September 2012 - Che-student-staff-list

Graduate Seminar Series -update
by Ewing, Virginia G 14 Sep '12

14 Sep '12

Please find attached the updated Fall schedule for the ChE Graduate Seminar Series. Virginia Virginia Ewing School of Chemical Engineering 480 Stadium Mall Drive/FRNY Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907-2100 765-494-4365 vewing(a)purdue.edu

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7PM Loeb :Chinese Evangelist Stephen Tong
by Anand David 14 Sep '12

14 Sep '12

** WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong, called the most significant Chinese Reformed theologian and evangelist of this generation and often referred to as the “Billy Graham of the East,” this weekend will present three evangelical worship services at Purdue’s Loeb Playhouse. The services will be presented in Mandarin Chinese with English translation, so that English speakers can participate. Dr. Tong’s ministry spans 50 years and includes his significant influence in the Chinese house church movement. ... There are more than 5,000 Chinese nationals in Greater Lafayette, many associated with Purdue as undergraduate or graduate students, faculty and staff, said Leonard Sidharta, local coordinator for the Tong event. Because of Dr. Tong’s stature in the Eastern world, many Chinese people from the region are expected to attend, as well. Event Times: -- Friday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. -- Saturday, Sept. 15, 6 p.m., question and answer session; 7:30 p.m., evangelistic meeting -- Sunday, Sept. 16: 6:30 p.m. All services at Purdue’s Loeb Playhouse, located in Stewart Center On Sunday, Sept. 16, at 9 a.m. and again at 10:45 a.m., Dr. Tong will preach at Covenant Church, 211 Knox Drive, West Lafayette, Ind. Dr. Tong’s ministry is marked by his desire to remove intellectual and cultural barriers to the Christian faith and lead people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. With roots in Reformed theology, he has influenced hundreds of thousands of people to become full-time ministers of the Gospel. Dr. Tong began his ministry at age 17. He graduated from Southeast Asia Bible Seminary in Malang, Indonesia, and served as a member of its faculty for 25years, teaching theology and philosophy. As an evangelist, his ministry hasreached more than 30 million people worldwide, and he maintains a regular weekly preaching schedule in Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei. Dr. Tong has been a visiting lecturer at numerous seminaries around the world and is the author of more than 75 books. In addition to being a preacher and teacher, Dr. Tong is a composer, conductor, artist, and architect who has composed more than 200 hymns and designed more than 30 buildings. He is the founder of the Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church and has served as a member of the International Consultants of the Lausanne Committee of World Evangelization. For more information, contact: Leonard Sidharta yongfu.meiling(a)gmail.com 765-463-7303

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FW: US News & World Report Undergrad Rankings
by Varma, Arvind 13 Sep '12

13 Sep '12

Dear Colleagues, You have seen the message below from Leah Jamieson re the USNWR rankings for the undergraduate programs. Our program's ranking remains the same as in recent years - the news this year is that we are now in the 12th rank alone, without a tie. I hope that in the near future we will be ranked in the Top-10 but we celebrate our high rank, especially considering that there are ~155 ChE programs in the US offering BS degrees. I take this opportunity to thank you for your hard work and dedication to the education of our students - they are the future of our profession and the School! Best, Arvind Arvind Varma R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Head of Chemical Engineering Purdue University From: engfaculty-list-bounces(a)ecn.purdue.edu [mailto:engfaculty-list-bounces@ecn.purdue.edu] On Behalf Of Jamieson, Leah H. Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 11:05 AM To: 'engfaculty-list(a)ecn.purdue.edu'; 'engap-list(a)ecn.purdue.edu'; 'engcs-list(a)ecn.purdue.edu'; 'eac-list(a)ecn.purdue.edu' Subject: US News & World Report Undergrad Rankings Colleagues - US News & World Report has released its national rankings of undergraduate programs for this year. The undergrad rankings are computed from the responses to a survey sent to deans and selected senior faculty, who rated programs on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). In this year's rankings, Purdue is #10 among engineering programs at doctoral-granting universities, tied with Princeton and UT-Austin. We ranked #9 last year, tied with Cornell. The discipline rankings are: 2013 Ranking 2012 Ranking College #10, tied with Princeton & UT-Austin #9, tied with Cornell ABE #1, tied with UIUC #1 AAE #4 #4 IE #4, tied with Stanford #5, tied with Stanford CE #7 #5 ME #7 #7 ECE #9, tied with Cornell #9, tied with Carnegie Mellon EEE #11 #11 ChE #12 #12, tied with Michigan CmpE #12 #11 MSE #15, tied with Cal Tech #14 BME #18, tied with UIUC & Wisconsin-Madison Not in top 19 *Nuclear engineering programs are not ranked by USN&WR every year and were not ranked this year or last year Congratulations to Agricultural & Biological Engineering on their second consecutive #1 ranking, and to Industrial Engineering and Biomedical Engineering on moving up in the rankings. I'm obviously disappointed in the drop in the overall Engineering ranking from 9 to 10. However, because this is a subjective evaluation, we have the opportunity to influence the perception of our colleagues. As you all know, many exciting things are happening in Purdue Engineering. Over the coming months, we will be pursuing opportunities to communicate that sense of excitement to the rest of the engineering community. I know our students value the effort you put into making their education rigorous, engaging, and relevant. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your continued commitment to creating inspired educational experiences for our undergraduates, and for all you do to support the College and Purdue. We have a grand adventure ahead of us, as Purdue Engineering grows in both size and impact. Best, leah -- Leah H. Jamieson The John A. Edwardson Dean, College of Engineering Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Neil Armstrong Hall +1 765 494 5346 701 West Stadium Avenue +1 765 494 9321 (fax) Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907-2045 lhj(a)purdue.edu<mailto:lhj@purdue.edu> http://www.ece.purdue.edu/~lhj

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AIChE 2012-Registartion & Form 17's
by Olinger, Jennifer L 13 Sep '12

13 Sep '12

Good day, all! If you haven't done so already please get your Form 17's worked up, signed off on and turned into me ASAP. The last day for early bird registration is TOMORROW! If you've already received an email from me stating that your Form has been approved and have not yet been down to register for AIChE, please do so by 4 p.m. tomorrow. Thank you and have a great day! :) With Kind Regards- Jenny Olinger Account Clerk IV Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering Forney Hall Room #G041 West Lafayette, IN 47907 765-496-1094 (Direct Line) 765-494-4073 (Fax) jolinger(a)purdue.edu [cid:image001.jpg@01CD91A3.16007D40]

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Card for Jeff
by Heide, Karen Kay 12 Sep '12

12 Sep '12

FYI - I will be sending a card to Jeff today to wish him a speedy recovery. If you have not had a chance to sign it, please do so by the end of today. Karen Mrs. Karen Heide, Secretary School of Chemical Engineering Purdue University Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette IN 47907-2100 765-494-4050 765-494-0805 (Fax)

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Grad Seminar Announcement - Dr. Shekhar Garde
by Hendryx, Sandra K 11 Sep '12

11 Sep '12

Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering Graduate seminar series Dr. Shekhar Garde, Head Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute "Water at Interfaces of Physical and Biological Systems: A New Molecular Perspective" September 18, 2012 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 8:30 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: Water-mediated interactions (e.g., hydrophobic interactions) govern a host of biological and colloidal self-assembly phenomena from protein folding, micelle and membrane formation, to molecular recognition. Macroscopically, hydrophobicity is often characterized by measuring a droplet contact angle on a surface. At the nanoscale, such measurements are not feasible, e.g., for surfaces of proteins or nanoparticles. Using theory and molecular simulations, we present a new perspective that connects the behavior of water (esp. density fluctuations) near nanoscale interfaces to their hydrophobicity/philicity. This new perspective provides a computational tool for characterizing the hydrophobicity patterns on protein surfaces, which are relevant for binding, recognition, and aggregation phenomena. Simulations also show how the properties of water at interfaces influence binding, folding, and dynamics of flexible molecules in interfacial environments. Our current understanding of the hydration of ions, osmolytes, and solution additives, when combined with this new perspective, provides insights into the role of water in multicomponent biological interactions. Bio: Dr. Shekhar Garde is the Elaine and Jack Parker Chaired Professor and Head of Rensselaer's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He received BS (University of Bombay, 1992) and Ph.D. (U. Delaware, 1997) degrees in Chemical Engineering. He received the prestigious Director's post-doctoral fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he performed research from 1997 to 1999. He joined Rensselaer as an Assistant Professor in 1999. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004 and to Full Professor in 2006. He was appointed Parker Chaired Professor in 2006 and as the Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering Department in 2007. His research focuses broadly on understanding the role of water in biological structure-function, and specifically on hydration and water-mediated interactions using statistical mechanical theory and molecular modeling and simulation tools. He has published ~80 peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals which have been cited over 3700 times. He has received several awards including the prestigious CAREER Award by the US National Science Foundation (2001), School of Engineering Research Award (2003), Rensselaer Early Career Award (2004), and most recently the 2011 Robert W. Vaughan Lecturership at California Institute of Technology. Under Garde's leadership, the Chemical Engineering department climbed in US News & World Report Rankings from 33 to 21. Garde has also enabled a number of CBE faculty to win prestigious Rensselaer and National Awards. Garde is also one of the leaders of the unique animation movie project called the "Molecularium", which aims to excite the next generation about the world of atoms and molecules. He has pioneered integration of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations into Disney-Pixar style animation world. He is an executive producer of the Molecularium I-MAX/3-D-IMAX movies - Molecules to the MAX, which are currently being distributed nationwide. In 2011 he was honored with the Explore~Imagine~Discover Award by the Children's Museum of Science and Technology, in the Capital District, NY.

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Project Building Notification - Forney Hall Data PIC and Wireless Access Point Installation - 2012 (9/24/12 to 12/27/12)
by Farmus, Cristina D 10 Sep '12

10 Sep '12

To: All Occupants of Forney Hall From: Ron Reehling, Project Manager Project Management and Construction Re: Forney Hall Data PIC and Wireless Access Point Installation - 2012 (9/24/12 to 12/27/12) This notification is to inform building occupants of the upcoming Data PIC and Wireless Access Point Installation project scheduled for FRNY from September 24th - December 27th, 2012. It is imperative that this notification be shared with all Departmental Staff within Forney Hall. PROJECT SCOPE: * The scope of work will entail relocating existing and installing new wireless access points throughout the entire building. This type of project is a part of the University's initiative to bring the majority of the campus buildings up to the latest wireless standard (802.11n). * Due to the importance of this project, construction will be occurring during the academic school year, while students are on campus. IMPORTANCE OF THIS NOTIFICATION: * Project Management and Construction has worked jointly with Space Management to verify all Departments utilizing space (or Bruce Poer, Building Deputy of FRNY) within the building. * It is strongly encouraged that this notification be shared with all Departmental Staff. The Data PIC and Wireless Access Point Installation project will generate some noise / vibrations within the building and is expected. Project Management and Construction works very closely with Zone Maintenance and Radiological and Environmental Management (REM) to ensure that all measures are being taken minimize inconveniences to the building and its' occupants. In the event of some unforeseen issue that may or may not be caused by this project, this notification provides a chain of command to follow in order to inform the appropriate personnel at the time of an incident. CHAIN OF COMMAND: * In the event of dust infiltration / odor issue / etc. believed to be caused by the project construction, the person with the issue needs to immediately telephone the following personnel. It is imperative that the person with the issue speaks with someone directly; meaning that if the Building Deputy does not answer, immediately call the Construction Inspector and so on. Notification of issues must be relayed immediately to ensure the health and safety of all building occupants. * Please notify the following personnel in order from #1 - #5. Continue the notification process until someone is reached directly. In the event that the Purdue Police are notified, they will continue to call the Building Deputy, Construction Inspector, Project Manager, and REM until someone is reached. * Jeff Valley, Building Deputy, or Cristina Farmus (494-0027) 765-494-8727 * Rob Parker Construction Electrical Inspector: 765-491-8607 * Ron Reehling, Project Manager: 317-504-5539 * Kevin Thedans, REM: 765-496-1937 * Purdue Police Dispatch: 765-494-8221 NON-EMERGENCY ISSUES / QUESTIONS: At anytime during construction, please feel free in contacting me with questions or concerns regarding the project. Ronald E. Reehling, Jr. P.E. Project Manager Physical Facilities, Project Management and Construction Freehafer Hall of Administrative Services 401 S. Grant Street West Lafayette, IN 47907-2024 765-496-6379 / rereehling(a)purdue.edu

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September 2012 ChE Newsletter
by Farmus, Cristina D 10 Sep '12

10 Sep '12

Staff Recognition * Karen Heide, Secretary, will serve as the United Way Captain for the School of Chemical Engineering. Stay tuned for communication from Karen related to this year's goals and activities. Congratulations Karen! Student Recognition * Graduate Student Charles Hages was awarded the "Best Poster Award" at the annual IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference (PVSC) for work done in "Device Limitations and Light-Soaking Effects in CZTSSe and CZTGeSSe." * Graduate Student Shankali Pradhan received the 2012 Purdue Chemical Engineering Centennial Fellowship * Graduate Student Kathryn Smith received a fellowship for AY 2012-13 from IBM * Graduate Student Haorang Yang received a fellowship for AY 2012-13 from Phillips 66 (formerly Conoco Phillips). Miscellaneous * BoilerBackPack - is a storage infrastructure which provides 100 gigabytes of free individual space for storing and retrieving digital belongings. You can sign up and read more here - http://www.purdue.edu/boilerbackpack You need to 'opt in' to use the service. New Employees * Heather Toro, Business Manager, Started Full time in our School on September 5. She is located in FRNY G041, her email is htoro(a)purdue.edu<mailto:htoro@purdue.edu>, phone 44071. * Melissa La Guire, Secretary, will begin on September 17. She fills the vacancy left by Brandy Green. Employees leaving * Veronica Schirm, the Undergraduate Program Administrator, will be working half time for the next two weeks in our School, after which she will assume a full time position in Purdue's Honors College. Upcoming Events * September 10-12 - Industrial Round Tables * September 28 - Class of 1962 Reunion * October 4 - Outstanding Chemical Engineer Awards * October 4-5 - Industrial Advisory Council (IAC) fall meeting * October 8-9 - Fall Break, no classes * October 28 - November 2 - AIChE Annual meeting, our School reception will take place on October 29th at 7.00 pm Best Regards, Cristina Cristina Farmus Administrative Director Chemical Engineering Purdue University 765 494 0027 cfarmus(a)purdue.edu<mailto:cfarmus@purdue.edu>

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FW: Peck Symposium invitation
by Murray, Chris L 10 Sep '12

10 Sep '12

Sent on behalf of Dr. Elizabeth Topp, IPPH On October 11th, our department will host the 10th Annual Garnet E. Peck Symposium here at Purdue University. The topics for this year's symposium are Globalization and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. As a Purdue researcher with interests in this area, you and your research group are cordially invited to attend. Highlights of the program include: * Internationally recognized speakers in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Globalization * Opportunity for registrants to present posters * Reasonable registration fee * Convenient on-campus conference venue in the Stewart Center I hope you'll be able to join us. For more information, visit our Peck Symposium website<http://www.ipph.purdue.edu/peck/>. Feel free to contact me (topp(a)purdue.edu<mailto:topp@purdue.edu>) or DeEtte Starr (starrd(a)purdue.edu<mailto:starrd@purdue.edu>) if you have questions. Sincerely, Liz Topp Dane O. Kildsig Chair and Department Head Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy

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Grad Seminar Announcement - Dr. Mahdi Abu-Omar
by Ewing, Virginia G 10 Sep '12

10 Sep '12

Reminder - Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering GRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES Prof. Mahdi Abu-Omar Department of Chemistry Purdue University "Chemical Catalysis for Sustainable Energy and the Environment" Tuesday, September 11, 2012 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 8:30 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract. Transition metal catalysts have been an integral part of the success story of the petrochemical industry in the past century. Two of the grand challenges for this century are the utilization of renewable resources and environmental remediation. In this seminar, I will discuss two research projects, chlorite dismutation and biomass conversion. The heme enzyme chlorite dismutase transforms the inorganic oxyanion chlorite to dioxygen and innocuous chloride under ambient conditions and physiological pH. Isotope-labeling and computational studies revealed a tightly controlled rebound mechanism in which each chlorite molecule produces O2 and Cl- on a single metal site. Functional modeling of this enzyme will be presented including the discovery of a manganese water soluble porphyrin that generates catalytically chlorine dioxide from chlorite at neutral pH. Approximately 1.4 billion tons of lignocellulosic biomass is an annually renewable source of energy and feedstock in the U.S. alone. The major components of biomass are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin- all polymeric and contain high percentage of oxygen. I will describe catalytic processes based on cheap and abundant materials that can be employed in tandem to unravel polymeric biomass into soluble components and their subsequent transformation into fuels or high value organics. Bio. Mahdi Abu-Omar is a professor of chemistry and a university faculty scholar at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Mahdi is a native of Jerusalem. He moved to the U.S. in 1988 to pursue higher education. He received a BS (summa cum laude), 1992, in chemistry from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and a Ph.D. in 1996 from Iowa State University working in the field of chemical kinetics and inorganic reaction mechanisms with Prof. James H. Espenson. After a postdoc in bioinorganic chemistry at Caltech with Prof. Harry B. Gray, Mahdi started his independent academic career at the University of California, Los Angeles, and moved to Purdue University in 2003. In addition to fundamental synthesis and mechanistic investigations, Mahdi's research interest includes the design and development of transition-metal catalysts for renewable energy and environmental applications. Dr. Abu-Omar has received several awards including JPP Young Investigator Award from the Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines (2010), the College of Science Interdisciplinary Award (2010) and the College of Engineering Team Excellence Award from Purdue University (2007), Faculty Early Career Development Award from NSF (1999-03), and a Beckman Young Investigator Award (1999-02). In 2008, Mahdi was named University Faculty Scholar by Purdue University. Dr. Abu-Omar has supervised 30 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

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