THE VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION WINTER 2010

Greetings from the Department Head Enrollments, research funding grow substantially Dear Friends and Alumni 105 students our entering stu- such as understanding the of the Virginia Tech Depart- each. At the rate dents. mechanical properties of ment of Chemical Engineer- we’re growing, our Fortunately, cells. Extremely successful ing, graduating class our department at Purdue, he earned both Greetings from Blacks- will soon be the is continuing to the prestigious NSF Career burg. I hope that 2010 is off largest in at least grow in other im- Award and the Coulter Foun- to a great start for you. 30 years. I believe portant areas as dation Early Career Award. It is once again my this expanding well. For the fifth We are both fortunate and pleasure to present to you interest is a testi- consecutive year, happy to have him join us. the annual newsletter of the mony to both the we successfully In addition, the amount Virginia Tech Department of quality of our un- recruited a new of external funding brought in Chemical Engineering and let dergraduate pro- faculty member to by our faculty to support their you know about some of the gram, as well as Walz our program. Dr. research programs increased recent events in the depart- to the increased Chang Lu, previ- significantly last year. While ment. awareness among students ously at Purdue University, the federal stimulus program Chemical engineering is of the value of a chemical joined us as an associate certainly helped, a perhaps currently a ‘hot’ major. As an engineering degree. I firmly professor in December 2009. more important factor was example, our spring semes- believe that the world needs Dr. Lu’s research is focused the many collaborations that ter junior classes this year highly qualified chemical en- on the design and develop- have developed among our (Mass Transfer, Heat Trans- gineers now more than ever ment of micro-scale transport faculty, especially between fer, Process Control, etc.) before, and it is gratifying to devices (i.e., microfluidics) our more established faculty have enrollments of about witness this recognition by for biomedical research, See Greetings, page 2

Lu joins faculty Baird named Giacco Professor We were Professor Don Baird was named the more than 153 peer- pleased to welcome Alexander F. Giacco Professor of Chemi- reviewed publica- to the department cal Engineering by the Virginia Tech tions, 107 refereed Professor Chang Board of Visitors. Baird is internationally preprints, 43 other Lu, who joined us known for his expertise, research and publications, 10 book in December 2009 teaching in the field of polymer rheology chapters, and a ma- as an associate and its application to polymer, biopoly- jor textbook. He has professor. Previ- mer, and polymer composite processing. mentored 38 Ph.D. ously, Lu had been His research utilizes both theoretical and students, 12 M.S. a faculty member in experimental tools, and he continues to students, 12 post- Purdue University’s Lu find ways to apply these tools to new ar- Baird doctoral researchers, Department of Ag- eas of research, including fuel cells and and two scientists. ricultural and Biological Engineering. bio-materials. During the past 31 years, Baird has won many awards for both He focuses his research on the design he has been the principal or co-principal his research and teaching, including the See Lu, page 5 investigator on research funding total- Jack Breslin Award from Michigan State ing more than $33 million, has authored See Faculty & Staff News, page 2 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS From page 1 ucts, the development of novel catalysts Germany. He is serving on the scientific University, the Dean’s Award for Excel- for the upgrading of petroleum resources, committees of two international confer- lence in Research, the Dean’s Award for and the development of membranes ences on supercritical fluids that will be Excellence in Teaching, and the DuPont and membrane reactors for the selective held later this year in Brazil and in Italy. A Young Faculty Award. Last year, he re- separation of gases. paper that he had published with visiting ceived the International Award from the In addition to presenting an award professor S. D. Yeo on “formation of poly- Society of Plastic Engineers, which is the lecture at a luncheon of the Club, Oyama mer on particles with supercritical fluids” highest award presented by the society. received a plaque and a $1,000 cash was recognized as the most frequently As an undergraduate at Michigan State, prize. cited manuscript published in The Jour- he was a member of the All Big Ten Foot- nal of Supercritical Fluids within the past ball Team and the All American Academic Professor Erdogan Kiran had five years. Football Team. another active year. He was a keynote The department is pleased to an- The Giacco professorship is funded lecturer at the first ever workshop on See Faculty & Staff, page 3 through the Alexander F. Giacco En- Supercritical Fluid dowed Presidential Chair Fund, initiated Processing of by a donation from Hercules Incorpo- Biopolymers and Congratulations to Professor rated to honor the many contributions to Biomedical De- Steve Martin and wife Rebecca, business and education by Alexander F. vices, held in Ma- who welcomed a son, Baden Giacco, former president of Hercules and deira, Portugal in Anthony Martin, on June 1, alumnus of the Virginia Tech Department November 2009, 2009. Also welcoming of Chemical Engineering. and was the invit- Baden was older sister, ed guest lecturer Hannah. Professor Ted Oyama, the Fred W. for a week at the Bull Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Val- was the 2009 recipient of the Catalysis ladolid’s Chemical Club of Philadelphia Award. Oyama was Engineering De- recognized for his outstanding contri- partment in Spain. butions and leadership in catalysis re- He also gave an search. His current research is focused invited talk at the in three areas: the oxidative transforma- Karlsruhe Institute tion of hydrocarbons to high-value prod- of Technology in

Greetings - from page 1 and our recent hires. These continued to grow. deeply appreciated by ev- Information Form. You can types of collaborations are One major reason for eryone here – faculty, staff, either use the paper copy at essential to obtaining re- this success is the substan- and students – and that it is the end of this newsletter or search funding these days, tial support that we continue without-a-doubt making us a the online form at http://www. and thus I expect to see even to receive from our alumni. better program. che.vt.edu/for_alumni.php further gains in the upcoming From both the many smaller We continue to work to I hope you have a won- years. donations of $50 or $100 reconnect with our alumni, derful 2010, and if you hap- As I hope that reading that we receive, to the much and some of our efforts in pen to be in the Blacksburg this newsletter will convince larger donations of $100,000 this area, such as our annual area, please feel free to stop you, our department is doing or $200,000 used to estab- class reunions, are described by. exceedingly well. While the lish endowed scholarships in this newsletter. Even if you ongoing reductions in sup- and fellowships, your support are not able to get back to port from the Commonwealth has allowed us to not only campus, we would still very of Virginia to our university ‘weather the storm,’ but to much like to hear from you, With best regards, have been severe, chemical actually expand. I can assure so please take a moment John Y. Walz engineering has nevertheless you that your generosity is and complete our Alumni Professor and Head

2 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS From page 2 rial Trust) totaling nearly $1.2 million. Ra- Outstanding New Assistant Professor in nounce that Dr. Eva Marand has been jagopalan’s research is focused on the 2010. promoted to professor of chemical development of polymer-based biomate- engineering. Marand leads an active re- rials, such as scaffolds for cell growth. Even though officially “retired,” search program focused on the develop- In addition, she gave presentations Professor Emeritus Garth Wilkes con- ment of novel organic/inorganic compos- and conducted workshops on Biomateri- tinues to be very engaged with the poly- ite membranes for gas separations, and als and Tissue Engineering to a group mer science profession. Last year, he on the development of carbon nanotube of high school students at the Catholic taught several short courses on polymer membranes for water purification and University in Washington, to students en- characterization for Johnson & John- desalination. rolled in Virginia Tech’s C-Tech2 program son, Abbot Vascular, and the American for high school girls, and to students en- Chemical Society. He also published Professor Padma Rajagopalan had rolled in the NASA INSPIRE program (In- three papers on the structure of poly- an extremely successful year in research terdisciplinary National Science Project meric materials, served as an industrial and outreach. She was a principal in- Incorporating Research and Education consultant to several corporations, and vestigator on five research grants (three Experience). served as an expert witness in patent from the National Science Founda- In recognition of her accomplish- trials concerning polymeric materials. In tion, one from the National Institutes of ments, Rajagopalan received a Col- his spare time, Wilkes remains an avid Health, and one from the Jeffries Memo- lege of Engineering Dean’s Award for outdoorsman. STUDENT NEWS

3 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION STUDENT NEWS B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees awarded The department awarded 52 B.S. degrees last year. fone) Multiblock Copolymer Films for Proton Exchange Twelve of these students chose to continue in graduate or Membranes professional school after graduation. Advisor: Professor Don Baird The department also awarded the following M.S. and Christopher McGrady, Ph.D. Ph.D. degrees during 2009: Linking Rheological and Processing Behavior to Molecu- Neeraj Agarwal, M.S. lar Structure in Sparsely-Branched Polyethylenes and Transient Shear Flow Rheology of Concentrated Long Model Polystyrenes Glass Fiber Suspensions in a Sliding Plate Rheometer Advisor: Professor Don Baird Advisor: Professor Don Baird William Miles, Ph.D. Christopher Bashur, Ph.D. The Design of Stable, Well-Defined Polymer-Magnetite Effect of Electrospun Mesh Characteristics and Mechani- Nanoparticle Systems for Biomedical Applications cal Stretch on Bone Marrow Stromal Cells for Ligament Advisor: Professor Rick Davis Tissue Engineering Lindsay Sharp, Ph.D. Advisor: Professor Aaron Goldstein The Effect of Dynamic Fluid Flow Strategies for Bone Tis- Jose Herrera-Alonso, Ph.D. sue Engineering Applications Polymer Clay Nanocomposites as Barrier Membranes Advisor: Professor Aaron Goldstein used for VOC Removal Haiyan Zhao, Ph.D. Advisor: Professor Eva Marand Catalytic Hydrogenation and Hydrodesulfurization of Model Myoungbae Lee, Ph.D. Compounds Solution-Casting of Disulfonated Poly(arylene ether sul- Advisor: Professor Ted Oyama

Summer Unit Operations Laboratory Abroad A record 33 students elected to take their summer Unit Operations Laboratory course at the Technical Uni- versity of Denmark in 2009. Scholarships for the students were provided from generous donations from Novozymes and from alumnus Kelly (Drum) Belz (B.S. 1995).

Virginia Tech chemical engineering students (l to r) Bart Marsh-Slavin, Danielle Carey, Quin Costin, Bailee Roach, and Sarah Dyer sightsee in Copenhagen in summer 2009.

4 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION STUDENT NEWS Undergraduate student awards Department scholarship and fellowship holders Greg James, a 2009 graduate from the department, was Congratulations to the following students who held selected as a recipient of the James Lewis Howe Award by the scholarships and fellowships from our department during the Virginia Blue Ridge Chapter of the American Chemical Society. 2009-2010 academic year. The award is given annually to top senior students in chemistry- Donald M. Cox Scholarship: Thomas Lamp, Joseph Walker, related departments at colleges and universities in southwest Justin Crawford, Lawrence Stern Virginia. Ralph Bogle Scholarship: Erica Neverman, Kevin Harter, On the basis of her undergraduate research, Sandra Hob- Daniel Schall, Christina Williams, Katelyn Gause son, a 2009 graduate, was chosen to represent Virginia Tech Gerhard Beyer Scholarship: Hannah Sibole, Mohammad at the 4th annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Adeel, Jee Huh, Keon Lee, Frederick Knack, Aaron Research Conference in Raleigh, NC in April 2009. Virginia Gregg Tech was only allowed to send student representatives of four Gavin Starmer Scholarship: Theresa Cutler, Bailee Roach, undergraduate research projects to the conference. Kimberly Wade Hobson’s research in theoretical chemistry was performed Dow Chemical Engineering Minority Scholarship: Laura under the direction of Professor Edward Valeev of the chem- Angeleton, Alexandra VanDervort, Amanda Vermaaten istry department. In addition to her presentation at the ACC Andrew Britton Scholarship: Ryan Shaw research conference, her paper, “Is the Adiabatic Approximation Sufficient to Account for the post-Born-Oppenheimer Effects John & Bernice Brooks Scholarship: John White, Aaron Holley on Molecular Electric Dipole Moments?”, was published in the international journal, Molecular Physics. Michael & Lisa Kender Scholarship: Aaron Gregg William E. Poorbaugh Scholarship: John Adams Graduate student awards Warren Gentry Scholarship: Lindsey Jewett James and Jane Gary Scholarship: Alexandra VanDervort Grégorio M. Vélez-Garcia, a Ph.D. candidate in macro- molecular science and engineering, was selected as one of CITGO Scholarship: Lawrence Stern the two 2009-2010 SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Felix Sebba Scholarship: Theresa Cutler Exhibition scholarship award winners. The award is for $2,000. David Wallis Scholarship: Bailee Roach Vélez-Garcia will also have the opportunity to present his re- Eastman Award for Excellence in ChE: John Rokisky search at the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhi- Richard E. Herron Scholarship: Kimberly Wade bition, scheduled for September 14-16, 2010 in Troy, Mich. Chemical engineering Ph.D. candidate Michael Heinzer Robert L. Duff Scholarship: Danielle Carey was awarded a $10,000 fellowship from Eastman Chemical William Conger Scholarship: Amanda Kracht, Andrew White Company. Heinzer’s research is focused in the area of polymer Bill and Ann Doumas Scholarship: Quintin Costin, Ryan processing, specifically for solution-cast membranes. Shaw, Lindsay Myrick Both Vélez-Garcia and Heinzer are advised by Professor Maxine Shelly Turner Memorial Scholarship: Emily Westfall Don Baird. Mike and Lisa Kender Graduate Fellowship: Kevin Meyer, Heather Grandelli AIChE update by chapter president Quin Costin Virginia Tech’s AIChE student chapter has been very Lu - from page 1 active this year. During its monthly meetings this fall, guest and development of microfluidic flow devices, specifically for speakers discussed topics such as interviewing skills, graduate biomolecular sensing and cellular analysis applications. Lu school, and utility production. Other extracurricular activities received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Peking University, a included a tour of the Virginia Tech Power Plant, and the an- M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of nual Career Forum, which gave undergraduate students the Illinois, and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in applied chance to learn more about career opportunities with 12 visit- physics at Cornell. He has received a Career Award from the ing companies. In the spring, the chapter plans to continue its National Science Foundation and a Wallace H. Coulter Foun- meeting agenda with guest speakers from Celanese Corpora- dation Early Career Award in Biomedical Engineering. His wife, tion, ExxonMobil, UOP, and the Virginia Biosciences Develop- Dr. Danfeng Yao, also joined Virginia Tech in December 2009 ment Center. Additionally, it hopes to host a number of other as an assistant professor of computer science. See AIChE, page 6 5 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION STUDENT NEWS Omega Chi Epsilon update by chapter president Bailee Roach Omega Chi Epsilon (the Chemical Engineering Honor So- ciety) had a busy fall semester. It created a weekly study ses- sion for sophomores in physical chemistry. The group also had the opportunity to visit the Tall Oaks Montessori elementary school in Blacksburg. OXE put on a fun chemical demonstra- tion and made silly putty. This semester the Montessori fourth and fifth graders will travel to campus and receive a tour of Virginia Tech’s chemistry labs. After the tour, these students will be entertained with some hands-on magical chemical reac- tions. OXE inducted 16 new members in the fall. Currently, it is planning trips to Château Morrisette as well as a tour of the Celanese acetate plant in Narrows, Va. Using support from Omega Chi Epsilon President Bailee Roach, right, works with a Celanese (a corporate sponsor), the undergraduate lounge is student at the Tall Oaks Montessori School. housing two new computers and will soon add a white board. The current officers of Omega Chi Epsilon are: President: Bailee Roach Vice President: Danielle Carey Treasurer: Andrew White Secretary: Corey Leggett Publicity: Christine Sargent SEC Representative: Sarah Dyer SGA Representative: John Settell

AIChE - from page 5 activities, and plans to attend the AIChE Regional Conference at Johns Hopkins University. The AIChE student chapter at Virginia Tech was named a 2009 Platinum Winner in the national membership contest. Reaching platinum requires having 90 percent of eligible stu- A group of happy Tall Oaks Montessori students display their dents at a university also be a member of the national AIChE silly putty. organization – a level reached by only 20 chapters nationwide. The 2008-09 chapter president was John Rokisky, and the fac- ulty advisor for the chapter is Professor Y.A. Liu. Virginia Tech Chemical Engineering Department The current officers of AIChE are: President: Quin Costin CONNECTION Vice President: Erica Neverman John Y. Walz...... Department Head Treasurer: Andrew White Jane Price...... Coordinator Secretary: Ryan Calvy David Simpkins...... Designer Social Chair: John Rokisky The Virginia Tech Department of Chemical Engineering Connection is a publica- Chem-E-Car Chair: Aaron Holley tion for the alumni of the Chemical Engineering Department published by the Chemical Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA 24061. Banquet Chair: Bailee Roach Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants SEC Representative: Bart Marsh-Slavin on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, religion, or political affiliation. Anyone having questions SGA Representative: Mudib Rawoot concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equity and Inclusion. Webmaster: Andy Reagan 6 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION DEPARTMENT NEWS Department holds inaugural Graduate Student Symposium On April 22, 2009, the dent Association (ChEGSA). department held the inau- The one-day event fea- gural Chemical Engineering tured 12 talks from graduate Graduate Student Sympo- students about their research, sium, organized and run by along with another 12 posters. the recently-formed Chemical One of the highlights was Engineering Graduate Stu- the plenary talk by Dr. Jeff Siirola from Eastman Chemi- Dr. Jeff Siirola, cal Company entitled “Sus- Graduate student Matt Green explains his poster to student Eastman tainability in the Chemical and Yeonhee Kim at the Graduate Student Symposium. Chemical, Energy Industries.” delivers his New sophomore seminar class In the evening, a banquet plenary One of the key challenges in developing an undergradu- lecture. was held for all graduate stu- dents, faculty, and staff of the ate chemical engineering curriculum is finding time to teach department. students about all of the “other” pertinent issues about the Eastman Chemical spon- discipline that do not easily fit into traditional classes. Some sored the successful event examples of these topics include: safety and environmental with a $10,000 donation. impacts, globalization, the changing energy landscape, and the The 2010 symposium will range of job opportunities available to chemical engineers. be held Wednesday, April 8. To help meet this challenge, the department recently added a required, one-credit sophomore seminar course to its curriculum. The course consists of weekly seminars on a vari- New fellowships and scholarships ety of topics, many of which are given by practicing chemical engineers. A few examples of these talks are: established in ChE department • Environmental Regulation in the Chemical Industry by Antho- Thanks to the generos- Reese (B.S. 1975) Memorial ny Gaglione, Chemical Engineer, Eastern Research Group, ity of some of our alumni, Scholarship; and the Steven Inc. several new undergraduate D. Reese Endowed Graduate • The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030 by Jack Buono, Man- scholarships and graduate Assistantship. ager, Global Marine Transportation Optimization, ExxonMobil fellowships were established The department sin- Refining and Supply Company last year. cerely appreciates these • Corporate Safety Culture by Wayne Punch and Alan Farley, These include the gifts. These scholarships and Corporate Director Safety and Human Resource Managers, Ronald B. Lohr Memorial fellowships not only help the Milliken & Co. Scholarship, established in department grow, they also Professor Dave Cox, who organizes and runs the course, memory of alumnus Dave provide invaluable opportuni- is very interested in developing a pool of possible speakers, so Lohr’s (B.S. 1976) father ties for our undergraduate if you have an interest in participating, please feel free to con- (Dave is also a current and and graduate students. tact him at [email protected]. founding member of the De- partment’s Advisory Board); the Joseph and Barbara Meet the new member of the Advisory Board Collie Scholarship (Joe, B.S. The department welcomes Lisa Price, (B.S. 1981) to its Advisory 1950, is also a member of Board. She is currently General Electric’s General Manager of Corporate the department’s Advisory Business Development, China, overseeing GE’s business strategy for Board); the H. Robert Sand- growth in China. Prior to that position, she was senior vice president of GE- ers Jr. (B.S. 1950) and Con- Hitachi Nuclear Energy and chief executive officer of Global Nuclear Fuel, stance W. Sanders Memorial LLC, the legal entity that manages the Global Nuclear Fuel joint venture of Price Scholarship; the Steven D. See Price, page 8

7 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION

DEPARTMENT NEWS ChE faculty get new lab and office space in ICTAS building Thanks to the recent this way can greatly enhance completion of the Institute for collaboration and exchange Critical Technology and Ap- of ideas. plied Science (ICTAS) build- As a result, Professors ing, several members of the Aaron Goldstein, Padma Ra- chemical engineering faculty jagopalan, Rick Davis, Abby have obtained new lab and Morgan and Chris Cornelius office space. now have all of their research One of the goals of laboratory space located in ICTAS is to bring together the new building. faculty from across campus The building is adjacent working in key core areas, to Randolph Hall, where the such as nanoscale science rest of the department faculty and engineering, sustainable is located. This additional energy, and renewable mate- space has been crucial for rials. Bringing together faculty the department’s growth. Graduate students Yeonhee Price - from page 7 Kim (left) and Adam Larkin GE, Hitachi and Toshiba. (center), along with post- In addition to her chemical engineering degree, Price has doctoral associate Chris an MBA from Tulane University and spent nearly eight years Detzel, work in Professor at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and two years at Deutsche Bank, Padma Rajagopalan’s new where she focused on mergers and acquisitions in the energy, laboratory in the ICTAS utility and oil and gas industries. Price is also a member of the Building. College of Engineering Advisory Board. ALUMNI NEWS Classes of 1984, 1994 and 2004 Reunion Luncheon On Nov. 21, 2009, the department hosted a reunion luncheon for the chemi- cal engineering graduating classes of 1984, 1994 and 2004 at the Virginia Tech Inn and Conference Center. In addition to alums and their families from these classes, several past (Pro- fessors Peter Rony, George Wills, Art Squires) and current (Professors Rick Da- vis, Don Baird, Preston Durrill) faculty also Pictured are some of the attended the event. attendees at the Classes We plan to hold a similar event in the of 1984, 1994 and 2004 fall for alums from the classes of 1985, reunion luncheon. 1995 and 2005. 8 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION

The information below was taken from the mail-in response cards that the department received during the past year, or through the recently-initiated on-line alumni feedback form. The on-line CLASS NOTES form can be accessed via the Alumni Feedback tab on the left-hand side of the department’s home page (www.che.vt.edu). Our goal is to continue to publish all such information that we re- ceive so that our alums can stay connected both to the department and to each other.

“In my freshman year at the Va Bob resides in Mountain View, and telephone number is 503-349- 1941 Tech Extension in Richmond, Va., I Cal., and can be reached at robert. 2505. Stephen Gano was given a ticket for speeding and [email protected]. He is a part- Other degree(s): M.S., Chemical the next day several classmates time consultant. 1985 Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1947 accompanied me to court to pay Dana Loncar Hawkins the fine. My classmates gave me Retired in 1983 from E.I. DuPont 1979 Dana can be reached at hawk- Co., Pontchatrain Works, LaPlace, the nickname ‘speed’ and it stuck John Kopfle [email protected]. ever since.” La. Stephen resides in LaPlace Other degree(s): MBA from Walter states, “One of the more with his wife Evelyn of 65 years. UNC, Charlotte in 1983 1986 interesting parts of my career was John is the Director of Corporate in the Manhattan Project in Phila- Mark A. Eiteman 1944 Development at Midrex Technolo- delphia for the Naval Research Other degree(s): Ph.D., Chemi- Walter H. Rosch gies, Inc. He can be reached at Lab in Washington, D.C. We were cal Engineering, University of Other degree(s): M.S., Chemical [email protected]. working on the thermal diffusion Virginia Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1948 project for the Oakridge, Tenn., Mark is a professor of engineer- Has been married for almost 1984 program in 1946.” ing, University of Georgia. 65 years to Wilma Fox, class of J. Scott Davis 1945. After graduation in 1948, he 1953 Other degree(s): MBA, Univer- James Lisk started to work in the R&D Dept. sity of California, Berkeley, 1996 James recently joined Terumo of the Atlantic Refining Co., in Stanford H. Roberts Is the Senior Vice President Medical as a principal engineer, Retired in 1986 from Witco Cor- Philadelphia, Pa. After Arco, Walter at Sumitomo Electric Compound focusing on process development poration after 32 years. He resides moved to California to become Semiconductor Materials. He for production of new polymer- in Delray Beach, Fl., and can be part of Atlantic Richfield Corp. He chaired the 2009 International Con- based medical devices. He resides reached at [email protected]. then spent the rest of his career in ference on Compound Semicon- in Charlestown, Md., and can be Washington, D.C. working for the ductor Manufacturing Technology reached at [email protected]. Atlantic Research Corp. and other 1956 in Tampa last May. He now lives in small research and development W. Robert Epperly the Portland, Ore., area and would Janice M. Mueller companies. He retired in 1985. Other degree(s): M.S., Chemical enjoy hearing from old classmates. Other degree(s): J.D., William Walter writes the following about Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1958 His email is [email protected] See Class Notes, page 10 his time at Virginia Tech:

Epperly named to Virginia Tech’s Academy of Engineering Excellence Mr. Robert Epperly (B.S. 1956, Bob’s responsi- for a $268 million program to develop a M.S. 1958) was a 2009 inductee into bilities rose rapidly at coal liquefaction process to commercial the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Exxon. In 1968, he readiness. In 1980, Epperly was named Academy of Engineering Excellence. was named director general manager of the synthetic fuels Born in his grandparents’ home in the of the fuels research department in Exxon Engineering. For tiny community of Rogers, part of Chris- laboratory, leading the two years prior to his retirement from tiansburg, Va., his family moved a few Exxon’s research Exxon in 1986, Epperly was the general months later to Pulaski, Va., where they efforts to guide the manager of corporate research and had operated a grocery store. His Virginia removal of lead from general administrative responsibility for ancestors were among the Epperlys who gasoline. In 1972, he laboratories with an annual budget of Epperly co-founded the Zion Lutheran Church in was named market- $120 million and 575 employees. Floyd County in 1813. ing advisor for the After leaving Exxon, Epperly joined While a student at Virginia Tech, Exxon Corporation, responsible for the the Fuel Tech Group, a publicly held Bob met his future bride, Sarah, and coordination of marketing research in international organization for develop- they became the first couple to marry Exxon affiliates worldwide. After serv- ing and commercializing technology to in the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church ing as manager of Exxon’s Research improve combustion efficiency of petro- on the day she earned her bachelor’s Facility in Baytown, Texas, he returned leum-fired engines and boilers and to degree in 1957. He then joined Exxon to New Jersey in 1976 and negotiated decrease emissions of undesirable com- (then called Esso), the company that had a precedent-setting cooperative agree- bustions products. In 1992 he moved to provided his graduate fellowship, at their ment with the U.S. Department of En- Catalytica, Inc., based in Mountain View, facility in Linden, New Jersey. ergy and seven international companies See Epperly, page 11 9 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION CLASS NOTES Mitchell College of Law, 1990 starting as an engineer to support Rakesh Radhakrishnan Janice is a professor of law at production and then moving to the Other degree(s): MBA, Carnegie Donors to the the University of Pittsburgh School environmental engineering depart- Mellon University, 2009 of Law, where she teaches and ment in 1997. In January 2008, she Rakesh joined Navigant Con- Department writes in the field of patent and married Gerald Perry. Jean can be sulting Inc.’s energy practice as a The department gratefully ac- intellectual property law. The third reached at vtjeannie@embarqmail. managing consultant after an eight knowledges the following individu- edition of her book, Patent Law com. year stint as a research and prod- als, corporations, foundations and (Aspen Publishers), was published uct development engineer at Unit- trusts for their support during 2009. in April 2009. The book is a com- 1998 ed Technologies Corporation. In his prehensive, single-volume text current role, he provides strategy Individuals Greg Caesar on obtaining and enforcing U.S. support and investment advice for Greg, wife Ann, and son, Ethan, David Alwood patents, suitable for law students, private and public sector clients live in Houston, Texas where Greg Paul Baduini engineers, business managers, focused on creating businesses is a supervisor with ExxonMobil James Ballengee and licensing professionals. Janice that leverage renewable energy Chemicals. Greg can be reached Michael Barrera can be reached at mueller2@pitt. and energy efficiency technologies. at [email protected]. Kelly Belz edu. He can be reached at rageshan@ George Benge yahoo.com. Leonard E. Jenkins John Beverly 1987 Other degree(s): M.D., Univer- Matthew Bolen Jeremy Ramont Daniel W. Barineau sity of Pittsburgh School of Medi- John Brooks Jeremy reports that after gradu- Other degree(s): M.S., Virginia cine, 2002 Heidi Burch ation he took a job with Merck at its Tech, 1988 Leonard is an attending physi- Heidi Butler West Point plant. In the summer of Daniel states that he has been cian in internal medicine and re- Thomas Carnevale 2009, he moved to North Carolina working for Lockheed Martin for the sides in Pittsburgh, Pa. Laura Chevalier to lead the site automation team last 18 years, primarily develop- Ava Collins for the design, qualification, and ing hardware for the International Laura Atkinson Schneider David Conner production of its new varicella bulk Space Station through contracts at Laura reports that she and her Donald and Maria Cox facility in Durham, N.C. the Johnson Space Center. At the husband are project engineers Deborah Crain moment, he is the lead of the proj- with Honeywell. They recently Eleanor Cwirko ect office of Cargo Mission Con- added twins to the family, Abby 2002 Dennis Dickison tract, overseeing a group of about and Emma, born on Jan. 10, 1998. Jason Pettrey Basil Doumas a dozen project managers building Laura can be reached at davidn- Jason is a supervisor at Exxon- Kenneth Dyke hardware for the external carriers [email protected]. Mobil. He and his wife welcomed Linda Farrell office within the ISS program of- their second child, Nathan, on Ernest Fawcett fice. He is happily married and has 1998 March 25, 2009. Jason can be George Foster three daughters. Daniel can be reached at jasonpettrey@hotmail. William Frye Andrew J. Capozzi reached at [email protected]. com. Gerald Gasser Other degree(s): MBA, UNC, Sara Gregory Charlotte, 2007 Donald Grindstaff Pragna Pravin Desai Joshi Andrew is a marketing manager 2004 Pragna is a project manager, en- Jean Hall with PPG Industries, Inc. He is Jocelyn Brewster Mauldin ergy chemicals at Fluor Enterprises Eric Haupfear responsible for new product devel- Can be reached at jobrewst@ in Greenville, S.C. Douglas Hirt opment, distribution strategies, and gmail.com. James Horton 1992 sales management. Wayne Jessee 2006 George Keller Steven A. Jones 2001 Joseph Murowany III Michael Kender Steven , P.E. (Civil Engineering Rebecca Hall Blanton Is a refining engineer with Mara- John Kent from Virginia) is the Deputy Opera- Other degree(s): M.A., Teaching, thon Oil Company and currently Heather Klesat tions Officer for the Naval facilities James Madison University, 2006 pursuing an MBA at Wayne State. Elizabeth Lingamfelter Engineering Command Marianas, Rebecca lives with her husband Julia Little Guam. He is a reserve civil engi- and three felines in Staunton, Va. 2007 David Lohr neer corps officer in the Navy and She left engineering after working James Maneval is due to retire March 2010 at the Adam Harber as a U.S. patent examiner. She Christopher McDowell rank of LCDR with 23 years of Other degree(s): B.A., Chemis- currently is a seventh grade life Andrew Melick service. try, Virginia Tech, 2007 science teacher at Wilson Middle Gary Mock Adam is a process engineer with School. She was recently voted Kevin Molen Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., in Jean West Perry Teacher of the Year for her middle Robert Morrison Other degree(s): M.S, Chemical Tennessee. He is currently pursu- school for the 2008-2009 school Jennifer Mosser Engineering, 1994 ing an MBA from Tennessee Tech. year. Rebecca can be reached at Kirsten O’Brien Jean is a senior environmental Adam can be reached at aghar- [email protected]. Carl Peterson [email protected]. engineer with Merck & Co., Inc. Keith Plaugher She has worked there since 1995 See Individual Donors, page 11 10 The VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CONNECTION CLASS NOTES Individual Donors - from page 10 David Pultz Peter Train Cecil Quillen Russell Van Allen Deaths Charles Remsen Lori Wagner Bradford Ryffel Daniel Walker 1963 Constance Sanders John Walmsley Lawrence Dupree passed away on Dec. 12, 2009. Larry’s wife Ellen Starling Shumate Mark Williams reports that he served in the Air Force for four years from 1963- James Taylor Timothy Wolk 1967. After his service, he received a B.A. degree in accounting from Manhattan College, Bronx, N.Y. He was a self-employed accountant. corporations, foundations, and trusts She goes on to say that Larry kept in touch with his “M” Company Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. friends from Virginia Tech and continued to attend football games Allen R. Taylor Revocable Trust and reunions. Most recently he was invited to walk onto the football AT&T Foundation field with the Corp Alumni. He is buried at Calverton National Cem- Bank of America Foundation, Inc. etery in New York. A true Hokie until the end, Larry was buried in his Bechtel Foundation maroon Hokie shirt. Biogen Idec Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Celanese International Corporation Online Alumni Information System Dow Chemical Foundation Eastman Chemical Company The department welcomes up- should use with your information. Emerson Charitable Trust dates from our alumni about your This information will be published ExxonMobil Corporation lives and careers. in our Connection Newsletter. ExxonMobil Foundation The easiest way of doing this As always, if you are more Fidelity Charitable is to use our online alumni update comfortable with paper and pen, GE Foundation system, which can be accessed via feel free to complete the form at Honeywell Hometown Solutions the Department’s homepage, www. the end of the newsletter and mail Intel Foundation che.vt.edu, and clicking on ‘Alumni back to us. We will publish all of Invensys Systems Inc. Feedback’ on the left side of the these as well. page. Marathon Oil Company Again, this form allows you to On this form, you can specifi- Marathon Oil Company Foundation, Inc. specify exactly how much of the cally state what level of privacy we information you want published. MeadWestvaco Foundation Merck Partnership for Giving Mohawk Carpet Foundation, Inc. Novozymes Biologicals, Inc. Giving to Chemical Engineering United Technologies One of the primary reasons that our department has been able to con- tinue to grow and expand over the past five years has been the generous support of our alumni. Your contributions not only provide funds for the Epperly - from page 9 day-to-day operation of the department, but also support scholarships for our undergraduate students, fellowships for our graduate students, and California, as its vice president. Within two years he be- even support for programs such as our external seminar program that came president and director of one of its subsidiaries, Cat- brings outstanding researchers from other institutions here to Virginia Tech alytica Advanced Technologies, Inc., a company focused to interact with our faculty and students. on commercial markets for new catalyst technologies. He Clearly, your continued support is vital to our goal of becoming one of the top chemical engineering programs in the country. retired for the last time in 1997. To make it as easy for you as possible to support our department, we Today, he remains a consultant to the energy industry, recently added a link on our homepage (www.che.vt.edu) that will direct as well as to Virginia Tech’s energy initiatives. “I actually you to a form for making a gift online. The link is entitled ‘Giving to ChE’ try not to stay busy now,” he laughs, “as I spent my life and can be found on the upper right hand side of the page. being busy. I enjoy nature photography, and I continue to Under the section of the form entitled ‘Gift Information,’ you can desig- nate exactly where your gift is to be directed. If you type in ‘Department of do some volunteer work with the National Academy of Sci- Chemical Engineering’ in the space entitled ‘Other Designation,’ you can ences on matters of national importance.” He was recently be assured that your support will come directly to us and that it will be used named a national associate of the National Research wisely. Council of the National Academies after some 30 years of working on various studies. Did you know that the Department of Chemical Engineering The Epperlys have three children and three grandchil- has a Facebook page? It’s entitled Chemical Engineering dren. Lounge – Virginia Tech, and it’s open to the public.

11 Department of Chemical Engineering NON-PROFIT ORG. 133 Randolph Hall (0211) U.S. POSTAGE Virginia Tech PAID Blacksburg, VA 24061 BLACKSBURG VA www.che.vt.edu 24060 PERMIT #28

Randolph Hall, Home of Chemical Engineering

We’d like to hear from you! The Chemical Engineering Department is always interested in hearing from its alumni. Please take a few minutes to complete the following: Full Name:______Name at Virginia Tech (if different)______Degree received at Virginia Tech / year:______Other degrees / Institutions:______Home Address:______Phone:______Fax:______E-mail:______Business Name:______Current Position / Title:______Please feel free to provide any additional information about yourself or your career (add more on separate sheet of paper if necessary): ______

The Department of Chemical Engineering would like to keep our alumni updated about the careers and lives of other alumni, either via the Web or the Department newsletter. However, we also respect each person’s right to privacy. Thus, please indicate below the level of confidentiality that you wish us to maintain with regard to your information: ___ Feel free to make all information provide on this form public. ___ Feel free to publish my name, year of graduation, and contact information only (the additional information about yourself or career will be kept confidential). ___ Feel free to publish my name, year of graduation, and the additional information about myself (your contact information will be kept confidential). ___ Do not publish any information about me. ___ Other, please explain on a separate sheet of paper.

Please mail the completed form to: Chemical Engineering Department c/o Ms. Jane Price, 133 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061 or, by e-mail at: [email protected]