Dr. Yonggang Yu, a graduate student (2008 class) in the Chemical Physics Program who did his PhD thesis under the supervision of Renata Wentzcovitch, has won the 2009 Graduate Research Award of the Rock and Mineral Physics Focus Group of the American Geophysical Union. The title of his thesis was: "First principles studies of phase transitions in the Earth’s mantle". This work involved the prediction of thermodynamic phase boundaries in Earth forming minerals that produce seismic velocity discontinuities in the mantle. These calculations shed light on the origins of these seismic discontinuities and helped to pin down temperatures at depths where such discontinuities occur. He is currently a post-doc in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. He will receive this Award in the AGU’09 Fall Meeting in December in San Francisco.

Sai Madhukar Reddy Given Young Scientist Award

Madhukar Reddy, a graduate student in the department, was presented with the Young Scientist Award at the 36th Annual Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces. The conference was held the week of January 12th, 2009, in Santa Barbara. The award was presented by Nobel Laureate Herbert Kroemer (Physics, 2000). Madhukar was cited for his work leading to an understanding of surface reconstruction transformations occurring on the technologically important GaAs semiconductor surfaces, thus resolving a three-decade old puzzle. Congratulations Madhukar!

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Bill Gerberich honored with symposium at IC4N Conference

A gathering of international researchers, a number of which were former students, occurred at the IC4N Conference in Halkidiki, Greece, June 16-18. Professor Gerberich gave an invitied lecture, "Nanoscale Flow and Fracture Interdependence in Brittle Materials" in a multi-disciplinary symposium chaired by E.C. Aifantis and J.Ovid'ko. He was pleased to see a number of his former students and other University of Minnesota Alumni at a symposium in his honor, "Probing at the Nanoscale". This included Drs. William Mook at EMPA in Thun Switzerland, Megan Cordill at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Sadasivan Shankar at Intel, Santa Clara, David Bahr at Washington State, Elias Aifantis at Aristotle University, Neville Moody at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore and Dr. Ioannis Karapanagiotis At the ORMYLIA Art Diagnosis Center among others.

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Derby's research showcased in CEI newsletter and CFD Review

From the article: A 3D view of vortex shedding at the edges of the AFM cantilever the red lines are vortex cores calculated by EnSight. Streamlines are seeded from these cores to show the nature of the vortex at this particular time step.

Research results from Professor Jeff Derby's research group are featured in a showcase article in the current newsletter of Computational Engineering International (CEI), a commercial software company that develops cutting-edge visualization and animation software, and the CFD Review web site, a leading clearinghouse for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) community. The article features several results from the thesis work of former graduate student, Dr. David Gasperino, who is currently employed by Cargill. The article, entitled "Minnesota Chemical Engineers Study Crystal Growth with Extreme Simulations" and written by Kara L. Gray of New Horizon Consulting, discusses how the visualization of complex data using Ensight, a CEI product, aids the understanding of crystal growth simulations. Both Gasperino and Senior Research Associate Dr. Andrew Yeckel are extensively quoted in the article. The CEI newsletter can be found at http://www.ensight.com/current-newsletter/ and the article at http://www.ensight.com/minnesota-chemical-engineers-study-crystal-growth-with-extreme-simula.html. The CFD Review feature is found at http://www.cfdreview.com/application/, with the article at http://www.cfdreview.com/application/08/09/02/2221241.shtml.

An image and caption from the article: A 3D view of vortex shedding at the edges of the AFM cantilever; the red lines are vortex cores calculated by EnSight. Streamlines are seeded from these cores to show the nature of the vortex at this particular time step.

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Bill Gerberich Is Recipient of the 2009 TMS Fellow Award

Bill Gerberich will be presented with the 2009 TMS Fellow Award during the Awards Dinner of the Society on February 17, 2009 in San Francisco, during the 138th TMS Annual Meeting. This award is presented to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the practice of metallurgy or materials science and technology.

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Chris Leighton named Emerging Leader Lecturer

Chris Leighton was recently selected as the "Emerging Leader Lecturer" at the University of California Santa Barbara Materials Department. Chris delivered a joint Materials Department / Materials Research Laboratory colloquium entitled "Tunable spin polarization in (Co,Fe)S2: Engineering half-metallic ferromagnets".

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Chris Leighton Named McKnight Presidential Fellow

Chris Leighton has been named one of the 2007 McKnight Presidential Fellows. This university-wide award has been granted yearly since 2000 and is supported by the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs Fund. It is specifically targeted at the most promising faculty recently granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. The three years of funds provided as part of the award will be used to advance Chris' research program in magnetic materials.

Derby awarded "Best Lecturer" at crystal growth workshop

From left to right: Jeff Derby--UMN, Peter Rudolph--IKZ, Berlin, Partha Dutta--RPI, and David Bliss--AFRL, at IWCGT-4 banquet.

Jeff Derby received the "Best Lecturer" award at the Fourth International Workshop on Crystal Growth Technology (IWCGT-4), which was held from May 18-25 in Beatenberg, Switzerland. Derby gave two invited presentations entitled, "Convection during bulk crystal growth: The good, the bad, and the ugly" and "Relating fundamentals to technology: Why crystal growth models need multi-scale approaches." This workshop is held every three years and involves a select group of scientists, industrial engineers and crystal growers from all over the world in the different fields of crystal growth. The program of of the workshop covers various topics in the field of bulk crystal growth, epitaxy and wafering of a variety of industrially important materials. Attendance is limited to ensure a fruitful exchange between industrial and scientific participants.

The workshop speakers presented an overview about the recent developments in the field of crystal fabrication and wafering and also addressed future challenges. The objective was to cover a broad range of topics related to the progress achieved in the field of industrial production of a variety of crystals including crystal machining. Specifically, IWCGT-4 focused on: Bulk growth, defect and homogeneity control, and process simulation of industrially important semiconductors like Si, GaAs, CdHgTe, CdZnTe, SiC, AlN, GaN, and diamond; Bulk growth of optical, Laser, NLO and scintillation crystals; Growth of Si and III-V compounds for solar cells; Liquid phase epitaxy of magneto-optic layers, of CdHgTe, and of GaN; Wafering of crystals (sawing, polishing, etching)

IWCGT-4 was jointly organized by Hans Scheel (formly of EPFL), Partha Dutta (RPI) and Jochen Friedrich (Fraunhofer IISB) under the auspices of the International Organization of Crystal Growth (IOCG). The workshop was held in Beatenberg, Switzerland at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level, from which one has a scenic view to the famous peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau of the Bernese Alps and to Interlaken and Lake Thoune.

CEMS Ph.D. candidates awarded a Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

Congratulations are in order for the following CEMS students who have been awarded Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships for 2008-09: Michael Behr, Janice Boercker, Kurtis Leschkies, Sudeep Maheshwari, Prashant Nagpal, Scott Roberts and Vassilios Sotiropoulos. The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship program gives outstanding final-year Ph.D. candidates the opportunity to complete the dissertation within the next academic year by devoting full-time effort to the research and writing of their dissertation. Candidates are nominated to an all-University competition by the Director of Graduate Studies in their respective program. Winners receive a fellowship stipend of $22,000 for the academic year. CEMS augments this fellowship so that students receive a total of $27,000.

Jeff Derby Appointed Distinguished McKnight Professor

Prof. Jeff Derby

Jeff Derby is one of four University of Minnesota faculty to receive the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship for 2008. This title, along with a research grant, is awarded only to the University's highest-achieving full professors "whose work has brought great renown and prestige to the University of Minnesota," and is based on the level of their scholarly work, their standing in their field of research, the quality of their teaching and advising, and contributions to the community.

Jeff's research is pointed to the study of crystal growth, and has pioneered the use of computational models to understand crystal behaviours. He is a past recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, the American Association for Crystal Growth Young Author Award, the University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, and the Humboldt Research Award given by the German government’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Other CEMS faculty who have received this award in the past are: Frank Bates, Wei-Shou Hu, Robert Tranquillo, and Timothy Lodge, who also holds an appointment in the Chemistry department.

Kevin Dorfman Receives Packard Fellowship

Kevin Dorfman is one of 20 promising scientific researchers in the nation to receive the 2007 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. He will receive an unrestricted research grant of $625,000 over five years. His research concerns the use stochastic analysis of single-molecule dynamical data and bottom-up fabrication methods to facilitate the transition of DNA electrophoresis to routine use in biology and medicine.

"Each year the Packard Foundation is honored to support a cadre of innovative young scientists and engineers who are attacking some of the most important research questions of our time," said Lynn Orr, Keleen and Carlton Beal Professor at Stanford University, Foundation Trustee, and Chairman of the Fellowship Advisory Panel. "Their research, and the talented students who will work in their research groups, will continue to have a profound impact on the scientific community for years to come."

Frank Bates Gives Berkeley Lectures

Frank Bates

Frank Bates gave the Berkeley Lectures in early March. He gave seminars on "Block Copolymer Phase Behavior: Can Theory Keep Pace?". The Berkeley Lectures in Chemical Engineering have been a proud tradition sponsored by the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley since 1985. The Berkeley Lecturer is an outstanding academic or industrial researcher who presents two lectures over a three day period of time.

Kevin Dorfman Wins NSF CAREER Award

Kevin Dorfman

Kevin Dorfman was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award for research on the "Dynamics of DNA during Electrophoresis in Artificial Sieving Matrices". NSF bestows this award to support the early career-development activities of outstanding young faculty. Professor Dorfman and his research group are going to use microfabrication to make very precise arrays of pillars for DNA separations.

These "artificial gels" promise to be much better than conventional gel electrophoresis of long DNA, reducing the separation time from hours to minutes and increasing the reproducibility. The problem is that, although there is now pretty good data for the interactions of long DNA and a single isolated obstacle, they do not have a good model for the dynamics of DNA as it moves through an array of many obstacles. They are going to observe these dynamics at the single-molecule level and then use coarse-graining techniques to develop models for the separation process. If successful, the project would yield design equations for the separation.

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Efie Kokkoli Awarded 2007 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

Efie Kokkoli

Efie Kokkoli received a 2007 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award is based on research accomplishments and potential as well as teaching quality. Efie is being honored for her research on biomimetic approaches for the design of materials and therapeutics.

Her group focuses on synthesizing and characterizing bioactive peptide-amphiphiles for the design of receptor targeted therapeutics. They attempt to compare and link measurements that address widely different length scales and dynamics, ranging from the single-molecule level all the way to the cell. Different peptide-amphiphiles designed in Efie's lab are further evaluated in their ability to provide targeting functionality to drug delivery systems. Biomimetic peptide-amphiphiles also hold promise for the creation of functional nanostructures and a future goal is to use them for templated materials synthesis.

Chris Leighton Wins Taylor Award

Chris Leighton

Chris Leighton is the 2007 winner of the George W. Taylor Career Development Award. The award recognizes exceptional contributions to teaching by a candidate for tenure, and is bestowed by the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota. Prodromos Daoutidis won this award in 1998.

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Frank Bates Appointed University of Minnesota Regents Professor

Frank Bates

Frank Bates, the Department Head of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science since 1999 and a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, was recently appointed as a Regents Professor by the University of Minnesota. This is the highest recognition that can be given to a faculty member by the University.

This position recognizes faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good. Frank is in good Departmental company in his new position, joining existing Regents Professors Ted Davis and Lanny Schmidt and past Regents Professors Rutherford Aris, Neal Amundson and Skip Scriven.

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Ed Cussler Awarded Honorary Doctorate from The University of Nancy

Prof. Ed Cussler

In a ceremony in France in November of 2007, Professor Ed Cussler was recognized with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nancy. The award notes in part that "...Ed has always had the talent to arouse the spirits by his impassioned talks, deploying systematically a profound originality, as much in its depth as in its form..." Cussler and the University of Nancy share a particular interest in the "still emerging thematic educational exercise, the engineering of products." The award summed Cussler's efforts in education as being "...a brilliant career, illustrating in an exemplary manner the richness and the synergy that can result from a subtle equilibrium between the functions of teaching and research."

The award also noted his work with the AIChE Journal as well as the Journal of Membrane Science, his authorship of 250 publications, 8 patents, and 5 texts as evidence of his being "...equally, and perhaps above all, a professor and communicator without peer."

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Renata Wentzcovitch Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has elected Renata Wentzcovitch as a Fellow. Each year only one in each thousand members is elected to this honor. An award ceremony for honorees will be held in May 2008 in Florida at the AGU Joint Assembly Meeting. The AGU describes itself as, "A worldwide scientific community that advances, through unselfish cooperation in research, the understanding of Earth and space for the benefit of humanity."

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2007-2008 CEMS Outstanding TAs

CEMS TAs were nominated by their instructors for outstanding service awards. Each winning student receives a $200 prize and a T-shirt. Their names also will appear on the Award Plaque in Rm. 150 Amundson. Congratulations go out to: Derek Stevens, CHEN 4006 Mass Transport and Separation Processes (Instructors:Prodromos Daoutidis and Efie Kokkoli) Manish Sharma, MATS 4013 Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Materials (Instructor: Russ Holmes) Aaron Beaber, MATS 4221 Materials Design and Performance (Instructor: Bill Gerberich) Christine Cardinal, MATS 4301W Materials Processing (Instructor: Lorraine Francis) Kurtis Leschkies, CHEN 4001 Material and Energy Balances (Instructor: Kevin Dorfman)

Postdoc Kenward Wins MSI Supercomputing Research Scholarship for 2007-08

Martin Kenward, a postdoc with Kevin Dorfman, won a supercomputing research scholarship from the MSI for the coming fiscal year (July-June). The title of the project is: "Biophysical mechanisms underlying DNAzyme catalysis." DNAzymes are short sequences of single-stranded DNA that act as catalysts when folded in the presence of a cofactor. The most promising DNAzyme, which catalyzes chain scission of mRNA at the start codon, has spawned an active area of clinical research. To date, all DNAzymes have been discovered in the laboratory by directed evolution. Current directed evolution techniques limit DNAzymes to approximately 20 bases, and changing a single base can reduce the catalytic rate by several orders of magnitude. Thus, relating a particular DNAzyme’s sequence to its structure (and fluctuations around that structure) is crucial to understanding their biochemistry, and will aid in the first-principles discovery of new, more powerful enzymes for biotechnology and clinical applications. The specific aim of this project is to correlate insights gained from statistical physics with available biochemical rate data in order to determine the structural features that give rise to stable, highly active DNAzymes.

Jeff Derby to give Two Seminars this Spring

Jeff Derby

Jeff Derby will be giving two seminars this spring. The first is at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX in the Department of Chemical Engineering on March 9. The talk is on "Modeling the Interaction of Multiple Scales in Melt and Solution Crystal Growth."

Jeff will also be speaking at a Colloquium about Crystal Growth of Semiconductors and Optical Crystals. The colloquium is on the Occasion of the Official Retirement of Prof. Dr. H. C. Georg Müller, Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Erlangen, Germany. Jeff's talk on May 4, 2007 is entitled "Virtual crystal growth -- a dream or reality?"

CEMS graduate student Kurtis Leschkies is awarded the Particle Society of Minnesota Scholarship

Third year CEMS graduate student Kurtis Leschkies was one of three students chosen to receive a scholarship awarded by the Particle Society of Minnesota. This scholarship is given to outstanding students whose research and interests focus on particle science and engineering. Kurtis is working on nanoparticle based quantum dot solar cells and is coadvised by Professors Norris and Aydil in CEMS and Professor Kortshagen from the Mechanical Engineering Department. The winners were selected based on their exemplary academic record and research in areas of particle science and engineering. The winners of the scholarship will receive $1000 and will be invited to present their research during a lunch meeting of the Particle Society membership in spring of 2007.

Andrew Yeckel Awarded PROF.X2 Fellowship

Andrew Yeckel, senior research associate, has received a PROF.X2 Fellowship from the Fraunhofer Society of Germany. This program provides financial support for outstanding senior scientists from the U.S. to collaborate with scientists at one of the Fraunhofer's 56 research institutes in Germany. Dr. Yeckel is spending six months working in the Crystal Growth Laboratory at Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Erlangen. The title of the project is, "Multiscale modeling of convective phenomena during directional solidification of solar silicon." Collaborators at the Crystal Growth Laboratory include its director, Dr. Jochen Friedrich, and chief of simulation, Dr. Thomas Jung.

Funding is also provided for Yeckel to travel within Germany to interact with scientists at other institutions, both academic and industrial. Planned visits include Schott, a manufacturer of advanced glass and photovoltaics; Deutsche Solar, a world leader in production of photovoltaic silicon; and the renowned Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) in Berlin. Dr. Yeckel will return to CEMS in April to continue his collaboration with Jeff Derby.

Departmental Visitors for You to Meet and Greet!

There are several visitors to meet and greet in the department. We currently have two Piercy Professors in house. Jayesh Bellare received his Ph.D. from the department in 1988. He is a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. Some of his current research involves liposome and vesicle microreactors and electron microscopy of complex fluids. Check the link below for more information. Jayesh is sitting in Room 151d, and his phone is 5-1058. Our other Piercy Professor is Chris Floudas from Princeton University. He earned his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Chris is an authority on mathematical modeling and optimization of complex systems at the macroscopic and microscopic level and has a research focus that includes chemical process synthesis and design as well as other areas of interest. Chris is on site now in Room 263, at phone number 6-0635. We have three visitors with us from France, too: Veronique Falk, Laurent Falk, and Laurent Marchal-Heussler. They are all faculty members at the University of Nancy in France. Veronique Falk and Laurent Marchal-Heussler are members of the group on Industrial Safety and Heterogeneous Particulate Systems (SISyPHe). Laurent Falk is head of the GPM group that studies Microstructured Process Engineering. While here they are monitoring Ed Cussler's class on product design and providing feedback on it. Veronique and Laurent Falk are in Room 443, at phone 5-1586, while Laurent Marchal-Heussler is in Room 437 at phone 5-9871. Please take advantage of the opportunity to meet and welcome each one of the above visitors! They are eager to meet CEMS faculty, staff and students.

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CEMS Students Win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Samia Ilias and Christine Balonek

Congratulations to Christine Balonek and Samia Ilias who were each awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship! The fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. Christine is currently in her first year of graduate study in Lanny Schmidt's group. Samia started her first year of graduate study in Aditya Bhan's group just this last fall. Again, congratulations to each student on this significant achievement and our best wishes for much success in your research programs.

IT Students Honor Eray Aydil with "Best Professor" Title

IT Week/Engineers Week events (Feb. 17-23, 2008) include IT students voting for a number of "best" titles to be revealed during the activities. Eray Aydil was selected this year as "best professor in the Chemical Engineering & Materials Science program." Eray will be honored at the IT Awards and Recognition Banquet which salutes outstanding Institute of Technology faculty, teaching assistants, advisors and student organizations. Congratulations Eray!

Renata Wentzcovitch Eos Article

Renata Wentzcovitch

Research from Renata Wentzcovitch and her group was highlighted in Eos. The article "Spin transition in Magnesiowüstite in Earth’s lower mantle" by T. Tsuchiya, R.M. Wentzcovitch, S. de Gironcoli appeared in Physical Review Letters in 2006.

Electronic spin is a quantum property of every electron, associated with its intrinsic angular momentum. The electronic structure of iron in minerals is generally such that valence electrons will more abundantly occupy different spatial orbitals and maintain the same spin than occupy the same spatial orbital and assume opposite spin, called ‘spin-paired.’ To the astonishment of mineral physicists, pressure-induced electronic spin-pairing that were predicted in iron nearly 50 years ago recently have been detected in ultrahigh-pressure experiments.

You can link to the complete article below.

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Norris Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society

David Norris has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). "Election to Fellowship in the American Physical Society is limited to no more than one half of one percent of the membership. Election to APS Fellowship is recognition by one's peers of significant contributions to physics." The presentation will be given at the annual APS meeting in the Division of Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP). David was nominated "for fundamental contributions and pioneering investigations in the areas of growth of doped nanocrystals and growth of photonic crystals based on self-assembly."

Congratulations, David!

Jessica Hilton won the 2006 AVS Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award

Jessica Hilton won the 2006 AVS Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award She received it at the AVS meeting in San Francisco November 13-17.

The Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award was established in 1989, in the spirit of Nellie Yeoh Whetten, to recognize and encourage excellence by women in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. A fund to support the award was established by Timothy J. Whetten, friends and family of Nellie Yeoh Whetten, and AVS. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.

NSF Highlight: Leighton Fe/Cr paper in Physical Review Letters

Chris Leighton had a recent paper in Physical Review Letters: "Exchange Bias as a Probe of the Incommensurate Spin-Density Wave in Epitaxial Fe/Cr(001) with J.S. Parker, L. Wang, K. A. Steiner, P.A. Crowell (Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 227206 (2006)).

Magnetism in metallic films and interfaces has been intensively studied since the discovery of Giant MagnetoResistance (GMR) in the late 1980’s. This effect enabled fabrication of high sensitivity magnetic field sensors for the read heads in magnetic hard disks, revolutionizing magnetic recording. GMR occurs in structures where an ultra-thin “non-magnetic” film is sandwiched between two magnets, Fe / Cr / Fe being a popular example. Although often ignored, the weak magnetism of the Cr film is fascinating in its own right. As in all magnets, this magnetism originates from the arrangement of the spin magnetic moments of the electrons. Cr has one of the most extraordinary spin arrangements that can be found in the entire periodic table. The spins form a structure that is referred to as an antiferromagnetic Incommensurate Spin Density Wave. As shown in the figure, this involves a periodic modulation of the Cr spin, with a wavelength that does not match (i.e. is incommensurate with) the atomic periodicity. Postdoc Jeff Parker, working with graduate student Lan Wang, undergraduate Kim Steiner, and Professors Leighton and Crowell have used a well-known effect in thin film magnetism to directly probe this spin structure even in very thin films where other techniques cannot be applied. The work is based on the concept of interfacial exchange coupling between neighboring layers, using an effect called exchange bias. Exchange bias is an easily measurable perturbation of the properties of a ferromagnetic film due to proximity to an antiferromagnet like Cr. Its great sensitivity to the interface spins in the antiferromagnet means that in Fe/Cr thin film layers one can use the exchange bias in the Fe to probe the spin arrangement in the Cr. In particular, the wavelength of the Cr spin density wave varies with temperature, leading to an oscillation in the Cr surface spin magnitude, and therefore an oscillation in the strength of the coupling to the Fe, with temperature. By measuring these oscillations they were able to determine, in a unique way, important and detailed information on the spin density wave, such as the extent of the wavelength change with temperature, and the critical temperatures at which the nature of the spin density wave changes. The experiment required not only the fabrication of high crystalline perfection epitaxial Fe/Cr films (with very smooth interfaces) but also measurement of the exchange coupling strength to very high accuracy due to the small magnitude of the oscillations.

Julia Deneen wins MRS Best Poster Award and Graduate Student Award

Julia Deneen was awarded both an MRS Best Poster Award and a Silver Graduate Student Award for her work entitled "Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of the Mechanical Behavior of Nanoscale Materials" at the MRS 2006 Spring Meeting. The poster award was selected from all the posters presented at the meeting on the basis of the poster's technical content, appearance, graphic excellence, and presentation quality. Julia received a $500 cash prize and her poster was on display throughout the meeting. For the Graduate Student Award, finalists are chosen based on their outstanding performance in the conduct of the project and promise for future substantial achievement in materials research. The award consists of complimentary conference registration, an award certificate, and another cash prize.

2006 AIChE Chem-E-Car Wins Three Awards!

The AIChE Chem-E-Car from the University of Minnesota won "Most Creative Drivetrain", was second place in the poster competition and of course placed first in the Car Competition. This particular car was special because it created from scratch in about 2 months and had never competed in a competition before.

The car was powered by a baking soda and vinegar reaction. The gas produced from the reaction created pressure in a closd vessel, and this power was harnessed by connecting it to a piston, whish was then attatched to the car's axel. The car was required to travel 60 feet and stop. After the first run, it was 4 feet away from the 60 feet mark. Then, a few modifications were made to the amounts of reactants added to the vessel, and after the second run the car was zero inches away from the 60 feet mark.

The competition was held at Purdue University in West Lafeyette, Indiana on April 1st. Our team traveled to Purdue for the weekend of March 31st to April 2nd. People involved on the team were Brett Heffelbower, Andrew Larson, Nate Craig, Mike Welch, Jon Seppelt, Ryan Miller, Josh Allen, Kyle Hubbs, Jenna Van Dellen, Matt Rauschke, Greg Hangii, Zack Wilcock, Justin Woo, and Elizabeth Borguson.

Keller Appointed Bologna Center Director

Ken Keller will be the Director of the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna Center in Italy. Ken will begin his new position in August, 2006. The Bologna Center offers an interdisciplinary program of studies, with an emphasis on European studies, international economics, politics and history.

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Derby Lectures at Institute of Crystal Growth

Professor Jeffrey Derby has been invited to give a week-long series of lectures at the Institut für Kristallzüchtung, or Institute of Crystal Growth, in Berlin, Germany. The work of the Institute of Crystal Growth (IKZ) is devoted to the growth of crystalline materials from basic research up to technological realization. It was founded in 1992, following a recommendation of the "Wissenschaftsrat" of the Federal Republic of Germany. The mission of the Institute is to perform basic and applied research in the fields of growth, characterization and processing of crystalline matter and to fulfil service tasks for partners and customers in industry and science. Derby will give five lectures, from June 26-30, 2006, based on general topics and his research programs, under the overall title of "Crystal growth from the melt and solution phases --- physico-chemical basics and modeling."

Bell and Macosko to Present at Polymer Processing Society

Joel Bell, a fourth year PhD candidate working with Professor Chris Macosko, will present two papers at the Polymer Processing Society’s international meeting in Yamagata, Japan. The papers are titled "Cocontinuous Polymer Blends: Effect of Block Copolymer on Morphology” and "Imaging of Cocontinuous Polymer Blends."

Cocontinuous morphologies are formed by the interpenetration of two immiscible polymers. Due to their enhanced interfacial area and unique combination of properties, they are used commercially to enhance conductivity, mechanical, absorption, and processing performance of polymers. Yet, cocontinuous blends haven’t been studied to a great degree and offer a fertile area for research. The right combination of mixing flows, component properties, and concentration needed to generate fine interconnected morphology are still to be discovered. A fundamental problem is that cocontinuous blends are inherently unstable as interfacial tension fights to coarsen the morphology. It has been shown that adding a small amount (1% by weight) optimal diblock copolymer (bcp) decreased the initial pore size and nearly stopped coarsening during annealing in PS/PE cocontinuous blends. It appears that the bcp acts to lower the interfacial tension and hinders coarsening. These results along with the effect bcp has on the range of cocontinuity will be discussed at the upcoming PPS conference.

Two dimensional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used to characterize the polymer blends, but in collaboration with Professor Jung Ho Je’s group at Pohang University (POSTECH), South Korea, Bell and coworkers have also developed a novel synchrotron x-ray microtomography method to visualize cocontinuous morphologies in 3D (similar to a “CAT-scan” used for biological imaging). This new tool gives the ability to characterize cocontinuous morphologies in 3D without extracting or staining one of the phases. The technique was used to measure the surface area and changes in pore size during annealing of 50/50 PS/PE blends. Results will also be discussed at the upcoming PPS conference.

Julian C. Smith Lectures Given by Lanny Schmidt

Lanny Schmidt was the Julian C. Smith Lecturer at Cornell University School of Chemical and Biomelecular Engineering on April 10 and 11th. Lanny discussed topics on renewable energy. His first presentation was on “Does Renewable Energy Make Sense? An Engineering Perspective”. The second talk discussed “Hydrogen and Chemicals from Fossil and Renewable Fuels by Authothermal Reforming”.

The annual two-day Julian C. Smith lecture series was established by the class of 1962, other friends and colleagues, to honor Professor Smith for his commitment and vision in promoting academic research in the department, and for his service as a member of the faculty and as director from 1965 to 1981 in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University.

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Dorfman Awarded Dreyfus New Faculty Award

Kevin Dorfman is the recipient of a 2006 Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award. His area of interest is a new microfluidic separation technique, "dynamic gel electrophoresis," that will be developed to resolve supercoiled DNA and other structured biomolecules. Congratulations Kevin!

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Tsapatsis Presents the Robert W. Vaughan Lecture and D.B. Robinson Lecture

Michael Tspatsis gave the Robert W. Vaughan Lecture, at the California Institute of Technology on April 20, 2006. The Vaughan lectures “honor distinguished young scientists in any of the fields of chemical engineering, chemical physics or applied physics.”

He also gave the D.B. Robinson Distinguished Speaker Lectures at the University of Alberta, Canada in April 2006. The D.B. Robinson Lectures are presented by internationally celebrated experts in the field of chemical and materials engineering. These lectures were named in honor of Dr. Donald Baker Robinson enriching the scholarly activities in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta.

Michael will be giving two more lectures this fall: the Van Ness Lectures at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in October; and the Merck Sharp and Dohme Lectures at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez in November.

All of these lectures were on the topic of molecular sieve thin film technology for separations and energy applications.

Megan Cordill Wins Best Poster Award

At the Gordon Research Conference on Thin Film and Small Scale Mechanical Behavior, Megan Cordill won a Best Poster Award for her poster entitled "Quasi-Static and Dynamic Dislocation Events in Nanocontacts of (001) Nickel." The conference was held at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and was attended by 170 researchers from the United States, Europe and Asia. At the conference 150 posters were presented by graduate students, postdoctoral students and professors. Six poster awards were given out over the week long conference. Awards were decided by the conference attendees. Megan is starting her fourth year in Professor Gerberich's research group.

Cussler Receives Gerhold Award

Ed Cussler received the 2006 Gerhold Award. The award was presented at the recent Separations Division dinner held during the AIChE Annual Meeting. The award recognizes an individual's outstanding contribution in research, development, or in the application of chemical separations technology. Ed received a plaque, $3,000, and travel.

“In the separations community, Professor Edward L. Cussler has arguably developed more novel ideas for separations science and technology than anyone. The breadth of his contributions is stunning, ranging from fundamental scientific advances in diffusion theory, through hollow fiber membrane separators, to separations based on hydrogels.”

“Professor Cussler's greatest contribution has probably been to the understanding of diffusion, which controls many separation rates. In numerous publications and books, he has laid theoretical foundations and analyzed transport processes in ways that are much more understandable than those previously available.”

Julia (Deneen) Nowak receives ACerS GEMS Award and IMC16/IFSM Young Scientist Scholarship

Julia Nowak was selected as a recipient of the Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Award from the American Ceramic Society for her work on "Lattice Defects in Nanoparticles." Julia is one of ten students chosen to receive the award. Selection is based on the scientific and academic accomplishment of the student and the quality of the research presented at the MS&T meeting in October. The award consists of a certificate and a $100 cash prize.

Julia Nowak was recently awarded a Young Scientist Scholarship by the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy (IFSM).The scholarship, for young scientists from countries other than Japan, was funded in part by the KAZATO foundation (JEOL Ltd.). The award consists of JPY 110,000 in support for travel to the 16th International Microscopy Congress (IMC16) in Sapporo, Japan. Julia presented her work on "Dynamic Studies in the TEM: In-Situ Compression of Nanoparticles" at the meeting.

Richter Wins Cleland 2006 Student Travel Grant Award

Benjamin Richter was awarded the Marshall R. Cleland - Radiation Dynamics Inc. 2006 Student Travel Grant Award from the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards (CIRMS). He received a plaque & $1000 Travel Grant to give talk at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. His talk was entitled "Characterizing a Novel Low Voltage Pulsed Electron Beam: Challenges in Dosimetry".

Daoutidis Gives CAST Invited Talk

Prodromos Daoutidis gave an invited talk in the CAST Plenary session in the 2006 Annual AIChE meeting. It was on joint work with his student Michael Baldea (currently at Praxair) and Antonio Araujo and Sigurd Skogestad from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, entitled: Integrated Process Networks: Nonlinear Control Design for Optimality and Dynamic Performance.

Tsapatsis Presents Van Ness Lecture and Merck Sharp and Dohme Lecture

Michael Tsapatsis gave the 2006 Van Ness Award Lectures at RPI (October 11 and 12) and Merck Sharp and Dohme 2006 Lectures at UPR Mayaguez.

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Deneen Makes It to 2006 MRS Awards

Julia Deneen, graduate student advised by C. Barry Carter, has made it to the MRS Awards for the Spring meeting! The MRS Meeting is April 17 - 21 in San Francisco, CA. The final will be very tough since we can see that the other finalists are at UC Berkeley, Caltech, Northwestern, Harvard, Cambridge, KAIST, Columbia and MIT but making it to the Finals is a great achievement.

Wentzcovitch Nominated Fellow of the American Physical Society

Renata Wentzcovitch was nominated a Fellow of the American Physical Society. “Each year, no more than one-half of one percent of the then current membership of the Society are recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow in the American Physical Society.” The presentation will be given at the annual APS meeting in the Division of Materials Physics.

Renata was nominated "For computational tools for, and valuable preditions (sic) of, structure and properties of earth minerals and exotic oxides, especially at high pressure and temperature." Congratulations, Renata!

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The Union Bridge, also called the Chain Bridge spans the River Tweed at Grid reference NT934510 (http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/oscoor_a.htm?NT934510_region:GB_scale:25000), between Horncliffe, Northumberland, England and Fishwick, Berwickshire (now part of Scottish Borders). Before it opened, crossing the river at this point involved an eleven mile round trip via Berwick-upon-Tweed downstream or a twenty mile trip via Coldstream upstream. (Norham Bridge did not open until 1888.)

When it opened in 1820 it was the longest iron suspension bridge in the world with a span of 137 metres (449 ft). Today it is the oldest suspension bridge. The bridge's longevity may owe something to the fact that it was designed by a Royal Navy officer, Captain Samuel Brown. He would have been familiar with the fact that a wooden sailing ship is not totally rigid and designed the bridge on the same basis. Originally the deck was supported by three chains of iron bar links on each side. In 1902 a pair of wire rope cables was added. The decking is of timber and the whole structure is designed to flex slightly under load. Standing on it when a vehicle crosses is reminiscent of being on a ship. The bridge is maintained by an international body, the Tweed Bridges Trust. The alignment of the bridge is almost due east-west but, paradoxically, the English end is north of the Scottish end.

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Undergrad F. Rodrigo Molina Wins First Place at the 2005 National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Competition

F. Rodrigo Molina, a senior chemical engineering undergraduate student, won first place at the 2005 National Research Competition during the SHPE, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, national conference in January 2005.

Rodrigo presented his research on the "Design of Bioreactor for Atrazine Removal." He worked with Professor Larry Wackett (Biotechnology Institute), and Professor Michael Semmens (Civil Engineering.) from the University of Minnesota.

Rodrigo also won first place in APEXES (Academic Programs for Excellence in Engineering and Science) Fall 2004 Technical Presentation Competition, which prepared me for the national competition.

In addition, he is a Colonial Dames scholar. He received this honor for his academic achievements and continue community services with the Latino community in Minnesota. The Colonial Dames foundation pays for his education.

He has also won two Undergraduate Research Opportunity grants (UROP) awards in the University to continue doing research in Biotechnology.

He was the VP of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers chapter in the University 2004-05.

We are proud to have such an accomplished undergraduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science!

Molina 2005 IT Student of the Year

In the 2005 IT Week Banquet and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Plumb Bob, on Thursday, April 14th, at the Campus Club in Coffman Union Rodrigo Molina recieved the 2005 IT Student of the Year award. The IT Student of the Year is selected by the IT Student Board.

In addition, Rodrigo was selected to be the keynote speaker in the annual end of the year celebration banquet of the Academic Programs for Excellence in Engineering and Science (APEXES). The focus of Rodrigo's address was the state of minorities in education, and their challenges and successes. In addition, it was also acknowledged that APEXES does an outstanding job of promoting academic excellence in engineering, physical sciences, and mathematics.

Paper by Ward and Collaborators in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

Xiaoxia Sheng, Taesung Jung, Jeffrey A. Wesson, Michael D. Ward have a paper "Adhesion at calcium oxalate crystal surfaces and the effect of urinary constituents" in the Proceedings of the Nataional Academy of Sciences. Xiaoxia is now a postdoc at MIT; Taesung Jung was a Brain Korea-21 visiting student, and Jeff Wesson is a collaborator at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Note: This paper was preceded by one in Langmuir, which also featured the work as a cover. Taesung Jung was the first author on that paper.

Abstract: Kidney stones, aggregates of microcrystals, most commonly contain calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) as the primary constituent. The aggregation of COM microcrystals and their attachment to epithelial cells are thought to involve adhesion at COM crystal surfaces, mediated by anionic molecules or urinary macromolecules. Identification of the most important functional group-crystal face adhesive combinations is crucial to understanding the stability of COM aggregates and the strength of their attachments to epithelial cell surfaces under flow in the renal tubules of the kidney. Here, we describe direct measurements of adhesion forces, by atomic force microscopy, between various functional groups and select faces of COM crystals immersed in aqueous media. Tip-immobilized carboxylate and amidinium groups displayed the largest adhesion forces, and the adhesive strength of the COM crystal faces decreased in the order (100) > () > (010), demonstrating that adhesion is sensitive to the structure and composition of crystal faces. The influence of citrate and certain urinary proteins on adhesion was examined, and it was curious that osteopontin, a suspected regulator of stone formation, increased the adhesion force between a carboxylate tip and the (100) crystal face. This behavior was unique among the various combinations of additives and COM crystal faces examined here. Collectively, the force measurements demonstrate that adhesion of functional groups and binding of soluble additives, including urinary macromolecules, to COM crystal surfaces are highly specific in nature, suggesting a path toward a better understanding of kidney stone disease and the eventual design of therapeutic agents.

Reference: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2005, 102, 267-272.

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Macosko Receives Bingham Medal and SOR Publication Award

Chris Macosko will receive the Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, at the 77th Annual Meeting in Lubbock, TX, in February 2005. This award is given once a year, and recognized as the highest honor in the world for rheological research. As if that weren’t enough, Chris and past student Rui Zhao will receive the Society of Rheology Publication Award for 2004 at the same meeting.

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Schmidt One of Top 50 Scientific American Research Leaders

Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt was one of the 2004 Scientific American 50 Award Research Leaders. He was nominated for his work in energy, specifically for his work in "developing the first chemical reactor that produces hydrogen from renewable fuel".

The nominees are chosen by Scientific American magazine's Board of Editors who put together a list of scientists who "exhibited outstanding technology leadership in the realms of research, business and policymaking in 2003-04".

Take a look at the complete article in most recent issue of Scientific American.

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MACOSKO WINS BINGHAM MEDAL

Chris Macosko will be the 2004 recipient of the E.C. Bingham Medal awarded by the Society of Rheology (SoR). The Bingham Medal is given to one who has made outstanding contributions to the field of rheology. Chris will receive the Bingham Medal at the SoR meeting in Lubbock,TX on February 14-16, 2005. Congratulations, Chris!

2nd ANNUAL HOMECOMING AND CEMS ALL-CLASS GATHERING INVITATION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2004

You are cordially invited for lively conversation and refreshments at the second annual Homecoming All-Class Gathering in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Beer, wine and snacks will be served. Alumni, spouses, significant others and guests are welcome. Please join us!

BURGERS AND BASEBALL SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2004

Join IT dean H. Ted Davis and department head Frank Bates for a special IT alumni event in Houston, TX. The casual, fun-filled evening will include a “U of M-style” cookout beginning at 4:30 p.m., followed by an exciting game between the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. Watch your mailbox for a formal invitation in August. We look forward to seeing you at Houston’s Minute Maid Park!

Questions? Contact Jennifer Pogatchnick in the IT dean’s office at 800-587-3884 or jpogatchnik@it.umn.edu.

1960’S AND 1970’S MATERIALS SCIENCE GRADUATE STUDENT REUNION

We are holding an informal reunion of Materials Science grad students who were in grad school during the 60s and 70s.

If anybody would like to join the festivities please let me know Bob Sundahl, 3322 E. Tonto Drive, Phoenix AZ 85044 , (480) 893-6637, www.rsundahl.com

CEMS AIChE RECEPTION NOVEMBER 9, 2004

CEMS will host a reception at the AIChE Meeting in Austin, TX on Tuesday, November 9, 2004. The reception will be from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Hilton Hotel, Austin in Salon D 4th Floor. Questions? Contact Julie Prince 612-625-0382.

BATES, CUSSLER, AND KELLER INDUCTED INTO NAE

Clockwise from top left: Chris Macosko, Frank Bates, H. Ted Davis, Kenneth Keller, Lanny Schmidt and Edward Cussler

We are proud to announce that Frank Bates, Ed Cussler, and Ken Keller were inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C. in October 2002. Frank, Ed and Ken were joined at the induction ceremony by our other NAE faculty H. Ted Davis, Chris Macosko and Lanny Schmidt.

Frank Bates was chosen “For important contributions on the phase behavior of polymer blends, particularly block co-polymers.” Ed Cussler was selected “For pioneering research on membrane transport in chemical and biochemical separation, and for inspiring teaching.” Ken Keller was nominated “For leadership in applying quantitative engineering analysis to vascular transport and artificial organ design and in public policy”.

MANSKE SCHOLARSHIP FUND ESTABLISHED

Donald Wright (Chair of the University of Minnesota Foundation) with Dottie, Wendell and Laura Manske

Wendell (’49 BSChE) and Dottie Manske made a $102,500 gift to establish the Wendell and Dottie Manske Scholarship Fund. The scholarship fund will be used to support an undergraduate student’s full tuition during their junior year. The endowed scholarship will be awarded annually to a student based on academic merit and financial need.

Wendell’s motivation for establishing the endowment was that it allowed him to “give back” to the department and the University for the excellent education he received, which played a major role in his successful life.

Wendell and Dottie were inducted into the President’s Club during a private reception, given in their honor, prior to the President’s Club holiday party on December 9, 2002. Accompanying them to the event was their daughter, Laura Manske, with whom Wendell enjoys a partnership in their business, IntroTech, Inc.

RHEOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS SHORT COURSE JUNE 8-13, 2003

The Rheological Measurements short course will be on June 8-13, 2003. Please contact David Giles at 612-625-0880 for more information or go to the website http://www.cems.umn.edu/rheology

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CELL AND TISSUE REACTOR ENGINEERING SHORT COURSE JUNE 9-12, 2003

The Cell and Tissue Reactor Engineering short course will be held on June 9 through 12, 2003. Check out the website http://HuGroup.cems.umn.edu/CTRE or call 612-626-7630

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COATING PROCESS FUNDAMENTALS SHORT COURSE JUNE 23-25, 2003

The Coating Process Fundamentals short course will be held on June 23-25, 2003. For more information call Phil Jensen, 612-625-9075 or go to the website http://www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/coating_process

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GILLIS AND PERREY RECEIVE AWARDS

Shelley R. Gilliss, a graduate student with Professor C. Barry Carter, was selected to receive an MSA Presidential Student Award. She will receive the award at the Awards Ceremony on August 4, 2003 at the MSA Presidential Happenings session of the Microscopy and Microanalysis 2003 meeting in San Antonio, TX.

Chris Perrey, a graduate student in Professor C. Barry Carter's research group, will receive the Microbeam Analysis Society Distinguished Scholar Award. The award will be presented to him at the Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting in August 2003. Professor Carter said "This is an honor for you, our group and the department."

GERBERICH ARTICLE IN THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

Professor William Gerberich's research was highlighted in the Business Section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on March 27, 2003.

TSAPATSIS TO JOIN CEMS

Dr. Michael Tsapastis will join the department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science as a Professor this summer. Michael's areas of research expertise include reaction engineering, separations, and materials synthesis, a portfolio that bridges traditional and current thrusts in the department.

Michael is an academic grandson, with a Ph.D. from Caltech earned under the supervision of George Gavalas. (Professor Gavalas completed his M.S. in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1964 in Chemical Engineering from Minnesota).

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Tsapatsis to the department this summer!

NEW FACULTY MEMBER, EFIE KOKKOLI, STARTS SUMMER 2003

Professor Efie Kokkoli, will join the department as an Assistant Professor. Efie compliments our research and teaching efforts in biomedical and macromolecular science and engineering. Efie received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
We are looking forward to having her on board!

MAYNARD IN CEMS LATE SUMMER 2003

We will have a new Assistant Professor, Jennifer Maynard, late summer 2003. She is currently completing a postdoctoral assignment at Stanford University and the affiliated Veterans Administration. Jennifer will strengthen our biochemical engineering effort with modern tools and concepts related to immune response and related phenomena. She is uniquely trained, with a B.S. in biology from Stanford and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Harren and Wermager Celebrate Anniversaries

Bev Harren, Frank Bates and Sue Wermager

On June 21, the CEMS faculty and staff had a celebration in honor of Bev Harren and Sue Wermager. Bev has been with the department for 25 years. Sue has worked in the department for 27 years. Congratulations!

D. FENNELL EVANS RETIRES

D. Fennell Evans

Professor D. Fennell Evans retired in May after being with the department since 1980. Fennell was the Director of the Center for Interfacial Engineering from 1987 to 1999. He contributed significantly to the reputation of the University through his scholarly leadership in the field of interfacial phenomena and surfactant microstructures. Fennell will be spending his retirement in the D.C. area.

H. Ted Davis Symposium May 31-June 1, 2002

H. Ted Davis

A symposium was held in honor of H.Ted Davis on May 31-June 1, 2002.

The attendees raced go-carts at ProKart Racing on Friday evening May 31. On June 1 the festivities started with a barbeque before the symposium. The symposium "Our Model of Excellence" was held on Saturday afternoon. The speakers included: LannySchmidt (CEMS, recruited to the University of Minnesota with Ted’s assistance, 1965); Eric Kaler, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Dean of Engineering, Universityof Delaware (Ph.D., 1982, University of Minnesota); Kyle Vanderlick, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University (Ph.D.,1988, Universityof Minnesota); John Weaver, Professor and Head of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois (CEMS faculty, 1982-1999); Robert Tranquillo, Professor and Head of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota (CEMS faculty 1988-present; Head BME 1999-present) and Frank Bates, Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota (CEMS faculty 1989-present; Head 1999-present). The talks mixed technical research discussions with humorous memories of the speaker’s experiences with Ted Davis. The festivities concluded with a dinner at Columbia Golf Club Manor in the evening. See the link for more information and pictures!

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BATES, CUSSLER AND KELLER ELECTED TO NAE CLASS OF 2002

Back l to r: Christopher Macosko, Kenneth Keller, L. E. Scriven and Frank S. Bates. Front l to r: Edward L. Cussler, H. Ted Davis and Lanny Schmidt. Rutherford Aris, not pictured.

Frank S. Bates, Edward L. Cussler and Kenneth H. Keller were elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2002. Frank Bates was chosen “For important contributions on the phase behavior of polymer blends, particularly block co-polymers.” Ed Cussler was selected “For pioneering research on membrane transport in chemical and biochemical separation, and for inspiring teaching.” Ken Keller was nominated “For leadership in applying quantitative engineering analysis to vascular transport and artificial organ design and in public policy”. They join fellow NAE members Rutherford Aris, H. Ted Davis, Chris Macosko, Lanny Schmidt and L. E. Scriven.

LANNY SCHMIDT IS NEW REGENTS PROFESSOR

Lanny Schmidt

Lanny D. Schmidt is now a Regents Professor. The Regents Professorship is the University’s highest honor of faculty excellence. The professorship is bestowed for “accomplishments in teaching, scholarship or creative work that have contributed to the University and to the public good”. A $10,000 annual stipend is provided for each Regents Professor. We are proud to have three of the twenty possible Regents Professors in the University: H. Ted Davis and L. E. “Skip” Scriven and Lanny D. Schmidt, as well as Rutherford Aris who is a Regents Professor Emeritus, and Neal Amundson (U. Houston) who was formerly a Regents Professor.

Robert Tranquillo Awarded Distinguished McKnight University Professorship

Professor Robert Tranquillo

Robert T. Tranquillo, a faculty member in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the Head of the Biomedical Engineering Department, has been awarded a 2002 Distinguished McKnight University Professorship.

The purpose of the McKnight University Professorship is to acknowledge the most outstanding mid-career faculty at the University of Minnesota. Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they will hold for as long as they remain at the University of Minnesota, along with an award of $100,000 to be expended over five years. Professor Tranquillo joins other departmental Distinguished McKnight Professors Frank S. Bates, Wei-Shou Hu, Timothy P. Lodge and Michael D. Ward.

Ed Cussler Recognized with 2 Awards - Education and Research

Dr. Ed Cussler

Edward L. Cussler won the 2001 Warren K. Lewis Award for Chemical Engineering Education from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The award recognizes distinguished and continuing contributions to chemical engineering education.

Ed Cussler was also the winner of the 2002 American Chemical Society Award in Separations Science and Technology sponsored by IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. and Millipore Corporation. The award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in fundamental or applied research directed to separations science and technology. Ed will present a lecture at the annual Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Symposium.

William Gerberich Named Fellow at International Conference on Fracture

Dr. William Gerberich

William W. Gerberich was elevated to Fellow of the conference at the 10th International Conference on Fracture, December 2-7, 2001. Since 1965 the conference, held every four years, has selected five Fellows who have contributed to the field worldwide through scholar publications and impact.

William Gerberich Named Fellow at International Conference on Fracture

Dr. William Gerberich

Kenneth Keller Elected AAAS Fellow

Dr. Ken Keller

Kenneth H. Keller was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) by the Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering section of the AAAS. Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for their efforts to advance science or its applications.

Chris Palmstrøm Named APS Fellow

Dr. Chris Palmstrøm

Christopher J. Palmstrøm was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for his original work on metallic compound/compound semiconductor heterostructures and thin film interfacial analysis.

The APS Fellowship Program recognizes members who have made advances in knowledge through original research and publication, have made significant contributions in the application of physics to science and technology, to teaching physics, or service and participation in the activities of the Society. Only one-half of one percent of the APS membership are awarded this honor annually.

Jim Chelikowsky wins Turnbull and IT Professorship

Jim Chelikowsky

Jim Chelikowsky won the MRS David Turnbull Lectureship. The Turnbull Lectureship recognizes the career of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to understanding materials phenomena and properties through research, writing and lecturing.

Jim was also named an Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor this spring. This professorship acknowledges Jim’s outstanding contributions to research, excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and commitment to the Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota. Jim joins CEMS faculty Edward Cussler and Lanny Schmidt in this honor.

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Lodge Chosen as Distinguished McKnight University Professor

Tim Lodge

Tim Lodge was selected as a Distinguished McKnight University Professor. The quality of Tim’s teaching, his research, and his involvement in the University community contributed to this award. Fellow faculty members Frank Bates, Wei-Shou Hu and Mike Ward proudly welcome Tim into their ranks as Distinguished McKnight University Professors.

Alon McCormick named Neal and Shirley Amundson Professor

Alon McCormick

Alon McCormick is the current Neal and Shirley Amundson Professor. The professorship was created out of a generous endowment established by Neal and Shirley Amundson over a decade ago, with recent fortification, this chair will be awarded on a rotating (3-5 year) basis to a faculty member who has demonstrated a commitment to research, teaching, and service in the spirit exemplified by the Chief.

Professor Alon McCormick, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Chemical Engineering (DUS), who has dedicated himself to the betterment of the department for nearly 15 years is the first recipient of this chair. The annual funds provided by the Amundson endowment are available to the chair holder for discretionary spending.

Two New Shell Professors

For the first time since its establishment, the rotating Shell Chair has been awarded to two outstanding faculty members who are still in the formative period of their careers. Lorraine Francis, Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS) in Materials Science and Prodromos Daoutidis, Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in Chemical Engineering will share the entire dispersement from the Shell endowment created over 15 years ago. These funds are intended to enhance the research programs of the recipients.

Leighton named Ray D. and Mary Johnson Professor of Chemical Engineering/Mayon Plastics Chair

Assistant Professor Chris Leighton has been named the Ray and Mary Johnson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Endowed in the mid-1980’s, this chair generally is directed at new faculty members at the earliest stages of their academic careers. Chris Leighton, who joined the department in January of this year, brings fresh insights and creativity to the subject of magnetic materials. The generous gift provided by the Johnson’s, who still reside in the Twin Cities, was instrumental in providing the support necessary to hire and nurture our new colleague.

CEMS RECEPTION AT THE ANNUAL AIChE MEETING

All CEMS alumni are welcome to attend the annual reception at the AIChE meeting. The reception is on Tuesday, November 6 at 6:30 p.m. in Crystal Ballrooms 1 and 2 at the Reno Hilton 2500 E. 2nd Street, Reno NV. See you there!

Arvind Varma Joins the Department as a Piercy Professor

Professor Arvind Varma

Arvind Varma is the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Center for Molecularly Engineered Materials at the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Varma?s research interests are in synthesis of advanced materials, and chemical and catalytic reaction engineering. He plans to complete an invited review paper on the influence of gravity on combustion synthesis of advanced materials, a few research proposals, learn more about nanostructured materials, and interact with the many outstanding faculty and students in the department. Of course, he also looks forward to reminiscing about the great times he had here as a graduate student, spending late nights and early mornings with punch cards at the computing center, and when he met his wife Karen and got married. Karen will be joining him during his sabbatical.

Piercy Professor Geoff Moggridge Arrives in November

Dr. Geoff Moggridge

Geoff D. Moggridge will join the department in November as a Piercy Professor. Dr. Moggridge has been a lecturer since 1995 at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

His research interest is in the area of structured materials, specifically detergent structure, anatase precipitation, carbon adsorbents, silver bullets for Zebra mussels and chemical product design. There are two areas of research he would like to develop during his time in Minnesota. The first is barrier membranes work in collaboration with Professor Ed Cussler. The applications he has in mind are oxygen barriers for polymer electronics, odor barriers, and a water-soluble water barrier for detergents. He is interested in producing reactive barrier membranes using equilibrium reactions, perhaps including adsorbents such as carbon. The second area is to explore the possibility of using diblock copolymers as precursors for controlled pore size mesoporous materials in collaboration with Marc Hillmyer (Chemistry) and Frank Bates. He has done some preliminary experiments in Cambridge using diblock samples prepared in Minnesota and the use for ozonolysis looks promising. He also hopes to make some useful contacts for his zebra mussel project while residing in the Great Lakes/Mississippi area.

Raymond Receives Honorary Doctor of Laws degree May 16, 2001

Lee Raymond after accepting his honorary Doctor of Laws degree

Lee Raymond (Ph.D., 1963) CEO and President of ExxonMobil, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on May 16, 2001. Mark G. Yudof, President of the University of Minnesota and the Honorable Patricia B. Spence, Former Chair of the University of Minnesota, Board of Regents conferred the degree.

H. Ted Davis, Dean of the Institute of Technology and Frank S. Bates, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science spoke briefly. Lee Raymond presented his remarks on “Science and Technology: Today’s Foundation; Tomorrow’s Path” to an enthusiastic audience of faculty, alumni and members of the business community from Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Yiannis Kaznessis Joins CEMS Faculty

Dr. Yiannis Kaznessis

We welcome Yiannis Kaznessis to the faculty in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. Kaznessis obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1999.

He has been involved over the last two years in a joint post-doctoral program with the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan and Pfizer, Inc. His research interest is mathematical modeling proteins using molecular simulations and structural bioinformatics. For more information, follow the link below.

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Xu-Ming Xie Joins CEMS as Next Piercy Professor

Professor Xu-Ming Xie will join the department as a Piercy Professor beginning mid-May. Professor Xie is a faculty member in the Chemical Engineering Department at Tsinghua University in China.

The genesis of Professor's Xie's appointment goes back to last September, when Professor Frank Bates visited Beijing. Discussions with Professor Liu Zheng (Head of the Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University) about collaborative research opportunities between the departments, and subsequent interactions with Professor Xie evolved into the yearlong visit to our department. Dr. Xie will work on polymer materials and physical chemistry with the faculty, postdocs, and students in the Polymer program.

Please extend a warm welcome to Dr. Xie.

Shirley Tabis Celebrates 25 years in the Department

Shirley Tabis (right) celebrates 25 years in CEMS. Also shown are her husband, Dave, and Goldy Gopher.

A celebration in honor of Shirley Tabis’ 25 years of service in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science was held on Friday April 6, 2001.

Departmental faculty and staff helped Shirley celebrate her anniversary. Special guests included Professor Emeritus Herb Isbin, Shirley’s husband Dave Tabis, and a special appearance from Goldy Gopher. Professor Isbin was one of the first Professors who worked with Shirley. On a personal note, Shirley and Dave will also be celebrating 25 years of marriage in June. Thank you Shirley for 25 years of dedication!

Morton Denn and W. Harmon Ray Receive Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees

Regent William E. Hogan II, Vice President and Dean, Christine Maziar, Professor and Head Frank Bates, Professor W. Harmon Ray, Professor Morton Denn, Professor and Regents’ Professor Emeritus Rutherford Aris.

Professor Morton M. Denn (Ph.D. 1964 [Aris]) and Professor W. Harmon Ray (Ph.D. 1966 [Aris]) received Honorary Doctor of Science degrees on Thursday March 29, 2001.

The Honorary Doctor of Science degree is the highest degree conferred by the University of Minnesota. The event began at the Weisman Art Museum with presentations by Professor Denn “An Optimal Path from Complex Processes to Complex Systems” and Professor Ray “The Minnesota Experience – Great Preparation for an Exciting Career”. An awards ceremony was held after the seminars. The Honorary Doctor of Science degrees were conferred upon Professors Denn and Ray by Dr. Christine Maziar, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School and Regent William Hogan II. A reception and dinner attended by faculty, staff and special visitors was held that evening. Morton Denn’s wife Vivienne Roumani-Denn and some of Professor Denn’s former students from Berkeley, Bob Shipman (3M), Doug Devens (3M), his wife Jennifer Raeder-Devens (3M), Caroline Ylitalo (3M), her husband David Ylitalo (3M) and David Giles (University of Minnesota) were at the dinner. Professor Ray’s family: his wife, Nell; his sons (Greg, Jonathan and Steven) and daughter-in-laws (Martha Woofter, Robin Ray and Jody Ray plus one week old grandson Benjamin) were present. Ray and Mary Johnson and Les and Joan Krogh also attended the dinner. A grand time was had by all!

U of M Participants in the MRS Spring 2001 Meeting

The University of Minnesota CEMS was well represented at the Materials Research Society Spring 2001 Meeting this April in San Francisco.

For more information on the MRS meeting, click here.

A list of U of Minnesota authors and titles
Abstracts

Chris Macosko Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Professor Chris Macosko has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

This honor is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made important contributions to engineering theory and practice and who have demonstrated unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology.

The election citation for Macosko reads, "For the invention, development, and dissemination of new methods of reactive polymer processing and rheological property measurement."

Chris joins other CEMS Department and NAE members Rutherford Aris, Ted Davis, Lanny Schmidt, and L.E. Scriven. Total U.S. membership in NAE is currently 2,027, with 157 foreign associates. There are 163 current U.S. members in the chemical engineering discipline.

Jeff Derby Receives Humboldt Research Award

Professor Wolfgang Frühwald (right), President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, presents the Humboldt Research Award for Senior US Scientists to Jeff Derby in Bonn, Germany on June 22, 2000.

Professor Jeff Derby received the Humboldt Research Award for Senior US Scientists from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 150 Humboldt Research Awards annually to foreign scholars with internationally recognized academic qualifications. The award is intended as a lifelong tribute to the past academic accomplishments of award winners. Furthermore, award winners are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice in Germany in cooperation with German specialist colleagues for periods of between six months and one year. Professor Derby spent the summer and a portion of the fall semester, while on a single semester leave, of 2000 at the Materials Science Institute at the University of Erlangen, Germany.

The citation read at the awards ceremony stated, "Prof. Jeffrey Derby is an outstanding researcher. He is advancing the exciting field of computational materials research, blending physics, chemistry, and engineering with the tools of applied mathematics and supercomputing and applying these elements to outstanding issues in materials science. Of special interest to Derby and his host, Prof. Dr. Georg Müller, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg, is the large-scale simulation of continuum transport during the growth of single crystals, such as silicon, which are of vital importance to the electronics industry."

Jeff joins his CEMS colleagues Barry Carter and Lanny Schmidt, who are past recipients of this award.

Tim Lodge Named Editor of Macromolecules

Professor Timothy Lodge has been chosen as the next editor of Macromolecules by the American Chemical Society.

He officially took charge of the content of the biweekly journal on Jan 1 2001, succeeding Dr. Robert W. Lenz of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The journal, which covers various aspects of synthetic chemistry, physical chemistry, polymer properties, and theory, is "very highly regarded, very successful", according to Tim. He hopes to extend the journal's appeal by recruiting associate editors in areas of growing research interest, and by adding some overseas representatives to the editorial team.
(Chemical & Engineering News, Vol 78, Num 43, pg 80, article by Sophie Wilkinson)