Thanks to the generous support of our alumni and friends and the tireless efforts of Dr. Arvind Varma, we have the opportunity to tackle some of the greatest challenges and to reshape the direction of chemical engineering. Central to my commitment to help us realize these opportunities, the challenges of maintaining external focus and excellence in internal operations will be met by creating the position of Executive Officer ("X.O."), formerly and formally called Associate Head. Professor David Corti has agreed to take on this role drawing upon his many years of experience at Purdue. David and I will have more to say in the very near future about specifics, but the general principle will be "running the internal operations of the School" as the responsibility of the X.O. Cristina Farmus will continue in her role as the school's Managing Director, with formal recognition of her increased responsibilities to insure that we achieve our vision in the ongoing Engineering Research Center (ERC) competition and to set the blueprint for future successes in such endeavors. Betty Guerrero will continue to work closely with me, but now succeeding Chris Murray in the role of administrator for the School. Betty will also have additional external focus duties that recognize her prior experiences as journal editor at Purdue and managerial experiences in the private sector. Chris Murray will transition to a new role managing the lifecycle on our faculty's special research projects, from inception to center-scale awards, and has my thanks for her prior service to the School. Sangtae "Sang" Kim Distinguished Professor Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Head of Chemical Engineering Purdue University Tel: 765-494-4075; Fax: 765-494-0805; Email: kim55@purdue.edu<mailto:kim55@purdue.edu>