UTOLEDO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING NEWS - 2016
Yaeser Shirazi places 3rd in poser competition
November 2016: Yaser Shirazi took 3rd place in the Sustainability Poster session at
the 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers annual meeting. The judges were
impressed with his research and presentation. Congratulations Yaser!
Matin Hanifzadeh wins poster competition
October 2016: Congratulations to Mohammadmatin Hanifzadeh who won the "Young Researcher
Poster Competition" at the 2016 Algae Biomass Summit (10/23 to 10/26 in Phoenix, AZ).
The Algae Biomass Summit is the largest algae conference in the world that brings
together scientists, technology developers, industry and venture capitalists.
SGCE HOSTS GREEN CHEMISTRY, SAFER CHOICES WEBINAR
October 2016: The School of Green Chemistry and Engineering (SGCE) partnered with
the US EPA, the Ohio EPA, and Spartan Chemical to host a nationally distributed webinar
on Green Chemistry, Safer Choices on October 12 which included a short presentation
on the new Professional Science Masters program in Green Chemistry and Engineering
at UT.
Professor Seo Receives Grant
September 2016: Professor Youngwoo Seo (joint appointment with Civil and Environmental
Engineering) received funding from the National Science Foundation to support his
work on "Engineering Biofilm Dynamics for Cyanotoxins in Biological Water Treatment."
This project seeks to understand how biofilm dynamics can be engineered in biological
drinking water treatment for cyanobacterial toxin removal.
Alum Accepts Position at Case Western Reserve University
September 2016: Dr. Burcu (Eksioglu) Gurkan, a 2004 MS graduate and Best Master Thesis
Award recipient, has accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Chemical
and Biomolecular Engineering Department at Case Western Reserve University. While
at UT, she worked with Dr. Arun Nadarajah. Subsequently, Dr. Gurkan received a PhD
from University of Notre Dame and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and University
of Akron. Her research interests are energy storage and electrochemical separation
processes.
Alum Selected as NASA Glenn Deputy Director
August 2016: UT COE Alum Marla Perez-Davis, M.S. in Chemical Engineering '87, will
combine her experience in the areas of aeronautics, business management and safety
assurance with excellent leadership capabilities as NASA Glenn Research Center's next
deputy director. Congrats, Marla!
Students Work in El Salvador Makes UT News
August 2016: The nearly year long efforts of Lisa Young, Alison Haas, Kylee Kramer,
and Kayla Piezer (Env. Eng.) to construct and install a water treatment system were
reported in the UT News. Click here to read more.;
Professor Yakov Lapitsky Receives Two Awards
April 2016: This semester, Prof. Yakov Lapitsky has received two research awards:
1) College of Engineering Excellence in Research Award and 2) Eleni and Evangelos
Theodosiou Sigma Xi Young Investigator Research Award. The awards were given in recognition
of his work on creating novel soft materials through non-covalent interaction mediated
self-assembly. Professor Carol Stepien presents the Sigma Xi award in the photo. Congratulations
Prof. Lapitsky!
AIChE Student Chapter Places 2nd in ChemE Jeopardy
April 2016: Congratulations to the ChemE Jeopardy team consisting of Allan Leoffler
(Captain), Christopher Hinckley, Kaleb Eisel, and Natalie Schulte for placing second
at the North Central AIChE Student Chapter Conference! They beat Rose-Hulman, Michigan,
and Notre Dame along the way. The meeting was held April 15-17, 2016. Toledo will
host the meeting in 2019.
Graduate Students Attend International Student Dinner
April 2016: Several CHEE graduate students attended the International Student Dinner
Saturday April 9. It was a well attended event!
Students Seek Support for Installation of Drinking Water Unit
March 2016: Alison Haas, Kylee Kramer, Kayla Piezer, and Lisa Young will travel with
Professor Lipscomb to El Salvador to install a water purification unit that they built
in their Orientation class for Clean Water for the World. The students kindly ask
the UT chemical engineering community for financial support of their trip by donating
through gofundme. They are excited about helping a community have better access to potable water with
your help!
Crissy Reno named Alfred & Isabel Bader Scholar
March 2016: Congratulations to Cristin (Crissy) Reno for being named an Alfred & Isabel
Bader Scholar. A graduate of Sylvania Southview High School and freshman Chemical
Engineering student, she worked with Chemistry Professor Jianglong Zhu on a project
entitled "Stereoselective Synthesis of S-linked 2-Deoxy Glycosides".
Professor Varanasi and Colleagues Receive Patent
February 2016: Professor Sasidhar Varanasi with colleagues Professor Patty Relue (Bioengineering)
and graduate student Bin Li have received a patent for their work to convert aldose
isomers of C5 and C6 sugars to the ketose form and to purify them. This work has significant
potential to improve processes for conversion of biomass to valued added fuels and
materials. Congratulations!
Michelle Patania Wins on Wheel of Fortune
January 2016: BS graduate and current MS student Michelle Patania won big on Wheel
of Fortune. Congratulations Michelle!
Chanda Raine Recognized as a Shining Star
January 2016: Chanda Raine is the recipient of a University of Toledo Shining Star
Award. She was recognized for her outstanding service as Department Associate Director
of Academic Services.