November 1, 1995
In This Issue...
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Faculty Distinctions
ChemE Phoneathon
Shining Stars Recognized at the Annual Information Conference
Computer Corner
Jobs
Visitor Profiles
Faculty Distinctions
Department Announces Hoyt C. Hottel Professorship
The department is very pleased to announce the creation of the Hoyt C. Hottel
Professorship for a senior faculty member in the department. With the creation of this
chair, Professor Hottel joins Warren K. Lewis and Edwin R. Gilliland as faculty who
have received this honor.
It is also a pleasure to announce Jack B. Howard as the first Hoyt C. Hottel Professor
of Chemical Engineering. Professor Howard is one of the world's most eminent
scholars in the area of combustion research. Congratulations to Professors Hottel and
Howard on this important recognition. A departmental reception was held in their honor
on Monday afternoon, October 30, 1995.
Margaret Rousseau: AIChE Pioneer
by Barry Johnston
This spring, when AIChE announced its latest crop of 50-year members, Margaret
Hutchinson Rousseau became the first female to achieve this milestone. A true pioneer,
Ms. Rousseau was not only the first woman to receive a doctorate in Chemical
Engineering from MIT, but was also the first female member of the Institute.
Ms. Rousseau completed her undergraduate work in Chemical Engineering at Rice
Institute (now Rice University) in Houston. Her first assignment was with E. B. Badger
& Sons, moving to Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation when it acquired Badger's
engineering department. There, she held several posts. Before retiring, she worked as a
part-time consultant.
Ms. Rousseau's honors include AIChE's 1983 Founders Award (another first for a
female) and the 1955 Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers.
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Chemical Engineering Phoneathon
by Janet Fischer
The Annual Chemical Engineering Department Phoneathon to alumni/ae donors was held
on Thursday, October 12th in the Vannevar Bush Room. This year's corps of callers was
organized by GSC Vice President Kathy Vaeth, and included a crew of first and secondyear graduate students. Fortified by a hearty dinner, and inspired by Department Head
Robert Brown, the 27 callers set new standards of excellence for ChemE donations.
Callers reached 583 alumni/ae during the evening, and secured 156 specified pledges and
157 unspecified pledges. The pledge rate was 54%, and 27% of the alums who gave
specified pledges chose to upgrade their gifts. The money raised during the telethon goes
directly to fellowship support for new graduate students.A point system, in place to
reward the top callers, reaped substantial rewards for Rebecca Carrier and Eric Fallon,
who won one-night stays at the Hyatt and Royal Sonesta! All callers received the
traditional Phoneathon tee-shirt, and MIT wine and water glasses. Throughout the
evening, Toscanini's gift certificates, Comedy Club and Computer Museum passes were
distributed for meritorious individual performances.Return to the top.
Shining Stars Recognized at the Annual Information
Conference
by Carol Phillips, the Practice School Lady
The Rosemary Wojtowicz Fellowship Award is given to the Practice School student who
demonstrates the personal qualities most reminiscent of Rosemary Wojtowicz; that is,
kindness and concern for the well-being of others. An endowment resulting from major
contributions by the Wojtowicz family, Jacob Geist, Air Products and Chemicals, and
many Practice School alumni/ae makes it possible to award this fellowship annually. This
year the recipient is: Jorge Cantu. Jorge attended the Natick Labs and Midland Stations.
He graduated with his MSCEP and is currently working for McKinsey in Mexico. These
last two are special prizes: The J. Edward Vivian Prize is awarded to the Practice School
student who shows outstanding leadership and management of his/her project work. This
year the awardee is: William Grieco. Bill is working on his PhD in experimental and
modeling study of the synthesis of fullerenes in flames. His advisor is Professor Jack
Howard.The Jefferson W. Tester Prize is given to the student who shows the most
enthusiasm and leadership while in Practice School closely resembling that of Professor
Tester. This year the prize goes to: Andrey Zarur. Andrey is working on his PhD in
"Aqueous Fuel Nanoemulsions" which have the potential of reducing NOx emission
while enhancing fuel efficiencies in automobiles. Andrey's advisor is Professor Jackie
Ying.Return to the top.
Computer Corner
by Peter Maloof
BACKING UP YOUR COMPUTER
The typical computer user doesn't back up his or her work regularly. Why? The hardware
is expensive, tapes are too slow, you'd need too many disks, the software is a pain to use,
you don't have much data anyway....The Office of Operations and Systems has a solution:
the ADSTAR Distributed Storage Manager (ADSM). ADSM provides these
benefits:¥Runs on OS/2, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh System 6.0.7 or better.¥Backup
and restore takes place via the network; no disks or tapes are involved.¥Your data is
stored away from your computer (in Building W91), for increased data security.¥Each
file can have up to ten backup copies.¥You can back up as often as you want, any time
you want.¥Your computer can be backed up overnight, automatically.ADSM costs $5 per
month per machine. Interested parties can E-Mail the following information (or any
questions) to me at [email protected]: Your name Room number Phone number E-Mail
address Operating System.
KEEP YOUR SOFTWARE LEGAL
As most everyone is aware, it generally is illegal to install a software product on more
than one computer. So how do you outfit everyone in your office without going over
budget? Many software companies will happily sell you a site license. You can then
install their product on as many computers as the license allows. A site license generally
sells for about half the cost of the original product. The cost is low, because you don't get
any additional disks, CD-ROMs or manuals. These products, among many others, have
site licenses available: FileMaker Pro Microsoft Office Now Up-to-Date
WordPerfect"Local'" license requests (in the same suite or lab) are best handled by the
people involved; "distributed" licenses (disparate people or groups) can go through me. I
will maintain lists of people wanting specific products, ordering them when a list hits a
sale point. If the sale point isn't reached within a reasonable time, the interested parties
will be notified. If you have any questions about computers, feel free to email me at
[email protected].
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Job Listings
Academic
S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, Department of Chemical Engineering, seeks applications to two
tenure-track faculty positions with a starting date of September 1, 1996. Backgrounds in
bioengineering, fluid mechanics, materials (polymers/biological), or modern process
design/separations is preferred. PhD in chemical engineering or closely related field
required. Applications should be submitted by January 1, 1996. For more information,
visit Web site at: http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/dept/ce/index.html.
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY, Department of Chemical Engineering, seeking
to fill tenure-track faculty position available Fall Semester 1996. Rank is open. PhD in
chemical engineering or closely-related field required. Candidates with industrial
experience and P.E. registration are preferred. See WWW home page:
http://chemeng.nmsu.edu for background information on the department. Applications
must be postmarked by November 30, 1995.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Department of Chemical Engineering, invites applications for
two new tenure-track faculty positions. PhD in chemical engineering or related field
required. Positions are at the assistant professor level.
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, Department of Chemical Engineering, has tenure track
faculty position at the junior level. PhD in chemical engineering or closely-related field
required. Additional information about the department can be found on the Web:
http://www.che.udel.edu. Applications must be postmarked by December 1, 1995.
CORNELL UNIVERSITY is seeking applications for a new tenure-track position in the
area of biomedical engineering. Rank open. Candidate's research should be able to bridge
from cellular and molecular bioengineering to improved or novel therapeutic devices or
strategies. Successful candidate will be appointed to a position in chemical engineering.
Applications should be submitted by December 1, 1995 to ensure full consideration.
UIUC, Department of Chemical Engineering, invites applications for full time regular
faculty positions at all levels. Starting date: August, 1996. In order to ensure full
consideration, applications must be received by January 1, 1996. PhD required.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY, Chemical Engineering, has an
adjunct faculty opening for the spring semester of this academic year. B.S. in chemical
engineering required, PhD in chemical engineering or closely-related field preferred.
Position open to all areas of chemical engineering. Preference will be given to those
individuals who have interest in process control and laboratory development and can start
on January 2, 1996. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by
November 15, 1995.
SOONG SIL UNIVERSITY, Seoul, Korea is looking for prospective faculty members
for AY96. Preference to Korean-speaking graduates, postdoctoral scholars or faculty
holding a PhD in their respective major field.
LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY, Chemical Engineering Department, anticipates at
least one tenure-track opening. All areas and ranks will be considered. PhD in chemical
engineering required. Preferred start date: August 1996. To ensure full consideration,
applications must be received by January 15, 1996.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, Chemical Engineering Department, seeks applicants for a
tenure-track position at the assistant or associate professor level. Preference will be given
to candidates with background in fundamental chemical engineering science and research
interests in fluid mechanics, catalysis, interfacial phenomena and particle technology (and
their applications to environmental problem).
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering: Applications
and nominations are invited for the position of Richard M. Morrow Endowed Chair in
Chemical Engineering. The Chair is fully endowed by the AMOCO Corporation and the
holder of the Chair will be appointed as a full professor with tenure. Candidates must
have PhD in chemical engineering or closely-related field, distinguished record in
research and scholarship and be recognized as a leader in his/her field both nationally and
internationally. Review of applications will begin February 1, 1996.
INJE UNIVERSITY, Department of Chemical Engineering, Korea, invites applications
from Korean graduate students for a faculty position in the area of process systems. PhD
required. Applications must be received by November 18, 1995.
MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVER-SITY, Department of Chemical
Engineering, invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position (open rank). PhD in
chemical engineering required. More information about the department available on the
WWW: http://www.chem.mtu.edu. Applications should be submitted prior to April 1,
1996 for full consideration.
UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, Department of Chemical Engineering, is seeking
applications for several tenure-track positions. PhD in chemical engineering or closelyrelated field required. Industrial and/or teaching experience desirable. Preference given to
applicants with a specialty in polymers, membranes and/or particle technology.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS, Department of Chemistry, invites
applications for a tenure-track faculty position to begin in September, 1996. Particular
interest in candidates having research interests in materials chemistry, but the area of
subdisciplinary specialization is not otherwise specified. Review of applications begins
November 1, 1995.
UNIVERSITE LAVAL, Department of Food Science and Technology, Quebec, seeks a
qualified applicant for postdoctoral/research associate position. PhD (or M.Sc. with
required experience) in chemical engineering or food process engineering with strong
background in separation processes required. Knowledge in crystallization desirable.
Two year position with possibility for renewal to a third year. Available immediately.
Industrial
ELF AQUITAINE has immediate opening for a postdoctoral rheologist with expertise in
melted polymers. Work located in laboratory of company's chemical division, Elf
Atochem. Work site is in Normandy, approximately 1-1/2 hours west of Paris by car.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS GROUP, a strategy consulting company with offices in
Boston, Menlo Park CA and London, is hosting an information briefing for PhD
candidates interested in pursuing a career in management consulting. This informal
session will be on Monday, November 13, 1995, 6-8 PM at the Marriott Hotel in Kendall
Square. For more information, contact Todd Anderson via email, [email protected], or
vmail 617-478-7621.
CABOT CORPORATION, has several open positions for candidates with a PhD in
chemical, and mechanical engineering, organic chemistry and other related fields. Call
Ken Tebbetts for further information about the position descriptions (508-670-6132).
CERAMEM SEPARATIONS, a leading innovator in ceramic membrane separation
technology and hot gas filters is looking to fill several positions, including Field
Engineer, QC engineer and Quality Technician. If interested, fax your resume to Ed
Russell (617-899-1227).
For more information, see the complete job listings in the Student Office (room 66-366).
Return to the top.
Visitor Profiles
Dr. Jens Nielsen recently joined Prof. Gregory Stephanopoulos' research group as a
Visiting Scientist. He is on sabbatical from the Technical University of Denmark where
he had been a senior researcher in the Department of Biotechnology headed by John
Villadsen. Jens will be working in the area of metabolic engineering with applications to
secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Jens is accompanied by his family. Please join us in
welcoming them all to the U.S.
Dr. Andrea O'Connor joined Prof. Alan Hatton's research group in July as a Postdoctoral
Associate. Andrea has come to MIT from Melbourne University, Australia, as a Fulbright
Scholar. Her PhD focused on the potential scaleup of electrophoresis in free solution
using microfiltration membranes, as a method of protein separation. Her research at MIT
will involve studies of mass transfer across interfaces and the application of structured
fluids as separations media. Andrea enjoys swimming, hiking and cross-country skiing in
her spare time. She and her husband, Andrew Ducret, live in Cambridge. Andrea is in
room 66-317 and can be reached on ext. 2-1502.
Prof. Arijit Bose has joined Prof. Alan Hatton's group. Arijit is on sabbatical leave from
the University of Rhode Island for the calendar year 1995-96. He is working on the
"Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Phase Transitions in Mixed Surfactant Systems." This
is his second sabbatical at MIT. Arijit says he is thoroughly enjoying it. He writes: "I am
doing experiments myself after nearly twelve years and have already developed a
renewed understanding of what it is like to be in the trenches. Now I will surely be more
sympathetic to students who don't get all those critical experiments completed overnight."
Arijit and his wife, Nazneen, have two daughters (ages 7 and 3-1/2). Together, the girls
keep their parents on their toes! Prof. Bose is in room 66-325 and can be reached on ext.
3-6594.
Dr. Henning Richter has joined Prof. Jack Howard's research group as a NATO
Postdoctoral Fellow. Henning is originally from Germany, but comes to us from Belgium
where he obtained his PhD in chemical sciences in the combustion chemistry laboratory
of Prof. Pierre Van Tiggelen at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, and also studied
fullerenes synthesis in flames with Prof. Amand Lucas in the Physics Department at the
Universitaires N.D. de la Paix. Henning began his combustion research in Germany while
completing studies for a diploma in chemical engineering in the Chemistry Department at
Technische Hochschule Darmstadt under the supervision of Prof. Klaus Homann. The
focus of Dr. Richter's work at MIT is isolation and characterization of giant fullerene
molecules formed in flames. Return to the top.
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Back to the graphical or text ChemE Homepage.
Submissions for the Course X News should be sent to Darlene Messmer-Slagle,
[email protected].
October 31, 1996
Course X "Highlights"...
Faculty Distinctions
• Professor Douglas A. Lauffenburger presented the 2nd Britton Chance Lecture at the
University of Pennsylvania, Department of Chemical Engineering and Institute for
Engineering & Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania on October 28, 1996; entitled
"Engineering, Cell Biology, and Molecular Medicine.
May 30 Conference Report
Jean-Francois Hamel organized and chaired a colloquium on The Future of
Biotechnology as We Approach the 21st Century at the Whitehead Institute on May 30,
1996. The colloquium was sponsored by the New England Society for Industrial
Microbiology. Amid the many professional talks, the highlight of the day were several
contributions by our undergraduate students in the Department. Six of our undergraduate
students spoke and presented four posters. Our students were: Dennis Yancey (97), James
Marchetti (96), Maggie Raphael (96), Jerry Tsong (97), Gara Mendez (98) and Charles
Armesto (97). They did beautifully! It was a good career development opportunity for our
students.
• The morning session was lead off by Dr. Lynne Browne, Senior Vice President of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Next, was Dr. Richard Callahan, President of the Center
For Technology Commercialization in Westboro. He spoke on the renewed need for
technology transfer in New England for the coming decade. Dr. Steven Chubb, President
of Matritech described burgeoning opportunities in the diagnostics field. He suggested
major diagnostic opportunities were in infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases and
cancer and that developmental approaches be primarily based on intervention. He also
emphasized the potential for new diagnostic methods based on nuclear matrix proteins
released during cell breakdown. The last speaker was Mr. Ray Cardin, Associate Director
of Fermentation for Genzyme. He emphasized new interface challenges between research
and manufacturing.
• An afternoon panel, Learning Through Experience was moderated by Dick Mudgett,
Professor Emeritus of the Food Science Department at the University of Massachusetts in
Amherst.
• Sonia Wallman, Director of Biotechnology at New Hampshire Technical College in
Stratham discussed the Colleges Advanced Technology Program, which trains
technicians and gives two years of practical experience in biotechnology. Randy
Schwartz, Professor and Director, of the Bioprocess Development Center at the
University of Massachusetts, Lowell described a program leading to a Certificate in
Biotechnology and Bioprocessing granted upon completion of four courses at the Center.
Veronica Porter, Professor of Cooperative Education at Northeastern University in
Boston, described the history of cooperative education in which students participate in
alternating full time academic and industrial work periods on a rotating quarterly basis.
Norma McGovern-Norland, Director of MITÕs Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program (UROP), reviewed the programÕs origins and its major operational aspects. The
program was the brainchild of Edwin Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, and was
led for many years by Professor Margaret MacVicar. A major program at MIT it involves
some 80 percent of undergraduates in genuine research projects. Nick Wan, Associate
Director of Fermentation at Genzyme, addressed industryÕs needs and student education.
He emphasized the need for experience in fermentation. engineering, scale up, laboratory
and manufacturing practice (GLP, GMP), quality assurance, regulatory matters, product
and process validation and safety. Finally, Frank Cannon, Professor and Chair of
Microbiology and also Director of Biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, described the undergraduate life science courses at the University. Several new
programs involve undergraduate research in faculty laboratories, summer research
experience for undergraduates, a fellowship program for top undergraduates and an
outreach program for high schools in Boston and Springfield. All of these programs have
been designed to be integrated in a 5 year combined bachelor/masters degree program.
The day ended with a lively poster session by students from a number of New England
colleges and universities: 62 students and faculty from Boston University, Dartmouth,
New Hampshire Technical College, Northeastern, UMass Amherst, UMass Lowell,
Wellesley College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and including 20 MIT students.
GSO Updates
HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED OF A CAREER IN TELEMARKETING? Well, quite a few
ChemE graduate students got the chance to pursue that dream on the evening of October
1st, when they gathered for the annual Department Telethon for the Alumni/ae Fund.
Callers were treated to a catered dinner, along with an inspiring speech and training
session by the Alumni/ae Program Staff. Prof. Robert Armstrong also made a few
comments before the callers hit the phones. Calls were made to many Chemical
Engineering graduate program alumni/ae around the United States and Canada. While a
few callers could tell tales of rejections and awkward hangups, for the most part those
called were GRACIOUS and GENEROUS. For all of their hard work, callers received a
Phoneathon tee-shirt and wine glass. The evening's top caller was first-year grad student
Seif-Eddeen Fateen, who received 16 specified pledges and 2 upgrades. The total amount
raised was $28,313, shattering the goal for the evening of $21,000. Seif received a new
backpack in appreciation of his success and outstanding powers of persuasion. Thanks to
the GSC for once again organizing this event - Jenny Fujii, Pat Walton, and Rebecca
Carrier. And thanks to all of the first-year graduate students who turned out - Brian
Goodlin, Chandra Papudesu, Jeff Martin, Tamara Floyd, Stephanie Stine, Chad Davis,
Amir Nashat, Zhen Gu, Lily Horng, Mike Caplan, Shantha Krishnamurthy, Seif-Eddeen
Fateen, Jason Suen, Betty Yu, Peter Moore, Mitch Anthamatten, Duane Myers, Dave
Kale, and Mike Mulqueen. All participants have been invited to a dessert reception at the
Museum of Science, followed by a screening of the Omni Theatre movie, Special Effects.
Thanks All!
by Janet Fischer
Return to the top.
Computer Corner
THE EUDORA-NATOR
The move from TechMail to Eudora is in full swing. This is important, because TechMail
is no longer supported in the Department. Let me repeat that: TechMail is no longer
supported here in Chemical Engineering. If you have a problem with TechMail, the fix is
Eudora.
Brad Ricketson is in charge of converting the ChemE masses (or at least their
computers). Brad is the right person for this mission, because he's patient, competent, and
congenial; if he did windows, he'd be too good to be true.
Earlier, Brad E-Mailed everyone about installing Eudora. If you didn't get it, or couldn't
respond, you get top priority. If you need Eudora installed, make sure you let him know.
How? By E-Mail (of course) at [email protected]. If you can't E-Mail (see 'top priority',
earlier), have a friend send it. Because Brad is so dedicated, he'll come right to your lab
or office to do the installation and show you how to use Eudora. If you're a Mac user,
Brad will also convert your existing mail and aliases; that's the kind of guy he is.
So, make the switch. Eudora has some advanced features (see the Eudora home page at
http://web.mit.edu/tps/www/Eudora/); besides, it's the only game in town! by Peter
Maloof
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Visitor Profiles
Welcome to Raquel de Lima Camargo and Roberto de Campos Giordano who have
recently joined Prof. Cooney's laboratory.
Our new members are wife and husband, and have come with their two children Juliana
and Bruno. They are from Itapetininga in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and hold faculty
positions in the Chemical Engineering Department of the Federal University of Sao
Carlos, a 5,000-student campus.
In Brazil, Raquel teaches biochemical engineering, industrial chemical processes and
design of homogenous reactors while Roberto teaches chemical thermodynamics,
analysis and simulation of chemical processes and design of heterogeneous reactors.
Raquel's research interests are in the areas of enzymatic synthesis of ampicillin,
continuous and membrane reactors for production of commodity products or antibiotics.
Roberto's research emphasis is on the use of simulation tools to control and optimize
reactors using neural networks.
At MIT, Raquel and Roberto are working jointly to study enzymatic reactions in vortex
flow reactors. They can be found in lab 16-114 (ext. 3-0470) or in their office in Room
16-443 (ext. 8-7207). Please, join me in welcoming Raquel and Roberto to our
Department.
Welcome to Miguel Prazeres who has recently joined Prof. Cooney's laboratory.
Miguel is from Lisbon, Portugal where he is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical
Engineering Department of the Instituto Superior T chnico. Miguel's research interests
are in the areas of membrane reactors, catalysis in organic media, synthesis of dipeptides,
hydrolysis of triglycerides and phospholipids, production of aldehydes and biocatalyst
immobilization.
At MIT, Miguel is working jointly with Dr. Thomas Schluep in the recovery of DNA
vectors for gene therapy. He can be found in lab 16-114 (ext. 3-0470). Please, join me in
welcoming Miguel to our Department.
Dr. Sudhakar Balijepalii has joined the research group of Professor Gregory Rutledge. He
is from India and did his undergraduate studies there, recently completing his Ph.D. in
Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware. Dr. Balijepalii also has several
years experience as a process engineer working at the Regional Research Laboratory in
Trivandrum, India.
While he is here, Dr. Balijepalii notes he hopes to be doing simulation of
crystal/amorphous interfaces in polymer systems, specifically the use of Monte Carlo
techniques to construct the interface and to look at structure/property relationships of the
interface. If you have not already introduced yourself, please stop by and welcome Dr.
Sudhakar Balijepalii to the Department! [He is located in Room 66-064.]
Return to the top.
Back to the graphical or text ChemE Homepage.
Submissions for the Course X News should be sent to Darlene Messmer-Slagle,
[email protected].