe recipients receive $500,000 in“no strings attached” support overthe next five years. There is noquestion about Linda’s potentialfor future contributions that areboth original and creative. She

has already established herself as aleader in the field of biotechnolo-gy by shaping the frontiers of tis-sue engineering and syntheticregenerative technologies.

Her early workfocused on design-ing novel substratesfor liver cell cul-tures to allow phar-macologists to testin vitro the efficacyand toxicity ofmany potentialdrugs. She hasdesigned severalmethods for fabri-cating scaffolds onwhich cultured cellscan adhere and grow. Linda’s cur-rent research is now offering theprospect of significant reductionin the need for future organreplacement or regeneration bydeveloping a powerful tool forexploring the normal function ofthe liver and the mechanisms ofdisease that attack it. Her latestexperiments are expanding the useof 3-D scaffolds for growing othercell types, such as blood-formingcells. These experiments lay thegroundwork for building in vitro

models of toxicity and cancermetastasis. She works at the inter-section of materials science, cellsurface chemistry, physiology, andanatomy. She is extending the

limits of biomedicalengineering and itsapplications for diag-nosing disease andregenerating dam-aged organs.

“I am grateful toAjit Yoganathan forgiving me great free-dom and responsibil-ity in his lab when Iwas an undergradu-ate at Tech,” Lindasaid. “But my under-

graduate education was only a partof it. After I left, Tech emerged asa bioengineering giant under BobNerem’s superb leadership. Hehas been a terrific inspiration tothe whole field of bioengineeringand to me especially.”

After graduating from Tech, Lindareceived a Ph.D. in chemical engi-neering from the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley in 1988 andjoined the chemical engineeringfaculty at MIT in 1991 after a post-

doctoral appointment at MIT andChildren’s Hospital for two years.She has held various positions inthe departments of chemical, bio-logical, and mechanical engineer-ing at MIT. Linda was inductedinto Georgia Tech’s College ofEngineering Academy ofDistinguished EngineeringAlumni this fall.

MacArthur Fellowships comewithout stipulations or reportingrequirements, offering theopportunity for Fellows to acceler-ate their current activities or taketheir work in new directions. Theunusual level of independenceafforded to Fellows underscoresthe spirit of freedom intrinsic tocreative endeavors. Fellowshipsare awarded to women and men ofall ages and at all career stages.The MacArthur Fellows Programwas the first major grantmakinginitiative of the MacArthurFoundation. The inaugural classof MacArthur Fellows was namedin 1981. Including this year’sFellows, 732 people, ranging inage from 18 to 82 at the time oftheir selection, have been namedMacArthur Fellows since theinception of the program.

Linda Griffith, ‘82, Honored with “Genius” Award

During the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of proofreading thesoon-to-be-completed history of the School of Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering (our program was first called EngineeringChemistry and then Chemical Engineering). I was struck by twothings: (1) how important the development of Georgia Tech has beento Atlanta and Georgia, and (2) how the activities central to the

School and to Georgia Tech have broadened.

Many contributed to the establishment ofthe School, but perhaps none more thanWilliam Henry Emerson, who started the

discipline here in 1901. From that timeuntil the 1950s, the emphasis in the School,

and indeed throughout Georgia Tech,was on bachelor’s degrees. That

began to change when the firstPh.D. from Georgia Tech wasawarded in 1950 to WilliamLloyd Carter; we are proud

that Dr. Carter’s Ph.D. wasfrom the School ofChemical Engineering.Today, the School’s under-

graduate and graduate programs enjoy outstanding reputations. Wehave approximately 550 undergraduates and 170 advanced degree stu-dents enrolled. Our graduates are recruited intensely, and their contri-butions and those of our faculty have impact around the globe.

There is something that ties together the people we meet in theSchool’s history and those here now, and that factor has made possiblethe enhanced and still advancing opportunities for students and facul-ty: an intense drive for excellence. Whether it was Jim Fair, Pete Silas,Jim Wei, Garry Betty, Tom Gossage, Gerri Dickerson, Rudy Bunzl,Liz Moore, Tom Pigford, Bob Armstrong, Jim Harris, ShermanGlass, Glenn Wright, Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, Roger Kearns,Steve Hall, Wahid Tawfik, Tom Deloach, Kelley Williams, KellyeHafner, Henry McGee, Fred Hollaway, Clyde Orr, Henry Linden,Ray Davis, Tom Malone, Duncan Mellichamp, John Burson, JohnBrock, George Spindler, Evelio Hernandez, Bing Shi, or any of themore than 6000 graduates from the School, a recognition and pursuitof excellence was paramount. In more than 100 years at Tech, we havegraduated an elite, talented group of hard-working, innovative engi-neers. Truly, our history is filled with accomplishments by alumni whohave made the world a better place.

Watch the next issue of ChBE News and chbe.gatech.edu for more informationabout the published history of the School, which will be available January 2007.

Message from the Chair

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GerriAs a first generation college studentwith ambitious goals, Georgia Techwas appealing to Glenn T. Wright,‘87, because it offered a superbeducation at a reasonable price. Its“location in the heart of Atlantadidn’t hurt either,” Glenn addswhen remembering his decision.

A native of Greenville, SC, Glenntraveled extensively as a young boy because his father was in the mili-tary. He ultimately returned to South Carolina to attend highschool, where he discovered he was drawn to chemical engineering.Glenn excelled in both mathematics and chemistry but he says thathe was particularly inclined to chemistry, “perhaps because I had ateacher who was enthusiastic about the subject and brought it tolife.” Although he had never known a chemical engineer and knewlittle about the discipline, he selected the field because he felt thatchemical engineering was at the intersection of applied problem solv-ing and chemistry. His choice has served him well and has led to animpressive career in the nineteen years since he received his B.S.

After graduation from Tech, he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degreesin 1992 and an M.B.A. in 1996, all from the University of Texas atAustin. He combined his scientific knowledge of chemicals with his

business management training to create a successful career thatincludes more than 15 years of experience in industrial markets rang-ing from petrochemicals to power and gas. He has held positions asVice President for Steel Trading with Enron Industrial Markets andas Strategy Manager for a business unit of Shell Chemicals.

Currently, Glenn serves as Portfolio Projects General Manager forShell Oil Products, U.S., where his responsibilities include develop-ing strategic direction for various segments of the downstream busi-ness and managing the acquisition and divestment process for largeportfolio projects. His professional accomplishments led to hisinduction into the Council of Outstanding Young Engineers byTech’s College of Engineering in 1998.

Glenn has been a member of the School’s External Advisory Boardsince 1998, serving as chair in 2002-2003. He also served on theAdvisory Board for the College of Engineering in 2002-2003.

The father of two daughters, most of Glenn’s free time is spent withhis children who participate in numerous activities, including soccer,swimming, music, theater, and dance. Family time combined withhis demanding professional responsibilities leaves Glenn with littlespare time, which is perhaps one of the secrets to Glenn’s success atsuch a young age.

External Advisory Board ProfileGlenn T. Wright, ‘87 – Chemical Engineering Degree Leads to Success

Georgia Tech presented Cecil J. “Pete” Silas,‘53, with an honorary doctoral degree at thefall Commencement ceremony in December.“Mr. Silas, a dedicated alumnus and formerCEO of Phillips Petroleum, meets the higheststandards that can be set for receipt of anhonorary degree,” said Tech President G.Wayne Clough.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Petehad a distinguished business career at PhillipsPetroleum, culminating with a decade of serv-ice as its chairman and chief executive officer.He has been a civic leader at the local, stateand national levels, including service as chair-man of Junior Achievement, the NationalBoys and Girls Clubs of America, the U.S.Chamber of Commerce, and the AmericanPetroleum Institute.

Over the years Pete has provided significantleadership to his alma mater. He chaired theNational Campaign Steering Committee for

the five-year Campaign for Tech, which beganwith a $300 million goal and raised morethan $700 million. He served as a trustee ofthe Foundation for 18 years and continues hisrelationship with the Foundation board as atrustee emeritus. He also served on theGeorgia Tech Advisory Board for six years,including a one-year term as its chairman. Heis a member of The Hill Society, which recog-nizes the Institute’s principal philanthropists.In recognition of his efforts, Tech has present-ed him with the Joseph Mayo Pettit AlumniDistinguished Service Award, the AlumniExceptional Achievement Award, and theScholar-Athlete Total Person Award.

Pete has also provided support directly to theSchool through an endowed chair in hisname, currently held by School Chair RonaldRousseau. Through his relationship withPhillips Petroleum, he also helped to establishthe ConocoPhillips/C.J. “Pete” Silas Programin Ethics and Leadership.

As a student at Tech, Pete was a recognizedleader on the basketball court, and he subse-quently played on the U.S. basketball teamthat won the 1955 Pan American games inMexico City. He has been inducted into boththe Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame andthe Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

This honorary doctoral degree recognizes hisoutstanding career in the

energy field, his lifelongcommitment to commu-

nity service, and hisdedication and service

to Tech.

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Cecil J. “Pete” Silas Receives Honorary Doctoral Degree

Ronald R. Chance joined GeorgiaTech this fall as a Professor of thePractice with a joint appointment inthe Schools of Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering andChemistry & Biochemistry. Ronaldbrings with him more than 30 years ofindustry experience after a successfulcareer first at Honeywell Corporationand then at ExxonMobil. He retiredin August and was namedDistinguished Scientific Advisor,Emeritus. In that role, he continuesto maintain an office at ExxonMobil

and participate in research related to CO2 transport.

Since his arrival at Tech, Ronald has been collaborating with ProfessorWilliam Koros and his research team on materials and systems formolecular separations. Additionally, he is working with Tech’s StrategicEnergy Institute (SEI) to help formulate and implement Tech’s strategyfor energy-related research and is also collaborating with Chemistry andBiochemistry Professor Jean-Luc Bredas on organic materials for elec-tronic applications.

Ronald earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Dartmouth Collegein 1974 and immediately joined Honeywell (then Allied Corporation)working on electronic properties of organic materials. When the field ofconducting polymers was in its early days as an emerging science, he and

his coworkers at Honeywell made numerous contributions fundamental toits development, especially with regard to the theoretical underpinnings.They also produced the first commercial application of conjugated poly-mers as time-temperature indicators for vaccines. This work led to a spin-off company (Timetemp Corporation), which still supplies indicators forvaccines administered in developing nations. Also during that time,Ronald and his coworkers produced the definitive theoretical frameworkfor fluorescence emission and exciton quenching near electrode surfaces.That work continues to be highly cited as part of the continually growinginterest in organic-based electronic devices.

In 1986, Ronald was named Fellow of the American Physical Society.That year, he left Honeywell to join ExxonMobil (then ExxonCorporation) as Director of the Polymer and Fluids laboratory in theirCorporate Research division in Clinton, New Jersey. In addition to conju-gated polymers, his research interests expanded to more conventional poly-mer systems, polymer separations, and lubricant additives. After severalinternal assignments, he was named Distinguished Scientific Advisor,which is the highest technical position within ExxonMobil, in 1998. Forthe past eight years, his primary technical interest has been moleculartransport in porous materials, especially in relation to CO2 separations.

Ronald has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, editedtwo books, given over 100 invited talks, supervised four post-doctoral fel-lows, and chaired/co-chaired four international scientific meetings. He isco-inventor of more than 20 U.S. Patents, including inventions for sen-sors, conducting polymers, batteries, molecular separations, and a cus-tomer recognition system for ExxonMobil service stations.

ChBE Welcomes Professor Ronald Chance

ExxonMobil has partnered with the School for yet another innovativeprogram designed to attract and retain more students in the study ofchemical and biomolecular engineering. For the first time, ChBE profes-sors will teach courses on the Spelman College campus through theExxonMobil Georgia Tech–Spelman College Program in Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering. In May 2006, the ExxonMobil Foundationmade a $1 million commitment to be used for this initiative.

ChBE will offer at least two introductory classes required for the B.S.degree on the Spelman campus each year. The courses also will be avail-able to students enrolled at Morehouse College and Clark AtlantaUniversity. Professor Pete Ludovice taught the first class, “ChemicalProcess Principles,” this fall, and Regents’ Professor and Hercules/Gossage Chair Paul Kohl will teach “Chemical EngineeringThermodynamics” in the spring.

The primary goal of the program is to present chemical engineering as anoption for talented chemistry students and encourage them to participatein the Dual Degree Program, in which they can earn a B.S. in Chemistryfrom Spelman and a B.S. in ChBE from Georgia Tech. ExxonMobil willoffer scholarships to outstanding students who pursue the dual degree. School Chair Ronald Rousseau notes that, “ExxonMobil has been asteadfast supporter of the School, and their willingness to try newapproaches to improve how we teach and increase our talent pool isunmatched.” ChBE Associate Chair for Student Initiatives, Sue Ann

Bidstrup Allen, leads the program and worked to solve cross-registrationand curriculum challenges with the head of Spelman’s chemistry pro-gram, Lisa Hibbard, who is a Tech graduate. Lisa received a bachelor’sdegree in 1980 and a doctoral degree in 1985, both in chemistry.

ExxonMobil has sponsored the School’s ExxonMobil Success Programsince 1999. The program provides mentoring, study help, and profes-sional development assistance to students, as well as sponsors guestspeakers from academia and business.

Truman Bell, ExxonMobil Foundation Program Officer; G.Wayne Clough, GTPresident; Gerald McElvy, ExxonMobil Foundation President; and RonaldRousseau, ChBE School Chair, are pictured below after the presentation ofExxonMobil’s $1 million check to fund the new program.

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Funds Innovative New ChBE Program

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Two-generation ChBE Family Makes Memorial Contribution to SchoolWhen Charles R. Byrd, ‘48, diedin 2005 at age 82, his wife Maryand son Dennis, ‘77, decided a giftto the School of Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering wouldbe a fitting remembrance. Mary,Dennis, his wife Lori, and their sonC. J., came to Homecoming togeth-er in October to celebrate the last-ing memorial they have created.

Dennis contacted the ChBE direc-tor of development, JennyPeterson, within a week of hisfather’s death to discuss possibleuses for a memorial contribution.Ultimately, the Byrds chose thepower of a permanent endowmentspinning off unrestricted fundsavailable to the Chair to apply toareas where the School currentlyhas the greatest need.

Dennis wrote to Jenny about theirdecision and its impact for hismother, “She is overjoyed at thethought, and all her friends thinkit is wonderful.” Memorial gifts

from friends and family were alsodirected to Tech for the Byrd Fund.The family has committed $25,000for an endowment for unrestricteduse in the School. Because con-struction costs for the School’shome in the Ford ES&T Buildinghave been fulfilled, gifts for unre-stricted endowments can be recog-nized by naming space in the build-ing. A ChBE faculty office in theFord ES&T Building has been ded-icated in honor of Charles Byrd.

At the age of 19 during his sopho-more year, Charles enlisted in theArmy Air Corps and became a B-17G pilot assigned to the 483rdheavy bomber squadron serving inNorth Africa and then Italy flyingmissions over Germany duringWorld War II. After the war, hereturned to Tech to finish hisdegree before joining Cities ServiceOil Co., from which he retired asan executive in 1982. In retire-ment, Charles and Mary literallybecame “Ramblin’ Wrecks,” taking

many Alumni Association toursand traveling the world.

Mary remembered her husbandvery warmly at the office dedica-tion, recalling those trips they’dtaken together and how he’d decid-ed she was the one for him on aninitial date: “He told me that fromthen on I wouldn’t date anyoneelse but him,” she said, laughing.

They were married soon after.Mary lives in Tulsa, OK. Dennis ispresident of Beechwood AdvisoryGroup, in Hawthorn Woods,Illinois. Other Byrd family YellowJackets include Charles and Mary’sdaughter, Rebecca Byrd Muegge,TextChem ‘79, MS Poly ‘84, andson-in-law John Muegge, ‘81, ofWarner Robins, Ga.

Dennis Byrd, ‘77, his wife Lori, their son C.J., and Mary Byrd,widow of Charles R. Byrd, ‘48

Elsa Reichmanis Delivers the ConocoPhillips/Silas Ethics LectureElsa Reichmanis, Bell Labs Fellow and Director of

the Materials Research Department at Bell Labs,Lucent Technologies, delivered the annual

ConocoPhillips/“C. J.” Pete Silas Program inEthics and Leadership lecture this fall. Entitled

“Ethics and the Chemical Enterprise: A PersonalResponsibility,” the lively lecture was prima-

rily interactive as Elsa engaged audi-ence members in open discus-

sion through-

out herpresenta-

tion. Shefocused on issues of scientific miscon-duct, which she identified as “fabrica-tion, falsification, plagiarism, or otherpractices that seriously deviate fromthose commonly accepted within thescientific community for proposing,conducting, or reporting research.”Elsa stressed that it is also impor-tant to understand what does not

constitute misconduct. She said, “Honest differences of opinions orinterpretations of data are not questions of ethics.” It is okay for two sci-entists to look at the same data and come up with different opinions.“Open, honest discussion is what science is all about,” she added.

Openly discussing recent cases of scientific misconduct that receivedmainstream media publicity, Elsa stressed that it is important to maintainintegrity at a time when high profile cases raise questions about the credi-bility of science. Society in general is asking questions such as “Why dowe support research, why do we want to do this research?” Elsa offeredthe audience, composed primarily of graduate students, the followingadvice: “We need to ask ourselves the tough questions that others will ask– we need to remember to be critical, and in particular to be self criticalwhen we are presenting something entirely new.”

Elsa has had an impact on the field of microlithography, which is centralto the manufacture of electronic devices. Her work has contributed tothe development of a molecular-level understanding of how chemicalstructure affects materials function, leading to new families of lithograph-ic materials and processes that may enable advanced VLSI manufacturing.Notably, she was responsible for the design of new imaging chemistriesfor 193 nm lithography that were the first readily accessible and manufac-turable materials for this technology.

ChBE ClassNews1963John E. Hanby retired from theUniversity of Washington and hasrelocated to Nehalem, Ore.

1972Lawrence B. Stelmach was namedassociate professor and earnedtenure at Delaware Valley Collegein Doylestown, Pa. Lawrence, ofSolebury, Pa., joined the college’sbusiness administration faculty in2000. He earned his master’sdegree in business administrationfrom Lehigh University. He brings27 years of industry experienceinto the classroom with expertisein the areas of investments,finance and financial services.

1978Young-Mi Kim and her husbandDaniel Brooks Jenkins, Arch ‘77,report that Daniel is a principal ofthe John Buck Co., a Chicagodeveloper of highrise office build-ings. He was responsible for thedesign and construction of theworld’s first LEED-CS gold certi-fied project, the 50-story 111 S.Wacker Drive building inChicago. He joined theJohn Buck Co. in 1988.Young Mi and Danielhave two sons, Mike,20, and Matt, 18.

1979Archie Lockamy III has beennamed the Margaret Gage Bushprofessor of business at SamfordUniversity in Birmingham, Ala.Archie has been a professor ofoperations management atSamford since 2000. He previous-ly held engineering and manageri-al positions with DuPont, Procter& Gamble and TRW. He is alsothe author of Global Logistics:Managing the Product-Delivery Systemand co-author of ReengineeringPerformance Measurement: How toAlign Systems to Improve Processes,Products and Profits.

1984Steve Poehlein, M.S. ‘84, Ph.D.‘88, was appointed vice presidentof global technical operationswithin the Merck manufacturingdivision in Oct. 2005. Steve, whojoined Merck in 1987 as a seniorstaff engineer at the Albany, Ga.,

plant, is responsible forthe technical operationsfunction at the compa-

ny’s pharmaceuticaland chemical supply

plants.

1992MaheshThadhani

and hiswife,Tina,announce

the birthof a son,Bryson, onJuly 11. Hejoins sisterKaleigh, 3,

at thefamily’s

home inGreen-ville, S.C.Mahesh isa directorof business

development for the oil and gassector of CH2M Hill.

1993Patty Laxton Patterson and herhusband, Jeffrey, announce thebirth of a son, Griffin, on Dec. 2,2005. Griffin joins his brother,Liam, and sister, Audrey, at thefamily’s home in New York City.Patty is a full-time mother.

1994Ted Wiesner recently received the2006 President’s Award forExcellence in Teaching at TexasTech University. The award isgiven annually to one member ofeach of the university’s 13 col-leges. Ted, an associate professorof chemical engineering, receivedthe award in recognition of hiscontributions to computer-basedinstruction of engineers and hisoutstanding work in the class-room. He and his wife, Colleen,live in Lubbock, Texas.

1995John P. Matthews married TammyR. Cartright on June 11. John isan environmental engineer withthe Air Force at Cape CanaveralAir Force Station in Florida.

Bethany Brown Watson and her husband, Vincent, announcethe birth of a son, EvanMcClearin, on Jan. 25. Bethanyis a staffing manager at Nike Inc.,and the family resides outsidePortland, Ore.

1996Greg Chalker and his wife, Tami,announce the birth of a son, DavisGregory, on Nov. 25, 2005. Davisjoins sister Mallory Rachel at thefamily’s home near Richmond, Va.Greg is a group manager atCapitalOne Financial Corp.

Joel Brian Derry is a quality man-ager at Faulk and Foster Real

Estate, a company that performs siteacquisition, project managementand construction management serv-ices in the telecommunicationsindustry. He and his wife, Maggi,son Fenner and daughter GeorgiaBlanche live in Monroe, La.

1998Dan Alexander and HeatherGreenlee Alexander, IE ‘00,announce the birth of a son,Braden James, on June 6, 2005.Braden joins brother Ryan at thefamily’s home in Florence, Ky.Dan is a packaging engineer atProcter & Gamble. Heather is afull-time mom.

Michelle Renee Corley receivedan MBA from the University ofTexas in December. Michelle is aproduct development engineer atSolvay Engineered Polymers andlives in Coppell, Tex.

Holly Richards and KeithStanton announce the birth of ason, Jack Robert, on Aug. 10,2005. Jack joins his sister, Sydney,2, at the family’s home in BatonRouge, La. Keith is a process engi-neer for Air Products andChemicals and Holly teaches highschool physics.

1999Amanda McFarlin Fill, Mgt ‘99,and James C. Fill of Albany, Ga.,announce the birth of a daughter,Elizabeth Pearl, on April 24.Amanda is a programmer withSunnyland Farms and James is amanager at Procter & Gamble.

Kendra L. Sackash, Mgt ‘99, andMark J. Sackash Jr. of Lafayette,La., announce the birth of a daugh-ter, Kaelyn Mae, on May 12.Kendra is a part-time CPA withCommunications Corporation ofAmerica. Mark is a well interven-tion engineer with HalliburtonEnergy Services.

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MatthewStewart and hiswife, Stephanie,announce thebirth of a son,Harrison Luke, onSept. 13, 2005.He joins hisbrother, Jake, 2, atthe family’s homein Savannah, Ga.Matthew is a pro-duction engineerwith Englehard Corp.

Jennifer Stoudt Woodson and herhusband, Damon, of Macon, Ga.,announce the birth of a daughter,Persephone Kathleen, on Sept. 1,2005. Jennifer is a chemical engi-neer with Imerys.

2000Becky Ellis and her husband,Jeff, announce the birth of ason, Jonathan Chase, on Nov. 4,2005. Jonathan joins brotherWill at the family’s home inDublin, Ga. Becky is an inde-pendent consultant with SouthernLiving at Home.

Lisa Feria-Colon received an MBAfrom the University of ChicagoGraduate School of Business inJune. She works for Kraft.

2002Kelly Albright Mraz and her hus-band, Charlie, announce the birthof a son, Chip, on Feb. 11. Kellyis a senior process engineer. Thefamily lives in Caledonia, Miss.

2005Alexis Hillock, Ph.D. ‘05, andMichael McKittrick, Ph.D. ‘05,

were married on Dec. 9 inBaltimore, Md. The couple livesoutside Buffalo, N.Y., whereAlexis is a Research &Development Associate forPraxair, Inc. and Mike is an assis-tant professor in the Chemicaland Biological Engineering depart-ment at University at Buffalo.

Deaths

1943W. R. Mountcastle Jr. of Auburn,Ala., on Oct. 4, 2005. He taughtchemistry at Birmingham-SouthernCollege for eight years and retiredfrom Auburn University.

1944John Lee Espy of Topeka, Kan.,on April 24. He earned a doctoraldegree from Harvard BusinessSchool in 1970 and was a profes-sor of business administration atthe Chinese University of HongKong until his retirement in 1989.He previously worked as a chemi-cal engineer at the Eastman KodakCo. in Rochester, N.Y., for nineyears, before becoming anAmerican Baptist missionary inHong Kong. Survivors includebrother Gene Espy, IM ‘50.

1945A. L. Devries of White Plains,N.Y., on Feb. 13, 2005.

Edwin L. Ekholm of Houston,on Jan. 2. Edwin was a retiredengineer and owner of Bale ofHay Inc.

1948Charles R. Byrd of Tulsa, Okla.,on Dec. 2, 2005. After graduatingfrom Tech, Charles joined CitiesService Oil Co. and retired fromthe company in 1982. He was asophomore at Tech when WorldWar II began and he enlisted in

the Army Air Corps. He was a B-17 pilot with the 483rd BomberSquadron, serving in North Africaand Italy. He was active withBoston Avenue Methodist Churchand Tulsa community affairs, serv-ing on the boards of the German-American Society of Tulsa and theTulsa Czech Club and helpingteach disadvantaged residents. Heand his wife of 56 years, Mary,traveled to all 50 states and visitedmore than 70 countries, many ofthem on Georgia Tech AlumniAssociation trips. Donations maybe made to the Charles R. ByrdEndowment for Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering at Tech.Other survivors include a son,Dennis C. Byrd, ‘77, and a daugh-ter, Rebecca Byrd Muegge,TextChem ‘79, MS Poly ‘84.(Please see page 5 for full story.)

Charles E. Rogers of Charleston,W. Va., on July 5.

1949Otto M. Morris Jr. M.S. ‘51, ofAiken, S.C., on June 14. Ottoretired from E.I. du Pont deNemours & Co.

Norman Donaldson Briggs ofSpanish Fort, Ala., on June 5. Hewas a retired chemical engineerwith International Paper Co.

Joel F. Cheely of Bellville, Tex.,on Dec. 29, 2005. He retiredfrom ExxonMobil.

1950James D. “Jim” Littlejohn ofCharlotte, N.C., on March 6.James played French horn in theGT band and was a member ofDelta Sigma Phi.

James K. Read of Lake Oswego,Ore., on March 9. James was achemical engineer at Hercules Inc.in Wilmington, Del.

1955William James Corbett, ‘55, Ph.D.‘64, of Harbor Springs, Mich., onDec. 14, 2005. He was chairmanand CEO of Silbond Corp., achemical company in Weston,Mich. William taught chemistryand worked at the high-tempera-ture research center at Tech from1964 to 1968 and helped developprocesses for forming parts fromfused silica, a unique ceramicmaterial used today in many indus-trial applications.

1956Homer Gay Hargrove ofMaitland, Fla., on Jan. 9. He wasan engineer for Westinghouse for42 years.

1958Joseph H. Chaney of St. Louis, onNov. 5, 2005.

1968James A. Martin Jr. of Burnsville,N.C., on July 15. James retiredfrom Engelhard Corp. as groupvice president and general manag-er. Survivors include a daughter,Amanda M. Malas, IntA ‘99.

1970William R. Broome ofTuscaloosa, Ala., on Jan. 24.William was a chemical engineeremployed by Talson Inc.

1998Carl M. Conatser of Oakwood,Ga., on June 26, 2005.

OtherCharles Morgan Kelley, IM ‘55,of Dallas, on March 13. Heserved four years in the US Navy,before making a career with IBM.Survivors include a son, BrianKelley, who received his B.S. inchemical engineering in 1981.

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Rentian Xiong has been selectedto participate in the InternationalResearch and Education inEngineering (IREE) Program,which was established earlier thisyear by the National ScienceFoundation (NSF) to provide sup-plemental funding to current NSFawardees in support of interna-tional travel. Rentian will work atthe University of Tokyo under thedirection of Professor YukioYamaguchi and Associate ProfessorFumio Okada for three monthsbeginning in mid-December.

The Yamaguchi-Okada team con-ducts research on “bottom-up”nanotechnology that is based onself-organization to develop newroutes for the structure controland the function design of materi-als. Processing methods underinvestigation include both wet anddry methods for assembly, withmaterial systems including carbonnanotubes, metal nanoparticle cat-alysts, and colloids for applicationsthat include magnetic recording,solar cells, and medical diagnos-tics. The group focuses on under-standing the relationships amongprocesses, structure, and function

in materials, which is whereRentian, a fourth-year graduatestudent and member of Dr.Martha Gallivan’s process systemsresearch group, will provide sup-port through his experience work-ing with optical sensors to producereal-time measurements.Specifically, the project Rentianwill work on is a systematic investi-gation of spontaneously formingnanoparticles as catalysts for sin-gle-walled carbon nanotubes bythe aid of a combinatorialmethod. Rentian says, “Single-walled carbon nanotubes arepromising materials for applica-tion in nanodevices due to theirexcellent mechanical, electrical,and chemical properties.” Thesynthesis of single-walled carbonnanotubes requires metal nanopar-ticles as catalysts. However,numerous experiments must beconducted in order to find theoptimum thickness of the cata-lysts. In order to greatly reducethe amount of experimental workrequired to gather measurements,he will use the combinatorialmethod to obtain different meas-urements of catalyst thickness injust one experiment. Using an

optical sensor to monitor thegrowth of the single-walled carbonnanotubes in real time, he willmeasure the light transmittancethrough the layer of carbon nan-otubes. Rentian says that “thecombination of real-time sensingand the combinatorial method areexpected to greatly increase theefficiency of screening the opti-mum catalyst for the growth of sin-gle-walled carbon nanotubes.”

Martha will also visit theYamaguchi-Okada laboratory forone week while Rentian is there.She said that she believes this ven-ture will catalyze future collabora-tion between the two groups. “The

Yamaguchi group is an ideal groupfor collaboration due to theirinterest in understanding process-es at a fundamental level, theiradditional interest in engineeringapplications, and the wide rangeof processes and applicationsbeing considered in the group,”she said.

Rentian is excited to be the firstChBE student to participate in theIREE Program. The opportunityto visit Japan is especially signifi-cant for this native of Chinabecause his wife, Meguru Onogi, isoriginally from Japan and willaccompany him for an extendedvisit with her friends and family.

Around the World in 90 DaysRentian Xiong First ChBE Student to Participate in New International NSF Program

Assistant Professor Martha Gallivan and Rentian Xiong

Each year as part of ChBE 2100 (Chemical Process Principles), Professor Mark Prausnitzencourages his students to play with their food and learn from it too. His assignment is todesign and build a Controlled-Operation Mechanical Energy Transducer (COMET), whichis a device that stores potential energy and converts it into mechanical energy as it travels toa designated location. Although it sounds simple, there is a catch that is revealed whenMark tells his students that the “COMET must carry ‘precious cargo’ on its journey with-out damaging it.” The cargo is an Oreo cookie. A special event is held where studentteams compete against one another to propel their COMET closest to a target withoutcrumbling their Oreo. The various COMET designs reflect ingenuity and creativity andare all founded on sound scientific principles. The enthusiasm during the event is conta-gious and draws spectators from other classes and departments, clearly showing that thestudents of ChBE 2100 had fun while learning. Students are graded primarily on theiraccompanying report with emphasis on complete and correct analysis of the energy bal-ances and statistical evaluation, as well as their crafting of a clear and concise report.Grades are secondarily based on the quality of the design and construction of theirCOMET and its ability to reach the target.

Winners of the COMET competition also receivetrophies for each of its members. ProfessorMark Prausnitz poses with this year’s winners(from left) Kevin Reichling, Jacey Planteen,and Erika Gemzer.

COMETS + Oreos = AnOpportunity for Fun Learning

Focus on Research: ProcessSystems EngineeringAdvances in biological, chemical, and physical sciences are the foundationfor innovation in processes and products. However, these advances mustbe integrated into real-world systems. The integration of engineering sci-ence into functional systems is where process systems engineering plays acentral role. Process systems engineering research advances the sciences ofinformation, design, and analysis. It enables more effective integration ofscientific advances into new products and processes, and it increases theoperational efficiency of existing process systems through planning, sched-uling, and control.

The dramatic rise of computational infrastructure in academia and in com-panies has allowed process systems engineering to expand the realism andscope of the models used in design and analysis, and to put these modelsin the hands of a wider set of practicing engineers. Also, it has allowed thecreation of models and systems that have broader scope, such as the inte-grated control of refineries and chemical supply chains, and has enabled awider set of objectives including the environmental impact of a givenmodel or system, alongside the economic benefits.

The profiles on this page highlight recent research in process systems engi-neering in ChBE. Each of these faculty members also participates in theGT Center for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) group launched in2004 and the recently established International Center for Process SystemsEngineering (ICPSE), which is a partnership between the Tech group andthe London Centre for Process Systems Engineering (also CPSE). Jay Leeis the director of the GT CPSE and co-director of the ICPSE.

Jay’s research group develops enabling tech-nologies for optimal decision-making incomplex manufacturing environments.Current projects involve development oftechniques for modeling that (1) turn plantdata into mathematical system representa-tions, (2) facilitate efficient managementand use of real-time information and datafusion for estimation of key system parameters, and (3) enable optimal con-trol and combinatorial decision-making under significant uncertainty.

Safe and economic operation of chemical and other manufacturing plantsdemands effective management of a hierarchy of complex decisions based ona priori available and real-time information. Such decisions at low levels mayinvolve determination of correct operating conditions for key process param-eters, as well as actuation of control valves and pumps to overcome distur-bances and achieve optimal conditions. High-level decisions may includedetermination of plant-wide operating parameters, scheduling of production,equipment maintenance and testing, and supply chain management.

His research group has pioneered a general technique that can yield optimaldecision-making policies by using Monte-Carlo simulation data and a classi-cal dynamic optimization technique called “dynamic programming.” Thistechnique is generic enough that it can be used for nonlinear process con-trol, scheduling, supply chain management, and other strategic decisionssuch as R&D investment and portfolio management. Other interests of hisresearch group include application of machine learning techniques forincreasing the efficiency of combinatorial development of biocatalysts andidentification of gene regulation networks using micro-array data.

Jay Lee

Martha’s research group explores the useof molecular modeling in process design,using molecular modeling to comple-ment the experiments. One project is inchemical vapor deposition of metal oxidethin films. Molecular simulations areused to design experiments to optimizethe process recipe, and to interpret thelimited information provided by real-timeoptical sensors. Another project is the structure development of highlybranched polymers, and its dependence on the processing conditions.Molecular simulations are used to understand the effect of intramolecu-lar reactions on the suppression of molecular weight, which is observedin dilute systems.

New materials are typically developed through experimentation, afterwhich the process is scaled up using first principles modeling of macro-scopic behavior. Molecular modeling and simulation are not regularlyused in the design of the new materials or in the design of the process-ing method. However, if the dependence of the molecular structure onthe processing recipe can be predicted, then the process can be opti-mized to obtain the desired material structure in the most efficient andeconomical manner.

Additional details about the work of Dr. Gallivan and her graduate stu-dent research assistant, Rentian Xian, may be found on page 8.

Martha Gallivan

Matthew RealffMatthew works on the development and

application of decision making models

and optimization techniques in product

and process design and operation. His

research is focused on two main applica-

tions: biorefineries and reverse produc-

tion system design. Reverse production

system design requires processes and logis-

tics systems that can recover material and energy from discarded products.

High volume outlets are required in order to develop infrastructure that

can then be leveraged for higher value, smaller volume end uses. He col-

laborates with Dr. J. C. Ammons, a professor in the School of Industrial

and Systems Engineering, on this topic. The use of all components of the

biomass stream has been likened to the use of all the fractions of a barrel

of oil and has led to the term “biorefinery.” The research undertaken by

Matthew’s group in conjunction with IPST and Dr. Jim Frederick and Dr.

Kristiina Iisa is exploring these options. The key objective is to find ways

to evaluate the alternative pathways in the presence of significant uncer-

tainty and to understand where the effort to uncover further information

would best be focused.

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Robert Armstrong, ‘70, receivedthe 2006 Warren K. LewisAward from the AIChE. Theaward recognizes distinguishedand continuing contributions tochemical engineering education.Robert, who is the ChevronProfessor and head of theDepartment of ChemicalEngineering at MIT, was selectedfor this honor for his outstand-ing leadership of the departmentand for his research contribu-tions in the development of mul-tiscale methods for linkingmolecular (or microstructural)behavior of chemical systems toprocess and product behavior.He is a member of the Collegeof Engineering’s Academy ofDistinguished Alumni andserves on the ChBE ExternalAdvisory Board.

Garry Betty, ‘79, the formerpresident and CEO ofEarthLink, was named one ofthe “100 Most InfluentialAtlantans” by the AtlantaBusiness Chronicle. Garry was

chosen for his outstanding lead-ership of EarthLink, whichrecently won deals to equip NewOrleans and San Francisco withwireless access and also acquiredNew Edge Networks. Garry,

who joined the company adecade ago, guided it through atransformational merger withMindSpring and through therise and decline of dial-upInternet service. In November,

he stepped aside from his posi-tion for an undetermined timeafter being diagnosed with can-cer. Everyone in the Schoolsends his and her best wishesto Garry.

Longtime football manager GusGeorgeton, ‘81, M.S. ‘83, Ph.D.‘87, was inducted into theGeorgia Tech Sports Hall ofFame this fall. Gus served asmanager on the football teamfrom 1977-85, lettering eightyears, while earning threedegrees in chemical engineering.A native of Savannah, Ga., Guscompleted his doctoral degreeunder the advisement ofAssociate Chair for GraduateStudies Amyn Teja. Gus servedas head football manager from1981-85. He now lives inFriendswood, Tex. with his wife,Maria, and their three sons. Heworks as a chemical engineer forINEOS, a petrochemical compa-ny based in Houston.

Janna Billy received a 2006NSF Graduate ResearchFellowship. She earned her bache-lor’s degree in chemical engineer-ing from Tech in 2001 and is nowpursuing her doctoral degreeunder the direction of Prof.Andreas Bommarius.

BME graduate student HarvinderGill, who is a member of Prof.Mark Prausnitz’s research group,won the Best Doctoral PaperAward in the SAIC Student PaperContest for his paper entitled“Coated Microneedles forTransdermal Delivery.”

ChBE undergrad Rachna Kamathwon first prize in the poster com-petition at the Georgia TechUndergraduate ResearchOpportunities Program (UROP)Spring Poster Session.

Jeong-Woo Lee, a post-doc whoworks in Prof. Mark Prausnitz’slaboratories, has been awarded the

2006 CRS-3M OutstandingInhalation or Transdermal DrugDelivery award from theControlled Release Society.

Charlene Rincon, a graduate stu-dent who works with Prof. CarsonMeredith, received a prestigiousNational Institutes of Health(NIH) Ruth Kirschstein NationalTraining Fellowship. The fellow-ship award is designed to enhancethe racial and ethnic diversity ofthe biomedical, behavioral, andhealth services research labor forcein the United States and providesan annual stipend towards livingexpenses, tuition and fees, and aninstitutional allowance. Addition-ally, Charlene recently interned atAmgen Manufacturing, Limited inPuerto Rico in the Bulk ProcessDevelopment Department. Sheworked to qualify the scale-downpurification model of Deep TankEpogen, which is a technique cur-rently under investigation for thetreatment of patients on kidney

dialysis. Amgen, Inc. is a leadinghuman therapeutics company inthe biotechnology industry.

Graduate student Lingbo Zhureceived the 2006 Intel BestStudent Paper Award. He pub-lished eight journal papers thisyear, including two papers in NanoLetters. Lingbo works in Prof.Dennis Hess’ lab. Their collabo-rative work with researchers in theSchool of Materials Science andEngineering has been featured on

photonics.com, the most compre-hensive, respected Internet site inthe photonics industry. Theresearch is mimicking the self-cleaning surfaces of the lotus plantto help create more reliable elec-tric transmission systems, photo-voltaic arrays that retain their effi-ciency, MEMS structures unaffect-ed by water, and improved bio-compatible surfaces able to pre-vent cells from adhering toimplanted medical devices.

Student News Briefs

ChBE’s AIChE Student Chapter was named an Outstanding StudentChapter for the 15th time. President Will Reed proudly displays therecognition plaque as other AIChE members gather around him. Theaward was presented at the AIChE Annual Meeting in San Franciscoin November.

The College of Engineering held its annual alumni awards recep-

tion in fall 2006, inducting new members who exemplify the

essence of Georgia Tech – a strong technological foundation, a

competitive spirit, and a drive for excellence. ChBE welcomed

alumni Henry A. McGee, Jr., ‘51, Ph.D. ‘55, and Chester A. Roush,

‘47, into the Engineering Hall of Fame; and Edward G. Cape, ‘86,

Ph.D. ‘91, and Linda G. Griffith, ‘82, into the Academy of

Distinguished Engineering Alumni.

A complete list of ChBE members from 1994 to the present isavailable online at chbe.gatech.edu/alumni/awards.php.

Alumni News Briefs

1 1

Mark Allen, together with research collaborators, has built the first sili-con-compatible device capable of converting mechanical energy – pro-duced by a rotating microturbine – into usable amounts of electricalenergy by spinning a tiny magnet above a mesh of interleaved coilsetched into a wafer. Mark is a Regents’ Professor who holds a jointappointment in ChBE and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Rachel Chen has published eight articles and a book chapter document-ing her group’s success in the following research areas: metabolic engi-neering, cellular membrane engineering, and renewable feedstock. Inthe field of metabolic engineering, her group has successfully engi-neered E. coli and Agrobacterium sp for recombinant synthesis ofHyauronan, a highly valuable biopolymer used for eye surgery, arthritistreatment, and other biomedical applications. Additionally, her groupdiscovered a unique enzyme system that allows a complete hydrolysis ofcorn fibers without pretreatment, liberating useful molecules and mono-saccharide. This enzymatic process and enzyme system is expected tofind wide applications in bioenergy and biorefinery and is covered by aprovisional patent.

Yulin Deng delivered “Dimensional Nanostructure Growth in Solution”as an invited speaker in the Department of Chemical Engineering at theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He also spoke at “Functional Fillers forPlastics,” the 15th annual plastics conference sponsored by Intertech-PiraCorporation. Yulin also co-authored seven papers, and his research onpaper recycling was cited in Scientific American.

Dennis Hess published articles in the areas of “Superhydrophobic Filmsfor Self-cleaning Surfaces,” “Hydrogel Films for Biosensors and SmartSurfaces,” and “Area Selective Atomic Layer Deposition for AdvancedIntegrated Circuits.” His work on carbon nanotubes with MaterialsScience and Engineering Professor C. P. Wong, ChBE graduate studentLingbo Zhu, and Chemistry graduate student Yangyang Sun, wasreported by EE Times in an article entitled Flip-chip Methods Adapted toNanotube Fabrication.

Christopher Jones and Andreas Bommarius both gave invited lecturesat the Gordon Conference on Catalysis at Colby-Sawyer College in NewLondon, NH. Chris also received $2.1 million in renewed funding fromthe Department of Energy for three more years for his “Focused Programin Catalysis by Immobilized Organometallics,” which is a joint projectwith the University of Virginia.

Paul Kohl was named the Hercules Inc./Thomas L. Gossage Chair inNovember. The chair was established by Hercules, Inc. to honor theservice of Thomas L. Gossage, ‘56, M.S. ‘57, who retired from the com-pany as the chairman, president and chief executive officer. The nextissue of ChBE News will include additional details about Paul and theHercules/Gossage Chair.

Jay Lee gave several invited talks, including one at the InternationalSymposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes (ADCHEM)conference in Gramado, Brazil, which is organized under the auspices ofthe International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). The event isa continuing series of international symposia focusing on advances inmethods for modeling and control for all types of chemical processes.

Hang Lu received a DuPont Young Professor award. This innovativegrant program is designed to provide start-up assistance to promisingyoung and untenured research faculty working in areas of interest toDuPont’s long-term business.

Carson Meredith received a $50,000 Honda Initiation Grant for devel-oping a combinatorial toolkit for fuel cell proton exchange membranes.The award is highly competitive, with only six awards granted out of 241applications. He also gave an invited lecture about his research on devel-oping new methods for data-mining to discover new biomaterials at theFourth International Workshop on Combinatorial MaterialsDevelopment in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Athanasios Nenes’ research group flew two cloud condensation nucleiinstruments aboard two separate aircrafts this summer in Houston aspart of a large field campaign called Texas-AQS (Texas Air QualityStudy). His ChBE graduate student researcher Akua Asa-Awuku partici-pated in the study. Thanos gave invited talks at the NASA-GoddardSpace Flight Center and at the International Conference on GlobalWarming and the Next Ice Age. He also participated in the NARSTOWorkshop on Particulate Matter Modeling for Air Quality and Climate.NARSTO is a partnership among government, private industry, andresearch organizations that is dedicated to improving the management ofair quality in North America. Additionally, Thanos presented one ofonly six invited platform lectures at the Annual Mexican ChemicalSociety Symposium.

Mark Prausnitz was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board ofTransport Pharmaceuticals, a leader in drug and medical devices for thetopical treatment of dermatological conditions. He served as a consult-ant to Nomura Phase4 Venture in London for a $75 million financinground for the Macroflux Company, a company developing microneedletechnology for drug delivery. Mark also served as an expert witness forthe plaintiff in the case of Gingher v. Alza Corporation et al., in theSuperior Court of the State of California for the County of San Mateo,concerning a death attributed to a defective Duragesic® patch. He pre-sented invited lectures at the AAPS National Biotechnology Conferencein Boston and at the 33rd Annual Meeting & Exposition of theControlled Release Society in Vienna, Austria.

Dan Tedder has disclosed two inventions for recovering fuel-gradeethanol from fermentation beers (e.g., from fermenting corn). Theseinventions enable the production of high purity ethanol from verydilute beers using separation technology that is economical and energyefficient. Conventional technology uses a beer still, fractionator, andmembrane separation system. Dan’s new technology provides the sameseparation but has numerous advantages over pre-existing methods,including reduced energy requirements to recover fuel-grade ethanol,especially from very dilute beers. The methods also reduce capitalexpenditures and provide continuous, steady state operation by elimi-nating the need for cycling, which is required in the traditional meth-ods. The recovery process has an enhanced ability to economicallyrecover ethanol from very low-grade sources and is non-toxic to microor-ganisms. Dan says the process “will not cause cell lyses when used withcontinuous fermentation systems that are operated with beer recycle toand from the recovery process.”

Faculty News Briefs

We Welcome YourQuestions, Comments,or News:

ChBE Newsletter:

Josie Giles (404) 385-2299Email: josie.giles@chbe.gatech.edu

ChBE Development & Alumni News:

Jenny Peterson (404) 894-0987Email: jenny.peterson@chbe.gatech.edu

Susan Hutcheson (404) 894-8475Email: susan.hutcheson@chbe.gatech.edu

ChBE Program Information:

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

ChBE Web Site:www.chbe.gatech.edu

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In August, Associate Chair for UndergraduateStudies F. Joseph Schork became the fourthChBE faculty member from Georgia Tech tobecome the chair of a department at anotherinstitution. Following in the footsteps ofMary Rezac in 2002, who is chair of theDepartment of Chemical Engineering atKansas State University; Timothy Wick in2005, who is chair of the Department ofBiomedical Engineering at the University ofAlabama at Birmingham; and Mark White in2005, who is chair of the David C. SwalmSchool of Chemical Engineering at MississippiState University, Joe has taken the helm of the

Department of Chemical and BiomolecularEngineering at the University of Maryland,College Park.

At his retirement party, Joe said that he is“looking forward to the new challenge of lead-ing a department.” He stressed that he is “notresigning from Tech, I am becoming an emeri-tus professor.” This distinction is important,he said, “because I want my name associatedwith this great School that we collectivelyhave built!”

Joe received his B.S. and M.S. degrees inchemical engineering from the University ofLouisville. Afterwards, he worked for threeyears as an R&D engineer for DuPont, wherehe concentrated on the field of computer con-trol when it was an emerging science. Afterearning a Ph.D. from the University ofWisconsin in 1981, he spent one year as a vis-iting professor at the University of Louisvillebefore joining the ChBE faculty in 1982. Joeserved as Associate Chair for the last half ofhis 24 years at Tech.

ChBE Cultivates Another Academic Leader

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 3023

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

Mark Your Calendar:GRADUATE STUDENT SYMPOSIUMThursday, March 22 andFriday, March 23, 2007

ChBE graduate students showcase theirresearch for industry leaders during the19th annual event.

Wife Linda and son Michael join ProfessorJoe Schork at his retirement party.Michael graduated from Tech this yearwith a B.S. in Computer Engineering.