October 2014 - Che-student-staff-list

Sad News
by Varma, Arvind 14 Jun '16

14 Jun '16

Dear Colleagues, I am very sorry to inform that Julie Kim's mother passed away recently after a lengthy illness. Sang will leave for her memorial services in California early tomorrow morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with Julie, Sang and their family. Arvind

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Recent safety incidents in FRNY
by Nagy, Gabriela 31 Oct '14

31 Oct '14

Hello Everyone, In October 2014 we had two reported safety incidents in FRNY. No medical attention was necessary, as no one was injured. 1. October 6, 2014: This incident involved a researcher who attempted to transport a full LN2 tank from the Physics LN2 facility to FRNY, using a defective LN2 cart with known recurring flat tires problem. Even though when the cart was held in upright position the tires seemed to have the required pressure for proper functioning, as soon as the cart was tipped over for transportation, the tires began to vent violently on a bystander. The cart began to tip over due to loss in the cart's tire pressure. The cart was brought and held in upright position until a group member arrived to help. Action taken: the defective cart was decommissioned until fully repaired. Please remember to check any gas cylinder cart or LN2 cart for mechanical integrity before using it. 2. October 8, 2014: This incident was due to a catastrophic failure of a small centrifuge located in a glove box. While the centrifuge was in use, the rotor (made of plastic) exploded, the centrifuge lid was opened and the rotor parts were ejected into the glove box. There was no damage to the glove box and to the contents of it. After investigating the causes of this incident, the following measures were taken to prevent similar incidents: (i) replace the centrifuge rotor every year (the centrifuge was a few years old and the rotor was never changed); (ii) a new way to keep track of routine maintenance for common pieces of equipment was implemented, (iii) all pieces of common use equipment will be checked and serviced on a regular base. Please continue to report any safety incident, accident or near miss that you experience or witness. This will help improving our safety culture through valuable safety lessons and will help prevent similar situations from happening in the future. Sincerely, Gabriela On behalf of the ChE Safety Committee __________________ Gabriela Nagy, PhD Industrial Education Director ChE Safety Committee Chair School of Chemical Engineering Room FRNY G051 Purdue University Tel: (765)-496-1710 E-mail: nagyg(a)purdue.edu<mailto:nagyg@purdue.edu>

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Graduate Seminar Series - Dr. Horia Metiu, Nov 4
by See, Kimberly S 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering Graduate seminar series Prof. Horia Metiu University of California, Santa Barbara "Catalytic Alkane Activation: Theory and Experiments" November 4, 2014 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 10:15-10:45 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: I will present our work on two topics: 1. The use of density functional computations to explore whether we can improve catalytic activity of oxides, for alkane activation, by various chemical modifications. 2. Experiments that study halogen mediated oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to produce propylene. Within the first topic we use as a guide the observation that when co-adsorbed a Lewis base and a Lewis acid interact strongly through the oxide. This allows us to predict qualitative trends regarding the ability of various kinds of doped oxide surfaces to break the carbon-hydrogen bond in alkanes. In the second topic I present experiments that show that iodine or bromine mediated oxidative dehydrogenation is very effective in converting propane to propylene. We show that this takes place when the gaseous halogen is introduced in a mixture of propane and oxygen or when it is produced by the action of oxygen on molten LiI or LiBr. Bio: M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute Bucharest and PhD in theoretical chemical physics from MIT with John Ross and Robert Silbey. He was a postdoc at the University of Chicago with Karl Freed. He has been professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara since 1976. Worked in many areas of theoretical chemical physics: surface enhanced spectroscopy, time-domain theory of spectroscopy, theory of rate constants, femtochemistry, crystal growth and epitaxy, thermoelectrics, catalysis and surface science. From time to time he did experimental work in collaboration with colleagues. He developed metastable quenching spectroscopy of adsorbates (with Yates and Martin), worked on fuel cell membranes (with Buratto), thermoelectric materials (with Stucky), the surface science of mass selected supported oxide or metal clusters (with Bowers and Buratto) and catalysis (with McFarland and Gordon). Currently his focus is on computations and experiments on catalysis and he is writing (slowly) a book on quantum mechanics. Kim See Secretary ~ Rm 2144 Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering Purdue University 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907-2100 765-494-7134 see2(a)purdue.edu [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~snpha/purdue_train3.gif]

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FRNY G023 closed after 5pm today
by Harrington, Michael P 27 Oct '14

27 Oct '14

FRNY G023 (computer lab), will be closed this afternoon after 5pm and should be re-opened by 10am at the latest Tuesday. The other computer labs (FRNY 1014/1022 and 1033) will remain open and available. -Mike Harrington ******************** Mike Harrington Computer Facilities Manager ECN/Chemical Engineering Purdue University 765-494-6428 mph(a)purdue.edu

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Mellichamp Lecture- Prof Rodney Priestley Oct 28
by Ewing, Virginia G 27 Oct '14

27 Oct '14

[blackwelder] School of Chemical Engineering MELLICHAMP LECTURE Prof. Rodney D. Priestley Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering Princeton University "Engineering Structure and Properties in Polymer Thin Films and Nanoparticles" October 28, 2014 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 10:15-10:45 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: Polymer thin films and nanoparticles will enable emerging nanoscale technologies, including nanoimprint lithography for microelectronics, membranes for efficient separations and batteries, polymer solar cells for energy, coatings for barrier protection, nano-vehicles for controlled drug delivery, and components for fluorescent imaging and photonic structures. These commercial demands have dramatically escalated the need for new routes to process polymer thin films and nanoparticles with greater control over structure and properties. In this talk, we discuss Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) and Flash Nano-Precipitation (FNP) as unique approaches for the processing of polymer thin films and nanoparticles, respectively, with greater control over structure and properties, as compared to conventional processing methods. Brief Biography Rodney D. Priestley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2008. He completed a NSF/Chateaubriand postdoctoral fellowship at Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris. His research interests include polymer glasses, nanoconfined polymer dynamics, polymer thin film and nanoparticle formation, MAPLE and responsive polymers. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Quadrant Award, ACS New Investigator Grant, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Grant, NSF CAREER Award, AFOSR YIP, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

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Amy Hayden - Open House Friday, October 24th
by Fetter, Erin N 24 Oct '14

24 Oct '14

Open House Friday, October 24th 9am - 4pm* *closed during lunch Please join the Business Office in congratulating Amy on her promotion and wishing her well in her new endeavors. We will have cake and drinks in our office to celebrate. I know that Amy would love to get a chance to say goodbye to as many people in ChE as possible, so please stop by to see her if you can! This will be her final day in ChE full-time as she will begin her transition to ECE the following week. From: Fetter, Erin N Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 4:37 PM To: chme(a)ecn.purdue.edu; chmegrad(a)ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Amy Hayden Dear Chemical Engineering Faculty, Staff, and Students, It is with a very heavy heart that I have to announce the departure of Amy Hayden from the ChE Business Office. Amy started in the ChE Business Office in 2004 and eventually landed in her current role in 2009. Over the last 10 years Amy has been an active member of the Chemical Engineering Team and garnered much respect from her peers and customers. She has a smiling face no matter the situation and is happy to help anyone and everyone. Most recently, Amy was awarded the Chemical Engineering Staff Excellence Award which summarizes her many years of phenomenal work and dedication to the school. She will be missed! Amy is receiving a much deserved promotion and taking a position within Electrical and Computer Engineering as an account assistant. Although she is leaving ChE, she won't be too far away! Please join me in congratulating Amy on her new position! Amy's new position in ECE will officially begin on October 27, but she will be spending partial days with us for a couple of weeks after that point. While we search for a replacement you may see new/different faces assisting us in the office. We will use college resources to ensure there is no disruption in service level. So that we do not confuse everyone with who is doing what task, it is best to use the email address chebo(a)purdue.edu<mailto:chebo@purdue.edu> to ensure that the entire group receives the communication. Also, please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you need assistance on anything and I will be happy to assist. Thank you, //////////////////////////////////////////// Erin Fetter Business Manager Chemical Engineering 765-494-4071 [Description: Description: W:\PU_signature_white_bg_215x80.png] Business Services enfetter(a)purdue.edu<mailto:enfetter@purdue.edu> www.purdue.edu<http://www.purdue.edu/> We are Purdue. What we make moves the world forward.

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New Maintenance Mechanic - Nick Humphrey
by Farmus, Cristina D 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Good morning, It is my pleasure to introduce Nick Humphrey as the newest staff addition to our School. He will begin his appointment as Maintenance Mechanic on November 3. He comes with vast experience and well-versed machining carpentry, and welding skills. His duties will be to assist with maintenance and repairs around the School and in research labs. He will be in charge of the machine shop in the Forney basement and will put in place training and usage protocols. Nick has been at Purdue in the Central Machine Shop since 1999, and at the Wade Heat and Power Plant since 2010. Nick will be based in B014B, the same office as the Building Deputy. His email is nshumphrey(a)purdue.edu<mailto:nshumphrey@purdue.edu> and his phone will be 765-494-8727. For any requests for service please use the generic email address frnybldg(a)purdue.edu<mailto:frnybldg@purdue.edu>. Depending on the nature of the request either Nick or Jeff will address it. The Maintenance Mechanic position was funded as part of the College of Engineering Strategic Staff Growth and counts towards the 105 staff members to be added in the College over a period of 4 years. Please join me in welcoming Nick to our School. Cristina Cristina Farmus Managing Director Chemical Engineering Purdue University 765 494 0027 cfarmus(a)purdue.edu<mailto:cfarmus@purdue.edu>

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Mellichamp Lecture by Prof Rodney Priestley -Oct 28
by Ewing, Virginia G 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

[blackwelder] School of Chemical Engineering MELLICHAMP LECTURE Prof. Rodney D. Priestley Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering Princeton University "Engineering Structure and Properties in Polymer Thin Films and Nanoparticles" October 28, 2014 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 10:15-10:45 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: Polymer thin films and nanoparticles will enable emerging nanoscale technologies, including nanoimprint lithography for microelectronics, membranes for efficient separations and batteries, polymer solar cells for energy, coatings for barrier protection, nano-vehicles for controlled drug delivery, and components for fluorescent imaging and photonic structures. These commercial demands have dramatically escalated the need for new routes to process polymer thin films and nanoparticles with greater control over structure and properties. In this talk, we discuss Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) and Flash Nano-Precipitation (FNP) as unique approaches for the processing of polymer thin films and nanoparticles, respectively, with greater control over structure and properties, as compared to conventional processing methods. Brief Biography Rodney D. Priestley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2008. He completed a NSF/Chateaubriand postdoctoral fellowship at Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris. His research interests include polymer glasses, nanoconfined polymer dynamics, polymer thin film and nanoparticle formation, MAPLE and responsive polymers. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Quadrant Award, ACS New Investigator Grant, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Grant, NSF CAREER Award, AFOSR YIP, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

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Dr. Zhen-Gang Wang Announcement
by Waibel, Lucinda M 20 Oct '14

20 Oct '14

Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering Graduate seminar series Prof. Zhen-Gang Wang Full Professor California Institute of Technology "Self-Energy Effects of Salt Ions on Phase Behavior and Interfacial Properties" October 21, 2014 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 10:15-10:45 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: Ions are essential in physical chemistry, colloidal science, electrochemistry, biology and many other areas of science and engineering. While their role is commonly described in terms of screening and translational entropy, many phenomena, ranging from some classical experimental observations made many decades ago to some new systems of current interest, cannot be explained, even qualitatively, by these concepts. A key effect that is often ignored or inadequately treated in the main literature on electrolytes and polyelectrolytes is the self-energy of the ions. In this talk, I will discuss several self-energy effects in macromolecular and interfacial systems. First, we show that the preferential solvation energy of the ions provides a significant driving force for phase separation. This concept is used to develop a theory to explain the dramatic shift in the order-disorder transition temperature in PEO-PS diblock copolymers upon the addition of salt. Second, we show that the dielectric contrast between the polymer backbone and the solvent significantly affects the conformation and charge condensation in dilute polyelectrolyte solutions. Third, we show that the image force has qualitative effects on the double layer structure and forces, such as like charge attraction and charge inversion. Finally we present a simple model for understanding the specific ion effects in the interfacial activity for air/water and oil/water interfaces. Bio: Zhen-Gang Wang received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Beijing (Peking) University in 1982, and his Ph. D in Chemistry from the University of Chicago where he worked with Stuart Rice and Karl Freed. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow first in Exxon Research and Engineering Company, with Sam Safran and Tom Witten, and then at UCLA with Bill Gelbart. In 1991, he joined the Chemical Engineering faculty at Caltech, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1997 and became Full Professor in 2002. Zhen-Gang Wang's research is the theoretical and computational study of structures, phase behavior, interfacial properties and dynamics of polymers, soft materials, and biophysical systems. His current activities revolve around three main themes: charged systems, nucleation or more generally barrier crossing, and nonlinear rheology of polymers gels and entangled polymers. Sincerely, Cindy Waibel Secretary ~ Rm 1144 Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering Purdue University 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907-2100 765-494-4069 Fax: 765-494-0805 leiklebe(a)purdue.edu<mailto:leiklebe@purdue.edu> [PurdueEngineeringLogosmall]

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Fred Sollberger Dissertation Defense, Tuesday, October 21st, at 10:30a.m. in FRNY 3062B
by Maus, Amy M 17 Oct '14

17 Oct '14

This e-mail is to announce that Fred Sollberger will be defending his dissertation, Structure and Activity Relationships of Bimetallic Catalysts for Aqueous Phase Reforming and the Water-Gas Shift Reaction, on Tuesday, October 21st, at 10:30AM in FRNY 3062B. The dissertation is being directed by Dr. Ribeiro, and the abstract is attached. All are welcome to attend. Kind Regards, Amy Maus Graduate Program Secretary School of Chemical Engineering Purdue University 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2100 Phone: 765-494-7343 Email: amaus(a)purdue.edu<mailto:amaus@purdue.edu>

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