COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 23, 2009 – Dany Jair Munoz-Pinto and Zuyi (Jacky) Huang, graduate students in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, each have been named a recipient of the Paul and Ellen Deisler Fellowship in Chemical Engineering.

These fellowships are awarded on the basis of scholarly productivity and excellence in graduate studies and include a $5,000 stipend.

Munoz-Pinto joined the lab of Assistant Professor Mariah Hahn in 2006. His research has focused on examining cell responses to defined environmental stimuli in an effort to design improved environments for tissue regeneration.

“Dany was my very first doctoral student, and I am grateful that I had such a strong student helping to start my lab,” says Hahn. “Dany has simply been an extraordinary student and in four years has been primary author on five and co-author on three published manuscripts. His hard work, intelligence and attitude have been key to his success and instrumental to the success of my lab.”

Huang, who is advised by Associate Professor Juergen Hahn, is working to develop improved models of signal transduction pathways – a central scheme in systems biology. Towards this goal, Huang solves inverse problems in order to create rich data sets that he can use for parameter estimation during the model-building process.

“Jacky is an excellent student with a superb work ethic,” J. Hahn says. “His work has been instrumental for my group in several ways. We have used some of his results as preliminary results for a major NSF-CDI grant that we recently received. In addition to having a very good publication record, he also has helped supervise undergraduate research in my group.”

The Paul and Ellen Deisler Fellowship in Chemical Engineering was endowed in 2000 by the Deislers as a means of promoting advanced studies in chemical engineering.

A World War II veteran, Paul Deisler completed his degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M in 1948. He earned his doctorate from Princeton in 1952 and then joined Shell Development Company where he led a successful career before retiring in 1986 as vice president for health, safety and environment at Shell Oil’s Houston headquarters. He is a distinguished alumnus of both the College of Engineering and the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. His wife, Ellen, is a graduate of the University of Colorado and fellow chemical engineer.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 23. 2009 – Humberto Reyna Jr., an undergraduate student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has won first place in an undergraduate research poster session at the national meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Competing in the catalysis and reaction engineering division of the undergraduate poster session, Reyna received top honors for his poster titled “Role of Catalyst Nanoparticle Size on the Growth of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes.”

Reyna, who is from Houston, is advised by Professor Perla Balbuena and co-authored the research presented on the poster with graduate student Juan Carlos Burgos.

“Humberto’s enthusiasm and dedication have been great assets for my research group; we were all happy to know about Humberto’s winning poster,” Balbuena said.

Reyna’s poster detailed which combination of catalyst size and work of adhesion leads to growth of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT). Employing a reactive molecular dynamics algorithm developed in Balbuena’s group, Reyna was able to simulate critical stages of nanotube growth.

Carbon nanotubes are one of the most well-known products of the nanotechnology field. These tiny tubes have mechanical and electronic properties that make them useful for micro- and nano-electronic devices and for biomedical applications. Reyna’s research helps to design fabrication methods of nanotubes with specific properties for these applications.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 20, 2009 – Qingqing Wang, a graduate student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded an Eastman Chemical Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the Eastman Chemical Group.

Wang was selected for the honor based on her excellence and scholastic achievement. The fellowship will provide her with $5,000 for her research.

Wang, a fourth-year graduate student, is conducting research that focuses on developing new materials that catalyze chemical reactions. One reaction of interest that she has investigated is the formation of biodiesel from triglycerides.

“I am very pleased that Qingqing’s research has been recognized with this award,” said Associate Professor Daniel Shantz, who serves as Wang’s adviser. “Her scientific contributions in silica-supported organocatalysts have been well received by the academic community, and I look forward to more great things from her.”

Eastman fellowships are awarded to promote enrichment, growth and development in students involved in engineering.

Eastman is a Fortune 500 company that manufactures and markets more than 1,200 products that enhance the lives of people around the world. The company provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives, specialty plastics products and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – Victor Carreto-Vazquez, a graduate student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Lamiya Zahin Memorial Safety Scholarship.

Carreto-Vazquez, who is conducting his graduate studies under the auspices of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC), received the scholarship for his essay “Expanding MKOPSC Dust Explosion Research Capabilities by including MIE and Electrostatics Charge Accumulation/Discharge Research.” He was presented the scholarship at the center’s annual international symposium.

The scholarship was established by MKOPSC and the department of chemical engineering to honor the memory of Lamiya Zahin, the daughter of chemical engineering graduate student Saquib Ejaz. Zahin died from injuries sustained in an explosion and fire in a university apartment on the Texas A&M campus in 2004. Ejaz’s mother also died from injuries sustained in the accident.

Each year Texas A&M graduate students are encouraged to apply for the scholarship by writing an essay on “Safety Innovations in Research Projects.”

Deimund, class of 2010, is from Oklahoma City. The president of Texas A&M University’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers chapter, his recent research on biomass processing has garnered him a patent, and his current research involves systems biology in liver cells. He also is an avid strength trainer and enjoys classical literature. If selected as a Marshall Scholar, Deimund said he will study advanced chemical engineering at Cambridge University. He said he will also apply for the Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship and the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship.

Deimund was recently named a 2009 recipient of the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

The Marshall Scholarship is tenable for two years of study at any university in the United Kingdom. Students must be graduating seniors or recent graduates and be nominated by the university. Hundreds of students from across the United States apply each year; only 40 of the approximately 1,100 who applied for the Marshall Scholarship in 2008 were selected as scholars.

Nominees will hear of their selection as finalists in the next one to two weeks. Finalists will then participate in regional or district interviews in Houston in November. The announcement of scholars will be announced shortly thereafter.

Texas A&M University has produced four Marshall Scholars, the most recent being Faye Hays in 2007. In the 2009 competition, biochemistry major Matthew Hickey was a finalist for the Marshall.

The Marshall Scholarships began in 1953 as a gesture of thanks from the British Government for U.S. assistance in rebuilding Europe after World War II. Former Marshall Scholars include Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman. According to the Marshall Scholarship Foundation, as future leaders, Marshall Scholars are “expected to strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programms contributes to their ultimate personal success.”

Because of the fierce competition for these scholarships, the preliminary process to be selected as an official university nominee is quite rigorous. Currently enrolled students and recent graduates should apply for selection in April, with the official deadline for the scholarships being in early October. To be awarded the university’s nomination, a student must show strong scholarly potential, demonstrated through their academic record and letters of recommendation from faculty, leadership ability, demonstrated through their involvement in student and civic organizations, and excellent speaking and analytical skills, as demonstrated in a series of interviews.

Once approved, prospective nominees can expect to spend months developing their applications as they work closely under the advice and guidance of faculty and academic advisors. The official announcement of university endorsement is made only after the nominees submit their finalized application to the scholarship foundations.

For more information, contact Kyle Mox, national scholarships coordinator in the Honors Programs office, at (979)845-1957 or kemox@tamu.edu.

COLLEGE STATION, Nov. 2, 2009 – Mark Deimund, a senior in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named one of five student recipients of the 2009-2010 Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award.

The award is considered the most prestigious honor bestowed on a graduating senior in the university’s Dwight Look College of Engineering and is presented to a student who demonstrates scholastic achievement, leadership skills and a strong moral character. Recipients must have a 3.5 minimum overall GPR, participate in numerous university organizations and posses such qualities as loyalty, honor, duty and integrity.

Deimund is a chemical engineering major from Oklahoma City, Okla. Cited by one professor as among his top 10 undergraduates in the last quarter-century, Deimund is a member of four honor societies: Tau Beta Pi, Omega Chi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Eta Sigma. His current term as president caps three years of leadership roles in the Texas A&M chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

He has been a Chem-E Car team leader since 2007, guiding his group to multiple wins at regional and national competitions. He has worked summers for Celanese Chemicals as an R&D intern in Texas and a process engineering intern in Virginia. His volunteer work has included Texas A&M Big Event, Habitat for Humanity and Super Summer Southern Baptist Youth Leadership Camp.

Deimund has assisted with Texas A&M research on a biomass processing technique that is being patented and published. He visited 15 states during travels this past summer while earning his business management certificate for engineers. He is scheduled to graduate in May 2010.

In addition to Deimund, seniors Colin Bailie, Alexandra (Sandra) Iacob, Rachel Oyler and Rodrigo Garza Urquiza received the annual award. Each of the seniors received an engraved medallion and a $5,000 educational grant. Their names appear on a plaque in the Zachry Engineering Center.

Formerly known as the Engineering Faculty Senior Award, the award was renamed in 1996 to honor Craig C. Brown for his vision to expand and enhance the recognition program through a permanent endowment. Brown is a 1975 civil engineering graduate and past recipient of the award. He is currently president, owner and chief operating officer of Bray International Inc. and president and chairman of the board of the Craig C. Brown Foundation.

Carreto-Vazquez, who interned at BASF, was part of a vinsol resin team that assisted seven of the corporation’s facilities in achieving safer operations by identifying flammable dust used at the facilities and helping facilitate transition to a less-flammable variation of the product. Carreto-Vazquez internship was in BASF’s Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering division in Wyandotte, Mich.

The honor, which is bestowed by BASF’s senior vice president of ecology and safety, recognizes employees, leaders and teams who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding work while at BASF.

Sugg, a resident of College Station, participated in the competition as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, a National Science Foundation-sponsored initiative that offers undergraduate students from Texas A&M as well as other colleges and universities the opportunity to participate in ongoing research with faculty members during a 10-week period in the summer.

Each summer, chemical engineering-REU students participate in the final USRG poster session, competing with students from other programs throughout the Dwight Look College of Engineering. Sugg, who is supervised by Assistant Professor Zhilei Chen received top honors for his submission.

USRG is a summer undergraduate research program organized by the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 4, 2009 – Lina Saenz, a graduate student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded the Eastman Summer Chemical Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the Eastman Chemical Group.

Saenz was selected for the honor based on her excellence in personal achievements, leadership and interest in the chemical process industries. The fellowship will provide Saenz with $6,600 for her research.

Saenz, who is a second-year graduate student, is studying the N-oxidation of alkylpyridines, and the safety concerns related to this reaction. Saenz’s goal is to develop alternatives for an inherently safer reaction by use of thermodynamic and calorimetric studies.

Saenz is conducting her research under the auspices of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, which is directed by Regents Professor M. Sam Mannan. Her process safety group is dedicated to studying different processes, materials and phenomena that represent a hazard in the industry.

“Lina is an overachiever, and she has made excellent contributions to her research field,” Mannan said. “Her research focuses on the area of reactive chemicals, specifically on the study of N-oxidation of alkylpyridines. This catalytic reaction is used in the pharmaceutical industry and employs hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent.

“During the short period of time Lina has been at Texas A&M her work has contributed to a fundamental understanding of the hazards and risks of N-oxidation of alypyridines. Lina’s research will not only solve a need present in this pharmaceutical process, but will also show how adequate assessments of hazardous situations as well as proper identification of the properties of compounds are required to prevent incidents in industrial processes.”

While working in the process safety group Saenz has learned how to provide support to the industry in the development of risk assessments and hazards identifications. The Process Safety Center’s research areas include reactive chemicals, flammability, aerosols, liquefied natural gas safety, quantitative risk assessment, dust explosion, facility siting and chemical incident data systems.

Eastman fellowships are awarded to promote enrichment, growth and development in students involved in engineering.

Eastman is a Fortune 500 company that manufactures and markets more than 1,200 products that enhance the lives of people around the world. The company provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives, specialty plastics products and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 19, 2009 – Jennifer Leigh Christensen, a graduating senior in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award.

The award, one of the university’s most prestigious student distinctions, honors students who exemplify the leadership and related traits of the late Gen. Earl Rudder, a World War II hero who served as president of Texas A&M from 1959 until his death in 1970. It includes a cash gift of $5,000. This academic year only two students from the university’s entire graduating class were selected for the honor, Christensen of Hamilton and Juhee Choi of Korea.

Christensen, who also received a certificate for advanced international affairs from the Bush School of Government and Public Service in addition to graduating with a chemical engineering degree, is known as both an outstanding student and leader.

One of her nominators for the award labeled her among the top five students he has known during his career as a professor and said she has shown a devotion to excellence in every aspect of the Aggie tradition, both in the classroom and through service as a leader in other areas.

Presenting Christensen with the award, Texas A&M President Elsa Murano highlighted her many accomplishments.

“Ms. Christensen has been active in numerous organizations at Texas A&M, including serving as vice president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a director with the Student Government Association, co-chair of the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society and on the board of the Lutheran Student Fellowship,” Murano said. “She also co-authored a book chapter with one of her professors and maintained a perfect 4.0 GPR while earning her degree.”

Earlier this year, Christensen, received the 2008-2009 Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award. The award is considered the most prestigious honor bestowed on a graduating senior in the university’s Dwight Look College of Engineering and is presented to a student who demonstrates scholastic achievement, leadership skills and a strong moral character. Christensen also is a recipient of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering Outstanding Graduating Senior Award.