COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 4, 2008 – Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named this year’s recipient of the Celanese Excellence in Teaching Award.
The award recognizes Laird for his dedication and outstanding contributions to the education and professional development of chemical engineering students at Texas A&M.
“Teaching is essentially the mission of the faculty of this department, and Dr. Laird has excelled at teaching,” said Department Head and Charles D. Holland ’53 Professor Michael V. Pishko. “He is a dynamic and outstanding educator.”
Laird teaches an undergraduate class on numerical methods and co-teaches a graduate level class on carbon dioxide capture and sequestration.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Laird conducts research focusing on large-scale nonlinear optimization, parameter estimation and parallel computing. As part of his research, he has worked on developing algorithms as part of an early warning contaminant detection system in municipal drinking water networks. He also is involved in the modeling and optimization of infectious diseases, working to determine the fundamental driving forces affecting the spread of infectious disease.
Laird was presented the award in conjunction with the announcement of the winners of this semester’s student plant design competition.
Celanese Corporation, which is based in Dallas and employs approximately 8,900 employees worldwide, is a global leader in the chemicals industry. The company manufactures acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer and polyacetal products. Celanese also is a world leader in the production of high-performance engineered polymers used in consumer and industrial products.
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