The design of objects requiring a battery is often limited because batteries are usually flat or cylindrical in shape. But what if the power supply could be any shape, or be part of the object’s structure, or better yet, be the object itself. Thanks to a recent grant awarded to Assistant Professor Jodie Lutkenhaus of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, that technology might soon be reality. As part of the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Research Program, Lutkenhaus received a $350,000 grant to develop organic electrodes for structural energy and power, or in simple terms, “bullet-proof” batteries. Dr. Lutkenhaus said, “While conventional ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 28, 2012 – Carl D. Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been elected a director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) Division. CAST, the leading division for process systems engineering in the chemical engineering community, is responsible for the wide range of activities within AIChE that involve the application of computers and mathematics to chemical engineering problems including process design, process control, operations and applied mathematics. Laird, who will serve a three-year term, intends to enhance retention efforts for the organization by further developing existing initiatives aimed at creating and maintaining an active body ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 6, 2012 – M. Sam Mannan, regents professor and director of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University, is scheduled to discuss the potential impact of a national regulatory management system for the oil and gas industry Sept. 20-21 at a public stakeholder meeting sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The two-day meeting will take place at the College of the Mainland in Texas City and is slated to begin at 9 a.m. in the LRC auditorium on campus. The event is aimed at exploring the use of performance-based, goal-oriented regulatory programs in the United States. In addition to representatives from ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 3, 2012 – Former U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) member and chairperson John Bresland has joined the Texas A&M University System Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center as a Research Fellow. Bresland, who retired from the CSB in August after serving two consecutive terms throughout the last 10 years, will provide counsel and input to the programs and activities of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center while also being engaged in special process safety projects of global significance, noted M. Sam Mannan, center director and professor. As part of his new role, Bresland will continue to speak to audiences around the world on chemical process safety topics, ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 10, 2012 – M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering at Texas A&M University, has announced that M. Nazmul Karim has been named head of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2012. Karim will hold the Mike O'Connor Chair II. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Karim was a member of the faculty at Texas Tech University, where he served as chair and holder of the Whitacre Endowed Department Chair in chemical engineering. He previously was a professor of chemical engineering at Colorado State University and has been a visiting professor at Helsinki University of Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Osaka University and ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 27, 2012 – Benjamin Wilhite, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named to the editorial advisory board of “Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research (I&EC Res.)." He will serve a three-year term on the board, helping obtain feedback from readers, authors and reviewers as well as assisting in establishing long-range policies for the journal. In publication since 1909, I&EC Res. is a weekly publication of the American Chemical Society that reports industrial and academic research in the broad fields of applied chemistry and chemical engineering. In 2010, the journal featured more 1,400 peer-reviewed journal articles. Wilhite’s research focuses on reaction engineering ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 14, 2012 – Hae-Kwon Jeong, a faculty member in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received tenure and promotion to associate professor. Jeong joined Texas A&M in 2006. His research focuses on the development of novel methodologies to design, modify, deposit and microfabricate nanostructured materials and to build them into hierarchical structures and complex forms for wide ranges of applications including separation membranes, selective catalysts, adsorbents as well as micro systems, fuel cells, bio-separation and micro photonics. Jeong earned his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in chemical engineering at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. He also received a master’s degree in physics from the ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 24, 2012 – Juergen Hahn, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named policy committee chair of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). Hahn is the lone U.S. representative on the executive board of IFAC – considered the chief organization for all process controls professionals, regardless of which discipline in which they work. The chair of the policy committee is an ex-officio member of the board. As committee chair, Hahn will be largely responsible for participating in the strategic planning process that IFAC has recently initiated. At Texas A&M, Hahn conducts research that focuses on the development of new systems ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 19, 2012 – Regents Professor and Director of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center M. Sam Mannan has been honored with the 2012 Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in Public Service. Mannan, professor in Texas A&M University’s Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, was recognized for his work in increasing knowledge about process safety in an effort to reduce the injuries, deaths and damage caused by industrial accidents. In recognition of the award, Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin and Executive Director of the Bush Foundation Roman Popadiuk formally presented Mannan with a plaque and a check for $2,500 at a dinner focusing on international excellence. Mannan has ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 16, 2012 — Zhilei Chen, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the Young Investigator’s Research Program Award (YIP) by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). This award will support Chen’s basic research on developing proteinaceous material for efficient enzyme immobilization onto electrodes to create more efficient and longer lasting enzymatic biofuel cells. Chen is one of only 48 recipients of this intensely competitive award, which has success rates of 13-19 percent for all applicants throughout the past three years. The YIP award fosters the early career development of young scientists and provides ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 30, 2012 – Mahmoud El-Halwagi and Yue Kuo, professors in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, have each been named recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award by the university and The Association of Former Students. El-Halwagi and Kuo are two of only 24 members of the school’s faculty and staff to be honored this year for exhibiting the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M. El-Halwagi has been recognized in the teaching category, and Kuo has been recognized in the research category. In addition, Associate Professor Mohamed Nounou, of the department of chemical engineering at Texas A&M at Qatar, also has been ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 2, 2012 – Zhilei Chen, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a recipient of the prestigious award, Chen will receive $400,000 throughout the next five years for her research, which will develop  a novel protein polymer hydrogel as a general scaffold for the immobilization of enzymes and bioactive proteins. Enzymes are versatile catalysts and are playing an increasingly prominent role in modern biotechnology, Chen notes. However, poor long-term stability and difficulties in recovery and recycling of enzymes in solution have greatly hampered their usefulness ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 21, 2011 - Two members of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering are among a select faculty group honored for contributions to teaching, research and service by Texas A&M University's Dwight Look College of Engineering. Professor Mahmoud El-Halwagi has been named a Texas Engineering Experiment (TEES) Station Fellow, and Assistant Professor Katy Kao has been named a TEES Select Young Faculty member. Holder of the McFerrin Professorship, El-Halwagi is internationally known for his pioneering contributions in the fields of sustainable design and process integration, and he has written three widely used texts on the subject. At Texas A&M, he conducts research and teaches senior-level undergraduate and graduate classes, ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 1, 2011 – Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, is the author of a newly published textbook on process engineering, titled “Sustainable Design through Process Integration.” The book covers the fundamental concepts and practical techniques on the use of process integration to maximize the efficiency and sustainability of industrial processes. The book, El-Halwagi says, serves as a resource tool for systematically enhancing process performance and developing novel and sustainable process designs and is applicable to process engineers, industrial decision makers and researchers in the field. It’s also ideal for use as a text in an upper level undergraduate or an introductory graduate course on ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 18, 2011 – Former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, who served as vice chairman on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, is scheduled to speak about energy-related issues and the protection of the nation’s chemical infrastructure Tuesday, Oct. 25 as part of a three-day symposium aimed at making the process industry a safer place. The annual symposium “Beyond Regulatory Compliance, Making Safety Second Nature” is scheduled for Oct. 25-27 at the Hilton Conference Center and is attracting authorities on safety from throughout the world. Sponsored by the Texas A&M University System Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, the symposium will feature ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 3, 2011 – Leo D. Durbin, professor emeritus in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the Donald P. Eckman Education Award by the International Society of Automation (ISA). Durbin is receiving the prestigious award for his outstanding contributions to education and training in the science, engineering and technology of instrumentation, systems, and automation. He is scheduled to be formally honored Oct. 17 during the ISA Honors and Awards Gala at the Renaissance Battle House Hotel & Spa in Mobile, Ala. The award, which is a memorial to Donald P. Eckman, formerly of Case-Western Reserve University, recognizes exemplary efforts and achievements ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 16, 2011 – Biofuels may present a promising alternative to the nation’s existing fuel crisis, but before they can be widely adopted, a series of technological hurdles must be overcome in order to facilitate large-scale production, says Daniel Shantz, a chemical engineering professor at Texas A&M University. Working with 20 authorities from academia, industry, national laboratories and federal funding agencies, Shantz developed an extensive report detailing the complexities associated with biofuel production and adoption. “Developing New Paradigms for Biofuel Separations to Enable an Alternative Fuels Future” was released this month and is based on an NSF-sponsored workshop, co-facilitated by Shantz. The report, Shantz says, is intended to serve as a ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 12, 2011 – Jodie Lutkenhaus, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's 17th Annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) Symposium. As one of a select number of participants convening at this symposium, Lutkenhaus has been recognized as a faculty member who is actively teaching in a U. S. engineering program and has implemented significant innovations in her classes. The symposium is aimed at recognizing, rewarding and promoting effective, substantive and inspirational engineering education through a sustained dialogue within the emerging generation of innovative faculty. At the symposium, participants will engage ... Read More »

Phillip Toby Eubank, 75, of Bryan, passed away suddenly on Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. He was at his home where he resided for more than 42 years. A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. at the Hillier Funeral Home. Mr. Eubank was a professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University until he retired in 2005 with the status of Professor Emeritus. Mr. Eubank was born to Phillip and Mildred Eubank on May 12, 1936 in Greenup, Illinois. He grew up working with his father at their Ford Implement Dealership. In 1958, Mr. Eubank received his undergraduate degree from Rose-Hulman Institute and received his Ph.D, from ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 15, 2011 – M. Sam Mannan, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the honorary degree of doctor honoris causa by the senate of the Technical University of Lodz in Poland. Mannan was recommended for the honor by the faculty council of the university’s Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering. He will be formally recognized at the University of Lodz convocation ceremony, which is scheduled for Sept. 20. Mannan, who holds the title regents professor, serves as director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center. He is an internationally recognized expert on process safety and risk assessment. A professional ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 8, 2011 - Charles Glover, professor, has been appointed interim head of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. A faculty member for more than three decades, Glover earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. Rice University. His research focuses on asphalt materials rheological properties, oxidation kinetics, and developing a thermal and oxygen transport model for the oxidation of asphalt binders in pavements. Additionally, he collaborates with researchers in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and the Texas Transportation Institute on the effects of binder oxidation on pavement performance such as age-related fatigue cracking, aggravated by binder oxidation. In 2001, he received the ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 28, 2011 – A joint research initiative between Texas A&M University and The Pennsylvania State University aimed at designing antibodies for novel cancer treatments using computer algorithms to guide the creation of new proteins has been awarded more than a half-million dollars by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, “An Integrated Approach for Computationally Designing and Experimentally Characterizing Fully-Human Antibodies,” has received $550,670 from the NSF and is led by Thomas Wood, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and Penn State Professor Costas D. Maranas. This activity, Wood says, will introduce a computational workflow for the discovery of antibody-based therapeutics, one of the fastest growing ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 16, 2011 - Juergen Hahn, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University has been named associate editor for "Automatica," the flagship journal of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). "Automatica" publishes papers on original theoretical and experimental research and development in the control of systems, involving all facets of automatic control theory and its applications. As associate editor, Hahn will be responsible for obtaining expert reviews for submitted papers and making publication recommendations. At Texas A&M, Hahn conducts research that focuses on the development of new systems analysis techniques and their application in systems biology as well as for traditional chemical engineering processes. ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 14, 2011 - A Texas A&M University research initiative that converts agricultural wastes into biofuels and high-quality animal feeds has received a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The three-year grant will provide funding to the biomass research program run by Mark Holtzapple, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M. The grant, announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, is part of a larger federal effort to cut foreign oil imports. That effort is funding up to $36 million for six projects in California, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin - all directed at advancing the technology improvements ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 24, 2011 - Juergen Hahn, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named to the policy committee of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). IFAC, founded in 1957, is a multinational federation of National Member Organizations (NMOs), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with automatic control in its own country. The federation promotes the science and technology of control in the broadest sense in all systems - engineering, physical, biological, social or economic - in both theory and application. IFAC is also concerned with the impact of control technology on society. At Texas A&M, Hahn conducts research that focuses ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 12, 2011 - Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the prestigious Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software. Laird will receive the international award along with colleague Andreas Waechter of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center for their development of IPOPT, a software library for solving nonlinear, nonconvex, large-scale continuous optimization problems. The Wilkinson Prize is awarded every four years to the entry that best addresses all phases of the preparation of numerical software. It is sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory, the Numerical Algorithms Group, and the National Physical Laboratory. IPOPT is an object-oriented software library ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 11, 2011 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the Faculty of the Year Award, presented by Texas A&M's student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The Texas A&M AIChE chapter presents this annual award to a faculty member that has demonstrated outstanding dedication and service to the chemical engineering student body during the year. "This award means a lot to me coming from the students, especially from a fine student body: the AIChE Student Chapter," El-Halwagi said. "It is such a great honor and privilege to interact with Texas A&M's chemical ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 11, 2011 - In response to the chemical industry's growing interest in sustainability practices, the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) plans to address the issue during a national conference featuring M. Sam Mannan, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Mannan, who serves as director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address May 18 at the 2011 EHS&S and Sustainability Conference in Houston. The conference, which is in partnership with the Informex Specialty Conference, is hosted by SOCMA's ChemStewards® program. It will focus on the concept of sustainability and ... Read More »

Associate Professor Benjamin Wilhite COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 4, 2011 - Benjamin Wilhite, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been elected to the board of directors for the International Symposia on Chemical Reaction Engineering (ISCRE), the premier organization in the field of chemical reaction engineering. Wilhite, who is the youngest member on the highly distinguished 12-person board, conducts research that focuses on understanding and manipulating interactions between chemical kinetics and transport processes for process intensification, primarily in the area of microreactors for portable power and membrane reactors for sustainable energy. His field of study - reaction engineering - is the discipline that quantifies the ... Read More »

Carl Laird is holder of the William and Ruth Neely Faculty Fellowship in Chemical Engineering. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 15, 2010 - Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering G. Kemble Bennett has appointed Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, holder of the William and Ruth Neely Faculty Fellowship in Chemical Engineering. The appointment is for a three-year period, effective May 1. Laird, who completed his undergraduate career at the University of Alberta, earned his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 and joined Texas A&M in 2007. At Texas A&M, Laird's research focuses on large-scale nonlinear optimization, parameter estimation, and parallel computing. Particular applications include network ... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Feb. 11, 2011 - Because the nation's chemical infrastructure was never designed with regard to preventing or responding to acts of terrorism, intensive research is needed to determine the most effective ways of safeguarding its existing aspects as well as new components, said M. Sam Mannan, a Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor, testifying Friday before a key U.S. House of Representatives homeland security subcommittee. Addressing the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technology of the Committee on Homeland Security, Mannan underscored the importance of the development of updated standards and procedures for new chemical plants and delivery systems as well as the need to determine realistic implementation of ... Read More »

Daniel Shantz has been named a director of AIChE's Catalysis and Reaction Engineering division. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 8, 2010 - Daniel Shantz, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been elected to serve as a director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Catalysis and Reaction Engineering division. Shantz, who also is associate head for chemical engineering undergraduate programs at Texas A&M and director of the Materials Characterization Facility, will serve as director of the division for a three-year term, beginning this year and lasting through 2013. AIChE's Catalysis and Reaction Engineering division serves as an information exchange for knowledge of technical ... Read More »

Mahmoud El-Halwagi has been appointed national chair for the CAST Division. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 7, 2010 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed national chair for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) Division. CAST, the leading division for process systems engineering in the chemical engineering community, is responsible for the wide range of activities within AIChE that involve the application of computers and mathematics to chemical engineering problems including process design, process control, operations and applied mathematics. Last year, El-Halwagi served CAST as the first vice chair after having been previously elected to serve ... Read More »

Katy Kao is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 7, 2011 - Katy Kao, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a recipient of the prestigious award, Kao will receive $511,609 throughout the next five years for her research, which will examine the evolutionary processes associated with how microbes adapt to their environments. This will be accomplished, Kao notes, via the development of the Visualizing Evolution in Real-Time (VERT) method, which uses genetically identical but differently colored cells to identify when adaptive evolution ... Read More »

Mahmoud El-Halwagi, academic trustee for the CACHE Corp. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 2, 2010 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed as an academic trustee for the Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering (CACHE) Corporation. CACHE is the premier not-for-profit organization for computer aids for chemical engineers. CACHE aims to promote cooperation among universities, industry and government in the development and distribution of computer-related and/or technology-based educational aids for the chemical engineering profession. Holder of the McFerrin Professorship, El-Halwagi is internationally known for his pioneering contributions in the fields of sustainable design and process integration, and he has written two widely used texts ... Read More »

Mahmoud El-Halwagi has been appointed to the advisory board for the Center for Energy Initiatives. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 27, 2010 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed to serve on the inaugural advisory board of the Center for Energy Initiatives, launched by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Approved by the AIChE board of directors in 2010, the center aims to identify opportunities beyond the current AIChE energy activities, develop plans to respond to opportunities, facilitate and coordinate implementation, and find ways to focus expertise and the work of AIChE members from different energy related divisions and activities towards ... Read More »

Assistant Professor Jodie Lutkenhaus is a recipient of the NSF's CAREER Award. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 14, 2011 - Jodie Lutkenhaus, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a recipient of the prestigious award, Lutkenhaus will receive $500,000 throughout the next five years for her research, which will examine the materials properties of ultra thin polymer films. Specifically, Lutkenhaus will be studying a class of films called layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies. Made from the alternating layers of oppositely charged molecules, LbL films have applications in energy storage and production, biomaterials, self-cleaning surfaces and more. However, ... Read More »

  Juergen Hahn will serve the Journal of Process Control as an associate editor. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov.19, 2010 - Juergen Hahn, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected to serve on the editorial board of the "Journal of Process Control," the premier journal for process control research. Hahn, who will serve in the capacity of associate editor, will help assist in quality assurance of the journal while promoting it in the process control community. He also will aid in identifying topics and authors for tutorial and review papers. Hahn conducts research that focuses on the development of new systems analysis techniques and ... Read More »

Regents Professor M. Sam Mannan spoke at the 2010 3rd World Conference on the Safety of Oil & Gas Industry. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 12, 2010 - Discussing the status and trends in process safety technology employed throughout the world, M. Sam Mannan, director of the Texas A&M University System Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University, delivered a keynote address at the 2010 3rd World Conference on the Safety of Oil & Gas Industry (WCOGI) in Beijing.   Mannan, who holds the title of regents professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M, presented "Globalization and its Challenges in Industrial Process Safety" as part of ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 2, 2010 - Victor Ugaz, associate professor and holder of the Kenneth R. Hall Development Professorship in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named chair of Texas A&M University's Professional Program in Biotechnology, an interdisciplinary effort that draws on the skills of more than 60 faculty members from five colleges within the university. Ugaz has been a faculty member of the program and on its executive committee. He replaces Suresh Pillai, who will continue as a faculty member in the program and in the Department of Poultry Science. "I am thrilled to have this opportunity to become involved with the Professional Program in Biotechnology at ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 13, 2010 - Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering G. Kemble Bennett has appointed Daniel Shantz holder of the Ray B. Nesbitt Development Professorship III in Chemical Engineering. Shantz is an associate professor and associate head for undergraduate programs in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Shantz, who completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida in 1995, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Delaware in 2000 and joined Texas A&M the following year. At Texas A&M, the Shantz lab is involved in materials development, with particular emphasis in the field of energy. The laboratory couples controlled synthetic chemistry with robust analytical characterization ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 13, 2010 - Mariah Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's 16th Annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. Hahn is one of a select number of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) members chosen to participate in the symposium. In addition to academia, other participants were selected from industry and government and were nominated by engineering colleagues and organizations. The symposium aims to convene engineers aged 30-45 who are performing exceptional research and technical work across a variety of disciplines in order to discuss multidisciplinary ways of contributing to ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Aug. 10, 2010 - Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected as a 2010-2011 Montague Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar. Laird earned his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 and joined Texas A&M in 2007. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Laird conducts research that focuses on large-scale nonlinear optimization, parameter estimation and parallel computing. He continues to work on development of early warning contaminant detection systems for municipal drinking water networks, modeling of LNG dispersion, and parameter estimation for dynamic systems. He also is involved in the modeling of infectious diseases, working to determine the fundamental driving forces ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 16, 2010 - Gilbert Froment, research professor in Texas A&M University's Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been recognized at the International Mexican Congress on Chemical Reaction Engineering for his contributions to the theory and practice of chemical reaction engineering. Froment, who was presented with a plaque honoring his contributions, attended the conference to present his research through a plenary lecture titled "Modeling and Simulation of Complex Hydrocarbon Processing." In addition, Froment presented together with J. Martinis, a graduate of the Texas A&M's chemical engineering program, an oral paper titled "Streamlining the Single-Event Kinetic Modeling and Simulation of Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking." Froment's research focuses on the kinetic modeling of ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 10, 2010 - Juergen Hahn, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the prestigious 2010 Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) Outstanding Young Researcher Award, presented by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The award, which is bestowed upon only one recipient each year, recognizes an individual under the age of 40 for outstanding contributions to chemical engineering computing and systems technology literature. In a congratulatory letter to Hahn, Richard D. Braatz, chair of the AIChE CAST Division Awards committee, lauded Hahn for his contributions to nonlinear systems analysis and its application to chemical and biological systems. Holder ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 4, 2010 - Three members of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering are among a select faculty group honored for contributions to teaching, research and service by Texas A&M University's Dwight Look College of Engineering. Professor Perla Balbuena has been named a Texas Engineering Experiment (TEES) Station Fellow, Professor Tahir Cagin has been named a William Keeler Faculty Fellow, and Associate Professor Arul Jayaraman has been named a TEES Select Young Faculty member. Formal recognitions were made at an awards banquet this past April. In all, more than 40 faculty members were recognized. Balbuena's research focuses on understanding and predicting thermodynamic, transport and kinetic properties of materials using state-of-the-art first ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 12, 2010 - Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named the Registered Student Organization New Adviser of the Year for 2009-2010 by Texas A&M University's Department of Student Activities. Laird has since 2008 served as adviser to the Texas A&M chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon, the National Honor Society for Chemical Engineering. He will be formally recognized with the university-level award at a Division of Student Affairs Awards Ceremony, scheduled for May 5. "Dr. Laird has made a tremendous contribution to OXE through his continuous support and guidance he provides to the organization and the officers," said Kelsey Fuller, president ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 9, 2010 - Zhengdong Cheng, a faculty member in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received tenure and promotion to associate professor. Cheng's research focuses on the self-organization of intelligent colloids and anisotropic particles, the fabrication of photonic crystals and integrated photonic circuits, solar hydrogen production via water splitting, and the application of microfluidics to bio-encapsulation. The techniques developed are applicable to the modeling of phase transitions and liquid crystal materials, the engineering of nano-composites and semiconductor of light, solar energy harvesting, and a wide range of therapeutic treatments. Cheng completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Science & Technology of China before ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 9, 2010 - Arul Jayaraman, a faculty member in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received tenure and promotion to associate professor. Jayaraman's research focuses on molecular systems biotechnology, specifically on using integrated experimental and modeling approaches for investigating problems in human health and medicine. His research projects include systems biology of cytokine signaling in inflammatory diseases; inter-kingdom signaling interactions between bacteria and human cells in GI tract infections; and development of microfluidic model systems for combinatorial drug screening and vascular tissue engineering. Jayaraman, who completed his undergraduate career at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India, earned his Ph.D. at the University ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 9, 2010 - Hae-Kwon Jeong, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award, issued as part of a voluntary, student-selected honors program of The Texas A&M University System. The winners represent the top 20 percent of participating faculty members from all 11 campuses of the Texas A&M System. Awards are based on rankings from evaluations created and administered by students, with weighting for factors such as class size, and all faculty members are eligible. This semester Jeong teaches "advanced nanostructured materials", which introduces the chemical synthesis and characterization of materials with structures and properties ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 10, 2010 - Mariah Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a recipient of the prestigious award, Hahn will receive $400,000 throughout the next five years for her research, which combines a novel class of gels based on collagen-mimetic proteins with gene silencing techniques to identify key environmental stimuli driving mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. Results from these studies have the potential to transform researchers' ability to dictate cell behavior in organ regeneration applications. Hahn, who completed her undergraduate career at The University of Texas at Austin, conducted her ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 15, 2009 - Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As a recipient of the prestigious award, Laird will receive $400,000 throughout the next five years for his research, which will utilize cutting-edge computing technology to aid in the design and operation of facilities for emergency drug production. In the United States alone, Laird says, there have been significant drug shortages as a result of insufficient production capacity. Such shortages have underscored an increasing need for facilities that can be quickly reconfigured to provide production of specific therapeutics ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 8, 2009 - Jerry Bradshaw, senior lecturer in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named this year's recipient of the Fluor Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes Bradshaw for his dedication and outstanding contributions to the education and professional development of chemical engineering students at Texas A&M. "Quality of teaching is very important to us, and we're very pleased to partner with Fluor to present this teaching award," said Department Head and Charles D. Holland Professor Michael V. Pishko. "Jerry does a fantastic job in teaching the labs and has done it with a lot of integrity, class and professionalism throughout his ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 9, 2009 - Kenneth R. Hall, associate dean of engineering and deputy director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), was one of three individuals honored with an Innovation Award by The Texas A&M University System on Thursday, April 9. Hall was presented the award during the 2009 Patent and Innovation Awards hosted by the A&M System's Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center in the George Bush Presidential Library complex. Additionally, eight individuals from the Dwight Look College of Engineering and TEES were recognized for being granted patent protection from the United States Patent & Trademark Office in 2008. The Innovation Awards were presented to ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 2, 2009 - Mariah Hahn, assistant professor of chemical engineering in Texas A&M University's Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has received the 2009 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Gulf Southwest Section Outstanding Young Faculty Award. The award was established to encourage and recognize young faculty participation in ASEE or engineering education activities and events. Recognition as an outstanding young faculty member is based in part on contributions in a number of areas, including laboratory and curriculum development; authorship of instructional materials; publication and presentations at professional meetings that enhance engineering education; contributions and participation in ASEE events or educational activities at other professional societies; scholarly activities related to ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 11, 2009 - M. Sam Mannan, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected by the Safety and Health Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) as the recipient of the Norton H. Walton/ Russell L. Miller Award for 2009. The award recognizes an individual's outstanding chemical engineering contributions and achievements in the fields of loss prevention, safety and health. Mannan will be honored at this year's AIChE spring meeting April 27 in Tampa, Fla. Mannan, who serves as director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, is an internationally recognized expert on process safety and risk ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 4, 2009 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the first-ever Teaching Excellence Award, a voluntary, student-selected honors program launched last fall by The Texas A&M University System. The winners represent the top 18 percent of the nearly 500 faculty members who participated. Awards are based on rankings from evaluations created and administered by students, with weighting for factors such as class size. As part of the program, a total of 80 faculty members from the Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville have been honored. El-Halwagi is one of ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 3, 2009 - Four faculty members from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering have been recognized by Texas A&M University Engineering for excellence in teaching, research and service. Professors Mahmoud El-Halwagi and Kenneth Hall and assistant professors Juergen Hahn and Mariah Hahn each have been named recipients of awards bestowed by the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. El-Halwagi has been honored with the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Excellence in Engineering Teaching Award, and Hall has received the Charles W. Crawford Service Award, which was established in 1962 for distinguished service to the college of engineering. Juergen Hahn has received the 2008-2009 Brockett Professorship ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 20, 2009 - M. Sam Mannan, director of Texas A&M University's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center and professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been honored with the Medal of Honor of the Technical University of Lodz in Poland. Mannan, who visited the university to present research on risk analysis and process safety as part of the institute's International Scientific Symposium, was recognized for significant contributions to the scientific cooperation between Texas A&M and Technical University as well as his support of process safety education and research. Mannan, a professional engineer and certified safety professional, is an internationally recognized expert on process safety and risk ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 12, 2009 - Research by Hae-Kwon Jeong and Zhengdong Cheng, two assistant professors in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been featured as the cover story in the December edition of the international journal "Advanced Functional Materials." The article details work in the complex area of materials science - work that could lead to advancements in areas such as energy, health and medicine, and sensing. The research is a collaboration between Jeong and Cheng's research group, which examines colloids, complex fluids, crystallization and other soft condensed matter topics. "The cover of ââ'¬ËœAdvanced Functional Materials' is highly coveted; it is instantly recognizable and ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 12, 2008 - Juergen Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named an "Outstanding Reviewer" by "Automatica," the flagship journal of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). Each year the editors of "Automatica" identify a select group of reviewers from a pool of about 1,300 individuals who prepare reviews for the journal. This is Hahn's third consecutive selection. As a reviewer, Hahn is responsible for judging the novelty of the work and quality of the manuscripts that are being considered for publication by "Automatica." "You have been identified because of the thorough, competent and timely reviews you have ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 8, 2008 - M. Sam Mannan, holder of the T. Michael O'Connor Chair I in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, and director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, has received the designation of Regents Professor for 2007-08. The A&M System Board of Regents established the Regents Professor Award program in 1996 to recognize employees who have made exemplary contributions to their university or agency and to the people of Texas. To date, 105 faculty members have been named Regents Professors. As a recipient, Mannan will receive a $9,000 stipend, a commemorative medallion and a certificate in his honor. Mannan, a professional engineer and certified ... Read More »

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 ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 24, 2008 - Michael V. Pishko, professor and head of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Bioengineering Plenary Lecture Award. Pishko, whose research interests include microfabricated biosensors, neovascularization of implanted biomaterials and "smart" drug delivery systems, was honored at the 2008 AIChE Annual Meeting for his presentation "Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery and Biochemical Sensing." The presentation detailed Pishko's research in nanoparticles drug delivery systems for chemotherapy and the development of nanosensors for mapping oxidative stress in cells. The Charles D. Holland '53 Professor, Pishko returned to Texas A&M in 2007 after serving at ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 17, 2008 - Yue Kuo, Dow Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed a formal member of the Engineering Panel of the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong. Kuo, who was officially named a member by RGC Chairman Roland Chin, will hold membership through 2010 and serve on the engineering panel of the council, which is Hong Kong's equivalent to the National Science Foundation. The RGC is established under the aegis of the University Grants Committee (UGC). It is responsible, through the UGC, for advising the Government of the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 2, 2008 - Kenneth R. Hall, associate director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and the Jack E. & Frances Brown Chair and professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the 2007 South Texas Section Best Fundamental Paper Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Hall co-authored the paper, "Improved equations for the Standing-Katz tables" with Gustavo A. Iglesias-Silva, a visiting professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Hall and Iglesias-Silva will be presented the award this fall during one of the AIChE Southwest Texas Section monthly meetings. The article was published in the April 2007 edition ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, August 7, 2008 - Thomas K. Wood, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his work in modifying bacteria so that they produce hydrogen that can be used as an energy source. Wood, who is working with colleagues from the University of Central Florida and the University of Connecticut, was awarded $300,000 to continue his research into genetically modifying a strain of Escherichia coli. His initial work with the bacteria has shown promise, resulting in a strain that produces more than 140 times the amount of hydrogen than is created in ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 5, 2008 - Lauding his efforts in developing sustainable technologies that benefit and enhance the human condition, the Bryan Rotary Club Wednesday presented Texas A&M University Professor Mark T. Holtzapple with the 2008 Research Valley Commercialization Rising Star Award. Holtzapple, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, is a distinguished scholar and inventor who with colleagues at Texas A&M has developed several pioneering technologies. Among them are the StarRotor engine, which has the potential to be three times more efficient than the conventional internal combustion engine, and the MixAlco process, a method of converting biomass into fuel. Introduced in 2007, the Bryan Rotary Club/Research Valley Commercialization ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 12, 2008 - Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering G. Kemble Bennett has appointed Victor M. Ugaz holder of the Kenneth R. Hall Professorship in Chemical Engineering. Ugaz is assistant professor and associate head for undergraduate programs in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Established in 2002 by the Gas Processors Suppliers Association, the professorship is named in honor of Hall, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and associate director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. From 2002-2006 Hall served as head of the chemical engineering department. Ugaz joined the Texas A&M Engineering faculty in January 2003. His research focuses ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 8, 2008 - Victor M. Ugaz, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received a grant from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation for his DNA analysis work. Ugaz received $44,000 from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences for the project, "DNA to Go: Do-it-Yourself PCR Thermocyclers." Ugaz joined the Texas A&M Engineering faculty in January 2003. His research focuses on harnessing the unique characteristics of transport and flow at the microscale to enable development of advanced miniaturized chemical and biochemical analysis technologies. Areas of investigation include manipulating electrophoretic migration of DNA and proteins ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 5, 2008 - Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor and holder of the McFerrin Professorship in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named this year's recipient of the Fluor Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes El-Halwagi for his dedication and outstanding contributions to the education and professional development of chemical engineering students at Texas A&M. El-Halwagi, who is widely known for his pioneering contributions in the field of process integration, joined Texas A&M in 2002 after a spending 12 years at Auburn University where he was honored with numerous distinctions. At Texas A&M, El-Halwagi teaches senior-level undergraduate and graduate classes, covering the areas of process ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 2, 2008 - Victor M. Ugaz, assistant professor and associate head for undergraduate programs in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. He is one of only two chemical engineers in the nation to receive this distinction. The award supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences, providing discretionary funding to faculty members at an early stage in their careers. As part of the award, Ugaz will receive an unrestricted research grant of $75,000. "The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is enthusiastic about providing support for faculty ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 1, 2008 - Jaime C. Grunlan, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recently honored at a the 2007-2008 Dwight Look College of Engineering Faculty Awards. Grunlan was recognized as one of five "Texas Engineering Experiment Station Select Young Faculty." Grunlan's research focuses on controlling the microstructure of high aspect ratio nanoparticles using stimuli-responsive polymers. His Polymer Nano Composites Lab is developing thick and thin film polymer nanocomposites for a variety of applications that include EMI shielding, gas permeation control and sensors. Grunlan joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2004 after serving as a senior research engineer at the Avery Research ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 28, 2008 - Victor M. Ugaz, assistant professor and associate head for undergraduate programs in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recently honored at a the 2007-2008 Dwight Look College of Engineering Faculty Awards. Ugaz was honored for being a recipient of the Tenneco Meritorious Teaching Award. In addition it was noted that Ugaz has received tenure and promotion to associate professor, effective Sept. 1. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Ugaz received his doctorate from Northwestern University where he also served as a teaching apprentice, co-instructing an undergraduate chemical reaction engineering class. Ugaz received his master's and undergraduate degree from The University of ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 30, 2008 - One student at a time - that's the simple but demanding philosophy adopted by Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, as he endeavors to teach his students the complexities of process design. It's an incredibly time-consuming job, or as El-Halwagi puts it, "mission," but that suits the chemical engineering professor just fine because in addition to being an internationally recognized authority in his given research area, El-Halwagi is an equally devoted teacher. This month, that devotion to pedagogy was formally recognized when El-Halwagi, holder of the McFerrin Professorship, received a college-level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 28, 2008 - Rayford G. Anthony, professor emeritus in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recently honored at a the 2007-2008 Dwight Look College of Engineering Faculty Awards. Anthony was recognized as a recipient of the Charles W. Crawford Service Award. The award was established in 1962 for distinguished service to the College of Engineering. Former head of the department from 1995-2002, Anthony joined Texas A&M in 1966 as an assistant professor of chemical engineering and ascended to the rank of associate professor in 1969. In 1974, he was named professor of chemical engineering, and in 1994 he was appointed to the ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 28, 2008 - Mark T. Holtzapple, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University and researcher with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), was recently honored at the 2007-2008 Dwight Look College of Engineering Faculty Awards. Holtzapple was recognized as a holder of the Halliburton Foundation Professorship as well as a Chevron Faculty Fellow. Holtzapple's research interests include bio-based fuels and chemicals, food and feed processing, water desalination, air conditioning, high-efficiency engines, jet engines, and vertical-lift aircraft. Throughout the course of his career, he has been awarded over 80 U.S. and foreign patents and has developed a wide variety of technologies, including production ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 14, 2008 - Juergen Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, will be one of a select group of academic leaders convening April 21-22 at a National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop aimed at helping achieve "smart manufacturing" with zero incidents and zero emissions. The exclusive invitation-only workshop, which will take place at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, will bring together leaders in the research and industrial communities in chemical and biological systems involved in smart plant technologies. "Smart manufacturing" refers to a design and operational paradigm involving the integration of measurement and actuation, safety and environmental protection, regulatory control, real-time optimization ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 27, 2008Ã' - Mark Holtzapple, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University and researcher with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), has been awarded one of 21 grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for biomass research and development, and demonstration projects. Holtzapple was awarded $600,000 to help build and operate a small demonstration plant of the MixAlco process, which converts biomass into alcohol fuels. Holtzapple will use the grant to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of anaerobically fermenting biomass to carboxylate salts and their conversion to ketones, such as acetone. "The demonstration plant will hold about ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 17, 2008 - Carl Laird, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been invited to participate in a group tasked with identifying key research areas that could improve the nation's capabilities for countering terrorist attacks that utilize improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The group will be convening March 17 and 18 in Washington, D.C. at a National Academies workshop, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the National Research Council. The workshop, "Disrupting IED Terror Campaigns: Predicting IED Activities," is bringing together experts from a variety of areas, including graph theory, criminology, statistics, data fusion, pattern recognition, law enforcement and ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 29, 2008 - Daniel Shantz, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been appointed holder of the William and Ruth Neely Faculty Fellowship in Chemical Engineering. The appointment is for a three-year period, effective March 1. Shantz joined Texas A&M University in 2001. He serves as the associate head for graduate programs in the department. His research focuses on materials development for emerging areas in energy. Since joining Texas A&M, Shantz has received more than $2 million in funding, which includes six National Science Foundation (NSF) grants. Shantz has published more than 40 papers, serves as a reviewer for more than 15 journals and ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 29, 2008 - Jorge Seminario, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, was one of two professors from Texas A&M University's Dwight Look College of Engineering recently selected to participate in a special meeting of the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO). The "Program Formulation Meeting for Bio-Molecular Electronics" was conducted by the ARO's Division of Electronics. Also attending the meeting with Seminario was Laszlo Kish, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Seminario and Kish are members of a cadre of technical experts who will provide guidance and suggestions to the Division of Electronics as it works to develop a new program in ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 18, 2008 - Juergen Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed external examiner at Queens University in Belfast, United Kingdom. As an external examiner, Hahn will travel to the United Kingdom to review the work of a Ph.D. candidate, enrolled at Queens University, who has prepared a dissertation related to Hahn's field of expertise. "I was pleased to be asked to serve as an external examiner for a dissertation at Queens University," Hahn said. "It shows that other research groups take note of our work and trust us to review and evaluate their students." Contrary to the ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 9, 2008 - Mariah Hahn, assistant professor of chemical engineering in Texas A&M University's Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has received the American Chemical Society's PROGRESS/Dreyfus Lectureship Award in recognition of her research contributions in the areas of soft tissue engineering. The award, which is bestowed upon an individual identified as a "rising star" by the American Chemical Society, goes directly to a female faculty member in the chemical sciences and engineering fields. As part of the award, Hahn will receive a grant that supports travel to one or more Carnegie Research Universities of her choosing, enabling her to give a technical presentation to the faculty and ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 19, 2007 - Rayford G. Anthony, professor of chemical engineering in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and former head of the department from 1995-2002, has been accorded the rank of professor emeritus by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Anthony joined Texas A&M in 1966 as an assistant professor of chemical engineering and ascended to the rank of associate professor in 1969. In 1974, he was named professor of chemical engineering, and in 1994 he was appointed to the C. D. Holland Professorship. Currently, Anthony is a senior fellow at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, a position that he has held since 1984. With ... Read More »

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 13, 2007 - Two faculty members and three staff members from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering Thursday received years of service pins for their exemplary dedication to the State of Texas and Texas A&M University as part of the Texas A&M Engineering Holiday Reception. Professors Charles J. Glover and M. Sam Mannan along with Program Coordinator Mary A. Cass, Scientific Instrument Maker II Randy A. Marek and Computer Systems Manager Jeffrey J. Polasek each received years of service pins from Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering G. Kemble Bennett. Glover's 30 state years of service were the most among the ... Read More »