Fall 2009 February 9, 2010 Cal and Agricultural and Civil Engineering
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On the cover n n n Inside this issue MESSAGE DEANFROM THE could not have been more pleased Page 2 . Eyestone Lecture Samantha Schmaderer, junior in ARE, when Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson hands up a bucket for more white- declared to the Board of Regents wash as more than 40 Tau Beta Pi Ithat higher education must be a priority members and faculty advisor Larry for our state, and engineering education a 3 . Advisory Council Satzler gathered on K-Hill Oct. 10 for particular focus of this precedent. a morning of cleanup duty. Tau Beta And then a week later, I had the distinct Pi initiates have taken on the annual task of clearing brush, picking up honor of meeting with Gov. Parkinson trash, and whitewashing the concrete here in my office where I was able to point 6 . Competitions K and S since 1974. Pictured below, out specifics of how our vision of being a Gov. Mark Parkinson, left, and Dean John English tethered students work on the “highly ranked college,” supported by our steeper-faced K. Above, a long-view communities of excellence, does indeed shot of Prospect Hill, better known line up with his goal of seeing all Kansas wonderful couple and in touring their Seaton Society as K-Hill, south of Manhattan on manufacturing plant in Dodge City, it was 8 . 13 the west side of Hwy-177. The K was engineering schools ranked in the top 100 immediately obvious to me why they are constructed by College of Engineer- by U.S. News and World Report. Right ing students and other volunteers in now we are listed as the “64th best under- such a success story. 1921, with the S added in 1930. graduate engineering program at schools It was an honor to have our advisory 11 . Noteworthy where the doctorate is the highest degree.” council members on campus this fall for To put that in perspective, that makes us productive work sessions and discussions. the 4th best engineering program in the I want to especially thank outgoing chair- Big 12! person Cathy Ritter, CE ’75, for a year 13 . Faculty Awards The success of our faculty is the driving of inspired leadership, as well as say how 2 6 force of this recognition. I could not be much I look forward to working with next year’s chair, Carl Ice, IE ’79, and chair- Impact is published more proud of the accomplishments of twice a year by the faculty like Douglas McGregor, Mary elect, Jim Johnson, CNS ’84. Another fall Kansas State University Rezac, Ruth Miller, and Ray Yunk that highlight was the return visit of former College of Engineering, Manhattan, KS 66506. you’ll read about in this issue. We’ve filled faculty member Raj Nathan and his wife, Diana, IE ’83. Dr. Nathan delivered an the department head openings in chemical It is available on and mechanical and nuclear engineer- inspiring message on entrepreneurship as the Web at part of our Eyestone Lecture Series. www.engg.ksu.edu. ing with two top-notch professors, Jim 10 Edgar and Don Fenton, respectively. And I know you’ll join me in congratulat- Mark your calendar ing our student teams and their many top ., we’re moving forward in our search for Issue No. 23 Engineering Career Fair permanent department heads for biologi- rankings, and I hope the activity of our Fall 2009 February 9, 2010 cal and agricultural and civil engineering. Tau Beta Pi students on the cover brings n An exciting aspect in our search for the back some fond memories of a familiar Editor 2 Open House Mary Rankin new head of civil engineering is our abil- landmark in the Manhattan area—K-Hill. April 23–24, 2010 n ity to offer with that position the Civil Art director 50th class reunions Engineering Professorship Honoring Dr. John R. English Rich Gardner April 28–30, 2010 n Robert Snell, a collective effort funded by Graphic designer Seaton Society Celebration our civil engineering alumni. Bob Davis May 1, 2010 Alumni are such a dynamic part of the n Commencement College of Engineering at K-State. This Photographer David Mayes May 15, 2010 issue our feature story focuses on Stuart Dean of the College of Engineering 14 and Janie Curtis. In getting to know this Dan Donnert Al Rankin 1 Cover photo by David Mayes n Photo adaptation by Bob Davis Grant to help train Ph.D. students in sustainable biorefining Clockwise from upper right: James L. Tadtman ‘67 A multimillion-dollar grant from the Na- of chemical engineering; Jeffrey Peterson, a diverse group of new doctoral students to President, Wildcat Construction Co., Inc. tional Science Foundation will help K-State associate professor of agricultural econom- have a comprehensive perspective on the Engineering Randall R. Coonrod ‘74 Engineering President, Coonrod & Associates Construction Co., Inc. train new Ph.D. students in developing the ics; and Kyle Douglas-Mankin, professor of biorefining industry through an integrated, Raymond C. Dempsey, Jr. ‘90 technology and policies needed for sustain- biological and agricultural engineering. interdisciplinary graduate program for Senior Vice President, BP able biorefining. The need for achieving transformative John W. Walters ‘60 K-State has received a five-year grant of biofuels and bio- advances in the develop- AdvisoryAdvisory President, Kansas Entrepreneurial Center nearly $3.2 million from the foundation’s based products is “Kansas’ biomass ment of next-generation Marc R. Ramsdale ‘79 Integrative Gradu- important as they can biorefineries,” Rezac Vice President, Developing Technologies Operations, Eastman Chemical Co. substantially improve said. “As a result of this Dana Mathes ‘79 ate Education and Director, Environment, Health, and Safety Operations, The Dow Chemical Co. Research Trainee- environmental qual- resource base represents a program, decisions re- CouncilCouncil Robert B. Thorn ‘50 ship program, ity, rural economies garding biofuels produc- Partner, Finney & Turnipseed Transportation & Civil Engineering, L.L.P. known as IGERT, and national security, significant source of tion will be guided not Richard M. Kerschen ‘64 for the project Rezac said. only by technological President and Chairman of the Board, The Law Company, Inc. “From Crops to “Making biorefin- potential alternative energy and agricultural feasibil- October 2, 2009 Kent Glasscock ‘76 October 2, 2009 President and COO, National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition Commuting: Inte- ing more viable will ity, but also by the and Commerecialization grating the Social, require the efforts of and consumer products.” impact of the proposed John R. English Technological and scientists and engi- technology on society.” Dean, K-State College of Engineering Mary Rezac neers who have been Over its five-year James M. Johnson ‘84 Agricultural Aspects President and CEO, GE Johnson Construction Co. trained to understand run, the program will of Renewable and Alan L. Sylvester ‘75 Sustainable Biorefining,” or ISTAR. the complexity and the degree of sustain- serve about 33 Ph.D. students—to be President, GenerAction LLC Principal investigator is Mary Rezac, pro- able production of fuels from biomass that called IGERT Fellows—in engineering, the Susan C. Tholstrup ‘81 fessor of chemical engineering. Co-principal is needed,” she said. agricultural sciences and the social sciences. Process Improvement Manager, Shell Exploration and Production Co. Thomas C. Paulson ‘73 National Science Foundation National “The K-State ISTAR project will prepare investigators are Peter Pfromm, professor continued on page 13 Vice President, Canadian Capital Projects—retired, ConocoPhillips Canada Cathy S. Ritter ‘75 President, Constellation Design Group, Inc. Brenton L. Heidebrecht ‘79 Principal, Financo, Inc. Joe E. Farrar ‘70 delivers Eyestone Lecture President and CEO, Farrar Corp. Debra L. Miller ‘76 Raj Nathan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Secretary of Transportation, Kansas Department of Transportation Worldwide Marketing and Business Solutions Operations, Sybase, Mark Hutton ‘77 Rajpresented “Being anNathan Entrepreneur in an Established Company— President, Hutton Construction Corp. Steven M. Theede ‘74 Not an Oxymoron,” Oct. 23 in Fiedler Hall Auditorium as a part Chief Executive Officer—retired, Yukos Oil Co. of the College of Engineering Eyestone Lecture Series. Wayne A. Harms ‘76 Challenging the prevalent assumption that innovation, entre- Vice President, ExxonMobil Upstream, Ventures (East) Limited preneurship and risk taking are the sole domain of small start-ups, Jerry L. Wilbeck ‘66 Nathan, from personal experience and the innovation record of President, Marketing Unlimited, Inc. established companies, articulated why this view is biased and restrictive and also highlighted the value of a sound education and Not in attendance: the required values needed to succeed in the professional world. Randall D. Groves ’78, ‘79 Nathan is responsible for all marketing initiatives for Sybase, the Chief Technology Officer, Teradici, Inc. sixth-largest software company in the world, and its subsidiaries, Donna D. Kottwitz ‘75 Sybase iAnywhere and Sybase 365. In this role, he leads a global Manager, Reservoir Management, Eni Petroleum Co., Inc. marketing organization setting Sybase’s technology direction and Scott D. Love ‘80 go-to-market initiatives. Fellow, Heavy Oil Research and Development and SS, ConocoPhillips Michelle C. Munson ‘96 Before entering private industry, Nathan taught four years in the President, Aspera, Inc. department of industrial engineering at K-State, where he initiated Walter F. Robinson ‘72 a new program in manufacturing and systems engineering and Vice President of Sales, IP International, Inc. started an advanced systems institute. During this time, he was Douglas G. Smith ‘71 awarded the prestigious James L. Hollis Award for Excellence in Senior Vice President, Infrastructure Services, Tetra Tech, Inc. Greg Tucker ‘78 Undergraduate Teaching and named the Steel Ring Advisor of the Senior Vice President, Process Improvement, Copart, Inc. Year. K-State President Kirk Schulz addressed the College of Engi- Mike Valentine ‘90 Nathan earned his doctorate and master’s degrees from Iowa neering Advisory Council breakfast session, Oct.