C H E M I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G A N D A P P L I E D C H E M I S T RY, U N I V E R S I T Y O F T O R O N T O

INTERFACES

Volume 4, Number 2 Fall 2006

Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry University of Toronto200 College StreetToronto, ON Canada M5S 3E5Telephone: 416-978-3063 Facsimile: 416-978-8605 Email: chair@chem-eng.utoronto.caWebsite: www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca

1 Message from the Chair

2 Undergraduate News

5 Graduate News

8 Faculty News

13 Alumni News

15 Family News

16 Upcoming Events

Contents

You should never let your schooling

get in the way of your education.

Mark Twain

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It has been an honour to serve as Chair of theDepartment for the past five years. I havebeen invited to serve a second five-year term

starting July 1, 2006 and look forward to theopportunity. I am indebted to the manycolleagues, staff, alumni, and students in whosefine company I have been privileged to work. AsI approach the next five years, I will take sometime to reflect.

I believe that the progression language–leadership–citizenship is an importantevolutionary path for engineering education andthe engineering profession. Engineers must stepup to the challenges of public policy in a worldbeset with so many potential technology-drivenperils. The U.S. National Academy ofEngineering report The Engineer of 2020 assertsthat, if engineering is to continue to be a positiveforce, it is necessary to produce generations ofyoung professionals “...who are broadly educated,who see themselves as global citizens, who can beleaders in business and public service, and whoare ethically grounded.”

The progression language–leadership–citizenship is also an important evolutionarypath for my own scholarly efforts. It has becomeclear to me that pursuing it is vital to the futureof engineering in society, indeed vital to thefuture of society. Further, this endeavour is wellsuited to my experience and capabilities, and Iam passionate about it. I have come to see theultimate expression of leadership as citizenshipand, with this realization, I have become

concerned with the lamentable weakness of activecitizenship in the community of engineeringprofessionals and in engineering education. Ibelieve that we need to redirect our effortstoward bringing more of engineering’s capabilityfor analysis, problem solving, design, andtechnological understanding to the realm ofcitizenship and public policy.

There are great challenges ahead!

Message from the Chair

DOUG REEVE

Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry

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A Passion for Engineering

Torino Winter Olympics bronze medalist JeffButtle is taking stock of his life. Empassioned

by figure skating, he nonetheless realizes thatprofessional competitors are considered “old” byage twenty-eight, so he must develop a secondcareer. Fortunately, he has another passion:chemical engineering. Inspired by his dad Peter,an electrical engineer, Jeff is pursuing his B.A.Sc.in hopes of becoming a biomedical researcher.

Jeff has decided to remain a part-time studentso that he can try to surpass his Torinoperformance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.This involves a gruelling training regimen withcoaches Lee Barkell in Barrie, Brian Orser andTracey Wilson in Toronto, and Rafael Aruturianin Lake Arrowhead, California. For Jeff, whostarted skating at age two, the discipline requiredto practice six days a week is well established.

His parents were surprised when figureskating did not segué into hockey, but they neverwavered in their support. Without their financialand emotional help, along with mom Lesley’sorganizational skills, Jeff could not have made itto the top. What enables him to withstand the“clash of egos” in the world of professonal sportis that he has a vision: he knows how to set goalsthat will enable him to reach the next level; he is

also self-critical. These leadership qualities will serve him well in chemical engineering. For updates on Jeff ’s achievements, seewww.jeffbuttle.com

Stepping Up Through LeadershipDevelopment

The spectacular success of the Department’spioneering Leaders of Tomorrow program

inspired Vice Dean Greg Evans and DepartmentChair Doug Reeve to suggest rolling out astudent leadership initiative across theEngineering Faculty. In partnership with theEngineering Society and the Office of StudentAffairs, Professors Evans and Reeve submitted aproposal to the Academic Initiatives Fund (AIF)in December, 2005. In March, the Provostannounced that it would receive full funding:$815,000 over four years, with a commitment of$200,000 base funding for a fifth year. ProfessorsEvans and Reeve will continue to play a vital rolein this undertaking.

In recent years, there has been a paradigmshift in the notion of “leadership”: it can nolonger be defined as a set of traits or behaviours.New ways of leading include collaboration,teamwork, and the ability to transform followersinto leaders. This is especially true inengineering, where groups and teams have thepotential to bring multiple approaches to a singleproblem or challenge.

Embracing the paradigm shift, theDepartment’s LOT program was conceived as ameans of helping students acquire the necessaryskills by offering structured hands-on learningopportunities: workshops, career panels, talks byleaders, focus groups, working group meetings,alumni/ae engagement, and alumni/ae/studentinteraction. The Troost endowment hasspearheaded the drive to establish scholarshipsand awards that recruit, encourage, and recognizeleadership.

Undergraduate News

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Enhancing Student Experience ThroughLeadership Development, the Faculty initiative,extends LOT into a broader arena. Theimmediate goals are to develop a new senior levelcourse called Technology Leadership and PublicPolicy and an enrichment course in leadershipskills; to build on the robust tradition of studentactivity by supporting leaders in a wide range ofclubs focussing on outreach, orientation,publications, and culture; and to appoint aLeadership Development Professor whosemission will be to implement and guide theprogram.

This last goal has already been accomplished,with the appointment by Dean Cristina Amonof Chemical Engineering alumnus DavidColcleugh (Chem 5T9; M.A.Sc., 1960; Ph.D.,1962) to a three-year term, effective July 1, 2006.Dr. Colcleugh, former CEO, President, andChairman of DuPont Canada, will share thevision, values, and expertise he acquired in hisyears in industry with the students of today—theleaders of tomorrow.

Chemical Engineering Dinner

Because Hart House could no longeraccommodate the event, the 21st Annual

Chemical Engineering Dinner was held in a newvenue. This year, over four hundred guestsbrought the ballroom of the 89 ChestnutResidence to life. As they relaxed over drinks,they were entertained by the Engineering StageBand, directed by David Lee (Eng Sci 0T7). Thehighlight was a performance of Santana’s Smoothby singer Prithwin Varghese (Chem 0T7).

Graced by appearances by outgoing Dean TasVenetsanopoulos and his successor CristinaAmon, the first woman dean of the Faculty, theevent honoured the classes of 5T6 and 8T1 asthey prepared for their fiftieth and twenty-fifthreunions. Retiring Professors Stephen Balke and

David Boocock were celebrated for their stellarcontributions, and the generosity of the corporatedonors was acknowledged by Chair Doug Reeve.This year, there were nineteen sponsored tables,up from sixteen last year.

However, the focus was on the Department’sexceptional undergraduate students, whoseachievements were recognized with a panoply ofawards. Of particular interest were the LOT(Leaders of Tomorrow) Awards. Bill Troost(Chem 6T7), founder and President of PeelPlastic Products, and his wife Kathleen havepledged $25,000 a year for ten years as basefunding for the LOT program, which will givehundreds of students the opportunity to enrichtheir skills and university experience.

The serious tone of the awards ceremony wasinterrupted by the announcement that Mei LingChen (Chem 0T7) had just been electedPresident of EngSoc. The ballroom explodedwith cheers and good wishes.

Look for information about the 22nd AnnualChemical Engineering Dinner on page 16 and inthe spring edition of INTERFACES.

Undergraduate News

From left to right: Rachel Castelino, Padma Mahadevan,

Melanie Bailey, Bill Troost, and Kathleen Troost.

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Leaders of Tommorow Award Winners

Stephanie McTague (Chem0T7) has won theLeaders of Tomorrow Award endowed by theclass of Chem 5T9 in honour of their fiftiethanniversary. An all-round athlete who hasparticipated infield hockey, flagfootball, lacrosse,and rugby,Stephanie has been coach of theWomen’sIntramural Rugbyteam and hasorganized men’sand women’srugby tournamentsinvolving teamsfrom various Ontario university engineeringfaculties. In 2005-2006, Stephanie was Women’sDirector of the Engineering Athletic Association.She also set up the 2006 Chem Chariot RaceCommittee, and her skill as a recruiter helpedensure the team’s victory.

Stephanie’s academic record matches herachievement in sports. She is pursuing theCollaborative Environmental Engineering option,and last year, after finishing the requirements for

the Preventive Engineering Certificate, she madethe Dean’s List. Her goal is to become a processengineer in the petroleum industry, applyingpreventive engineering principles to innovateenvironmentally friendly production techniques.Stephanie loves to dance the highland fling,which she learned from her mother.

Jennifer Sauks (Chem 0T8) is the recipient ofthe Leaders of Tomorrow James W. Smith Award.Already the winner of the 2004 EnwaveLeadership Award, which recognizes theachievements ofbeginning students,she was one of thefew first-yearstudents toparticipate fully inthe 2005 summerleadershipprogram. Heracademicachievements arecomplemented byher involvement insports. A member of the UofT Triathlon Club, sheis striving to qualify for the Canadian Age GroupNational Triathlon Team. She is also a member ofthe Varsity Rowing Team and, last fall, won a goldmedal at the Ontario University AthleticsChampionships. Jennifer loves sport so much thatshe could never give it up.

Jennifer’s father, the local doctor, and hermother, an artist, run a hobby farm in OwenSound, where the animals are pasture-fed orgiven organic grains. Interacting with naturefrom an early age, Jennifer developed anawareness of ecological issues that she hopes toinstill in others. She is pursuing environmentalengineering, with a focus on environmentalremediation.

Undergraduate News

CSChE Student Chapter WinsDistinction

The University of Toronto CSChEStudent Chapter is the 2006 winner of

the Student Chapters’ Merit Award of theCanadian Society for Chemical Engineering.The selection was made by members of theSociety. A plaque will be presented duringthe Awards Luncheon at the 56th CanadianChemical Engineering Conference inSherbrooke on October 16, 2006.

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produce a scaffold that is enzyme degradable. Hechose the polysaccharide dextran, which wasalready employed in drug delivery. Despitesuffering intense grief after the death of hisfather, Stéphane persevered and showed that theuse of dextran makes it possible for neurons togrow inside his scaffold.

Involved in academic research for over adecade, Stéphane feels that he needs a newchallenge. He hopes to become a consultant inthe biotech or pharmaceutical industry.

Laura Yu, a third-year Ph.D. student who alsoworks with Professor Shoichet, is attempting tocreate an immobilized concentration gradient ofnerve growth factor (NGF) to guide axon growthin the regeneration of transected nerves.

Previously, NGF had been physicallyentrapped in a polymer, forming a concentrationgradient; neurons extended axons to the higherend. The next step was to entrap NGF in abiodegradable material such as chitosan.

Making a Contribution

Allison Waller is a fourth-year Ph.D. student.Her supervisor, Professor Elizabeth Edwards,studied contaminated soil from a site nearKitchener which contains trichloroethylene(TCE), an industrial degreaser. Duringdegradation, it is partially dechlorinated, and atoxic intermediate, a known carcinogen, buildsup. Professor Edwards observed that the TCE inthis sample was completely dechlorinated toethylene and realized that a naturally occurringbacterium, dehalococcoidis, can dechlorinate TCEwithout oxygen.

Allison studies the genes expressed duringdechlorination of TCE with the ultimate goal ofdeveloping biomarkers that can verify whethercomplete dechlorination with dehalococcoidis ispossible. She uses custom DNA microarrayswhich contain the DNA of the whole culturefrom the Kitchener site. Her contribution isstatistical verification that the microarrays work.

Allison and her husband, Sasha Necakov, aPh.D. student in medical genetics, recently had ason, Kieran. Allison now works on data analysisat home, and her understanding supervisorcomes to meetings at her house.

Stéphane Lévesque is completing a Ph.D. withProfessor Molly Shoichet. Building onpioneering work which made scaffolds for tissuegrafts from the synthetic polymer PEG,Stéphane’s idea was to use a different polymer to

Graduate News

6Graduate News

Laura’s contribution was to modify chitosanto incorporate a crosslinker, making it possible tochemically attach NGF. Applying cells to thematerial, she found that they survive within theculture, but after they are extracted, survival ispoor. Laura will use the chemical attachment ofNGF to chitosan as a tool for improving cellsurvival, either by increasing NGF concentrationor by allowing it to be uptaken.

Laura volunteers at the Math Institute ofScarborough, where she herself learned theKumon approach. She now helps the nextgeneration master mathematics.

Meng Shi, another third-year Ph.D. student inProfessor Shoichet’s group, has developedbiodegradable nanoparticles for targetted andcontrolled delivery of anti-cancer drugs.

She has successfully synthesized a polymerwhich self-aggregates into nanoparticles with afunctional group on the surface, confirming byDiels-Alder chemistry that the particles can bindmalemide modified antibodies with highefficiency. The resulting immuno nanoparticles,containing an anti-cancer drug, are a good sizefor intravenous drug delivery. They can recognizespecific types of cancer cells that overexpressantigens.

Meng’s eleven-month-old daughter Bo Ninghas been living in Buffalo with her dad, a Ph.D.student in civil engineering. Meng persevereswith her research despite having to commuteeach weekend to see them.

Kyla Augustine is an M.A.Sc. student whostudies financial process engineering. Althoughher undergraduate thesis investigated airpollution, she welcomed the challenge ofworking with Professor Joseph Paradi, who is“not afraid to try anything”.

Kyla’s project involves modelling the wirepayment service at a major Canadian bank as an

analogue of a chemical engineering process. Thegoal is to compare two strategies for managingoverdraft accounts using a modified version of asoftware package developed for the pulp andpaper industry. Tanks with inlets and outletsrepresent accounts and cash flows. The package isnot yet hooked up to the bank’s system in realtime, but Kyla makes monthly reports on theresults of her analysis.

This summer, she taught the interactiveDEEP course “Engineering on Bay Street” togifted high school students, introducing them tothe economic side of engineering.

7Graduate News

Raheem Peerani, a Ph.D. student cosupervisedby Professors Peter Zandstra (ChemicalEngineering) and Eugenia Kumacheva(Chemistry), is trying to understand signalling inembryonic development.

His project considers the patterning of mouseand embryonic stem cells on a two-dimensionalsurface. Raheem asks whether it is possible tomanipulate spatial organization and signallingpatterns so that more robust control can bedirected over cell fate by mimicking theinteractions in the embryo. He uses a “potatostamp” to print proteins onto a 2D surface withmicroscale features. Cells attach to the proteinsspecifically, creating spatial organization.

Raheem’s premise is that based on the geometry,stem cell self-renewal and differentiation can becontrolled.

Ultimately, Raheem would like to generate amathematical model that explains what happensat the signalling level. This tool could be used tostudy how to activate pathway change. Thepotential applications are almost limitless.

Raheem is a volunteer grade eight math andscience tutor at ITREB, an Ismaili religious andcultural education centre. He helps recentlyarrived immigrants, many of whom have been inrefugee camps, adapt to Canada.

Leaders of Tomorrow—GraduateInitiative

In September 2005, six graduate students fromCEGSA launched an initiative to enhance

professional development and hone leadershipskills, presenting popular seminars on projectmanagement and gaining P.Eng. status and apanel discussion on careers in academia.Graduate students were encouraged to becomeinvolved in an impressive list of projects thatfoster team skills through hands-on experience.Catherine Kang organized a group thatparticipated in educational outreach programs forhigh school students, Doug Baumann led a teamwhich wrote a brief guide for new graduatestudents, and Angela Tran and Olive Li arecarrying out the organization and fundraising forthe summer 2007 technology tour to California.At the same time, Nick Coulthard and his teamare investigating ways to improve sustainability inthe Wallberg Building, Kyla Augustine andAndrea Chan, inspired by Engineers WithoutBorders, are working with the Faculty to promoteengineering social awareness, and Zoë Coull andher team are exploring the possibility ofrevitalizing the Graduate Common Room into acentre for professional activities.

Graduate Alumni/ae Dinner

Sonia De Buglio (Chem 9T4; M.A.Sc., 1998),the Department’s Manager of External Relations,plays a key role in organizing the AnnualChemical Engineering Dinner. At this year’sevent, she realized that the undergraduates tookcentre stage and decided that the Departmentneeds a separate occasion on which to fête itsgraduate students and alumni/ae.

The Graduate Alumni/ae Dinner will makeits debut on October 27, 2006 at the FacultyClub. Research groups are encouraged to appointrepresentatives. For more information,please contact Sonia at (416) 978-7880, or e-mail her at debuglio@chem-eng.utoronto.ca

8Faculty News

An Environmentalist at Heart

Professor Donald Mackay obtained his B.Sc.(1958) in Chemical Engineering from The

University of Glasgow and his Ph.D. (1961) fromThe Universityof Glasgow andThe RoyalCollege ofScience andTechnology,now TheUniversity ofStrathclyde. Hewas awarded anNSERC tocome to theDepartment towork withProfessor OlavTrass onreactions in shock waves, continuing with theproject for three years before moving to ImperialChemical Industries (Petrochemicals Division).In 1967, he received an offer from then ChairProfessor Breckenridge, who said: “I have noidea what the salary will be, but it will be enoughto live on.” A true academic, Professor Mackayaccepted the position, remaining at UofT until1995, when he took early retirement to assumean Industrial Research Chair at Trent University.

Professor Mackay has always recognized theimportance of environmental issues. Over theyears, he became less interested in chemicalengineering in the context of industrial processesbecause it was already well done, and he thoughthe could contribute better by bringingengineering principles to bear on environmentalproblems. Throughout his teaching career, hetried to communicate his fascination with bothphysical chemistry and applied chemistry to hisstudents and felt that most of them perceived it.

During his working life, Professor Mackayobserved a radical change in the profession. Herecalls that, in the early days, processingengineers were hostile to environmental issues,viewing environmental constraints as a“nuisance” because they were counterproductivein terms of profit. It took quite a few decades tochange this attitude, and Professor Mackay isgratified that chemical engineering has now fullytaken up the challenge.

A recent contribution to the new directionhas been the five volume Handbook of Physical-Chemical Properties and Environmental Fate forOrganic Chemicals, coauthored with Wan YingShiu, Kuo-Ching Ma, and Sum Chi Lee. Thefirst edition, which came out in 1992-7,incorporated about twenty years’ worth of data,and the second edition added everything up to2005. The inspiration for the Handbook camefrom Professor Mackay’s postdoc Wan Ying Shiu,who ran his laboratory, conducting numerousprojects on physical-chemical properties oforganic chemicals and modelling information. Itwas her idea to collect the resulting data and datafrom other sources. She was aided in this task byher husband Kuo-Ching Ma. Professor Mackay’sformer graduate student Sum Chi Lee (M.A.Sc.,1992) played a key role in computing data forthe second edition, and research colleague SallyPaterson was responsible for much of thecomputer modelling. The Handbook has becomea standard reference for dealing withenvironmental contamination, providing theinformation required for effective remediation. Itis Professor Mackay’s gift to the future.

Professor Mackay hung up his lab coat forgood in 2005. His current passion is the cottagehe and his wife bought on Canning Lake. Afterworking for many years to preserve nature,Professor Mackay will now have the leisure toenjoy its beauty.

9Faculty News

An Academic at Heart

The Department welcomes Assistant ProfessorKrishna Mahadevan, who specializes in

computational models for biological systems. Agraduate of the Madras Indian Institute ofTechnology (B.Sc., 1997) and the University ofDelaware (Ph.D., 2002), he completed a postdocat a small start-up company in San Diego calledGenomatica. After only eight months, he wasmade a research scientist and began collaboratingwith Professor Lovley at the University ofMassachusetts, Amherst to develop models for afamily of metal breathing bacteria. Thesemicroorganisms breathe heavy metals the way webreathe oxygen, degrading them andprecipitating them from solutions. In addition totheir potential for cleaning up pollution, theirability to generate electricity from organic wastemakes them good candidates for use as catalystsin microbial fuel cells.

Professor Mahadevan decided to return toacademia because he wanted to establish the basicscience underlying the modelling of microbialsystems. He feels more comfortable on auniversity campus, where intellectual explorationis encouraged. However, he is grateful for hisexperience at Genomatica, which helped himacquire a good sense of commerciality.

The models Professor Mahadevan has worked

on so far are deterministic, with no stochasticelement. He wants to expand them into moresophisticated models that consider multiple cells, multiple interacting species, orcomplex environments such as groundwater with microorganisms, a flow element, andspeciation. Eventually, he would like to engineer microorganisms to make a range ofenvironmentally friendly products, in particular,wood degrading fungi. A long-range goal is todevelop these types of models for humanmetabolism, perhaps illuminating the mechanismunderlying diabetes or obesity.

Through the exploration of biotechnology,Professor Mahadevan hopes to use his skills andtalents to reach as many people as possible.Microbial fuel cells, for example, could addressthe dichotomy between rich and poor worldwide.With his wife, Deepa, a microbiologist obtainingher Ph.D. at Oregon State, he indulges in hisfavourite pastime: visiting national parks. Hisambition is to see the Grand Canyon. Theseserene and peaceful environments are remindersthat there are “things beyond us”.

Retirements

Professor Stephen Balke received his B.Eng. inchemistry (RMC, 1964). After three years in

the Royal Canadian Air Force, including two atthe Defence Research Board, he obtained hisPh.D. in chemical engineering (McMaster,1972). He joined the Department from theXerox Research Centre of Canada in 1984 with astrong desire to help students achieve their fullpotential. Professor Balke brought his polymercourse to life by presenting the fundamentals andthen illustrating them in terms of industrialprocesses. He taught statistics from theperspective that chemical engineers are “universalengineers” because of their ability to interpret anytype of data correctly, despite the presence ofvariability. Intent on encouraging his students toenjoy and use statistics, he devised experiments

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that could be performed without a laboratory,such as determining whether an ink dropletwould spread or finding the value of a springconstant: “anything to get them measuring.” Hisinterest in statistics expanded to include datamining, which played an important role in hisgraduate courses and research.

Professor Balke supervised fifteen Ph.D. andtwenty-nine M.A.Sc. students working onprojects involving plastics processing, plasticsanalysis, and in-line monitoring. He emphasizedthe need to pay equal attention to molecularproperty analysis and the chemical engineeringprocess, as well as the importance of statistics.The ultimate goal was to develop usefulmathematical models by identifying thedominant mechanisms present in a complexprocess.

Professor Balke and his students worked inclose collaboration with many companies.Currently, he represents Canada on thegoverning board of the International Symposiafor Polymer Analysis and Characterization(ISPAC), and he is also a consultant and expertwitness in patent litigations for several majorindustries. He is a cofounder of iSmartsoft Inc., a

Faculty News

company specializing in adaptive machinelearning. When Professor Balke was asked tocharacterize his years in the Department, hisresponse was one word: “fun”. He greatlyappreciates the assistance he has received fromstudents and colleagues over these twenty-twoyears. Retiring will give him more time to spendwith his family, including his two younggrandchildren, and to explore new opportunities.

Professor David Boocock is retiring after morethan thirty years. A winner of the FacultyTeaching Award (1987-88), he likens teaching tostage activity. He is a natural showman, fondlyremembered for the Mickey Mouse ears he woreat the Open House magic show. Having foundthat teaching is “exhausting if done well”, he willcontinue to take on fourth-year thesis students,but his focus will be on research and his graduatestudents.

A chemist by training, Professor Boocockreceived his Ph.D. (1967) from Imperial College,London. He accepted a postdoc at the SynvarResearch Institute in California, where he becameinterested in applied research. However, thelifestyle was too freewheeling for an Englishman,so he decided on Canada as a compromise. In1974, he was offered a position in the

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Department by then Chair Bill Graydon.Boocock turned it down and almost immediatelyregretted the decision. Fortunately, Graydoncame back with a better offer.

Hired at about the same time as MichaelSefton and Donald Cormack, Boocock joinedforces with them to help build the Department.This meant assuming administrative duties alongwith a heavy teaching load. Over the years,Professor Boocock served as UndergraduateCoordinator, Graduate Coordinator, AssociateDean and Chair of First Year Studies at theFaculty, and Chair of the Department (1996-2001).

Through it all, he made a conscious effort tokeep his research going. After working onderiving fuels from biomass, Professor Boocockbecame intrigued by a project involvingliquefying sewage sludges, from which he learnedthat pyrolysis of lipids produces good oil andpyrolysis of proteins produces bad oil. When hestudied the literature on making biodiesel, herealized that something was not right. Allprevious work had ignored the fact that methanoland vegetable oil do not mix: the reaction is notone phase, but a two-phase system. ProfessorBoocock compares the discovery of this researcharea to “going into an old gold mine and findingthe ore still there.”

With the help of the University's InnovationsFoundation, investors were found, and thespinoff company BIOX was formed. BIOX

purchased Professor Boocock’s technology, aninert cosolvent to make the reaction become onephase and to make it continuous. He hated thename BIOX, thinking it sounded like a laundrydetergent with enzymes, but its impact helpedthe technology achieve commercial success. BIOX

has now built a 60 million litre per year plant inHamilton.

A passionate amateur genealogist, ProfessorBoocock is proud to be descended fromYorkshireman Jeremiah Bulcock, who, in 1766,fathered a child with his wife’s sister Mary Tate.She is described in the parish register ofAlmondbury as a “Strumpet and a Jade”.

Fond Farewell

It is with regret that the Department announcesthe resignation of Professor David Kuhn,

effective August 31, 2006. Professor Kuhn hasaccepted the position of Head, Department ofMechanical Engineering and Manufacturing atthe University of Manitoba. He has served theUniversity and the Department well for the pastfifteen years as teacher, researcher, andadministrator. He will be deeply missed. All of uswho have had the pleasure of working with himjoin in wishing him every success in his newpost.

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Honours

Professor David A. I. Goring will beinducted into the Paper Industry

International Hall of Fame at the twelfthannual inductionceremony on September28, 2006 at the RadissonPaper Valley Hotel inAppleton, Wisconsin.Recipient of the 1986Gunnar Nicholson GoldMedal Award and the1995 John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal,the highest award for pulp and paper researchin Canada, he was selected for the Hall ofFame, along with five other paper industryleaders, in recognition of achievements thatspan five decades.

From 1955 to 1985, Professor Goringfilled the gamut of scientific andadministrative positions at PAPRICAN whilesimultaneously teaching and conductingresearch. Upon his retirement, he acceptedProfessor Howard Rapson’s invitation tobecome a professor in the Department. Forthe next twenty years, he nurtured studentsand enriched intellectual life at the Pulp &Paper Centre. Professor Goring’s impressivebody of research on wood science straddlesthe theoretical and applied domains, but, inthe words of colleague and biographerNorman Lewis, he has not “been a manriding two horses: applied and fundamentalresearch. Instead, he has been riding one—that of good science!”

Professor and Chair Doug Reeve, ProfessorEmeritus Jim Smith, and Dr. Larry

Seeley were appointed to the CanadianAcademy of Engineering on June 16 duringthe Annual General Meeting in Ottawa.

Doug Reeve has directed his researchtoward reducing the environmental impact oforganochlorine produced by the pulp andpaper industry. He is a master communicator,skilled at making scientific ideas accessible tothe broader community and at teaching thisart to young scientists.

Jim Smith, Chair from 1985 to 1996, isrenowned for having built the Department’sacademic staff. He recruited eighteen newfaculty, including four women and membersof visible minorities. The author or co-authorof over 100 publications and holder of over 30U.S. patents, Smith is President of ApolloEnvironmental Systems Ltd, a supplier of gas-liquid contactors for the environmentalcontrol of hydrogen sulphide in natural,industrial, and bio-gases. He is also Chair andDirector of Thor Technologies Corp., which isengaged in the development of a high-sheartechnology for reducing the viscosity andincreasing the solids content of Kraft processblack liquor.

Larry Seeley (Chem 6T6, M.A.Sc. 1968,Ph.D. 1972) has been recognized foroutstanding entrepreneurship. After buildingthe highly successful SGS Research, helaunched a second venture, ArgentoPlataMetals Ltd.

Faculty News

13Alumni News

Taking Care of the Hard Science

Michael May was a student (Chem 9T1; Ph.D.,1998) in Professor Michael Sefton’s tissueengineering lab, working on microencapsulation.Another doctoral student, Julie Babensee,participated in a collaborative in vivo experimentin which blank control polymer microcapsuleswere implanted in rats. She analyzed the bloodvessels that were observed to have formed aroundthe polymer.

This single serendipitous observationsuggested that the inevitable reaction to polymerscould in fact be therapeutic. Thus arose the ideaof Theramers™, medical polymers that havebiological activity in and of themselves, withoutthe use of drugs. Unlike inert biomaterials,Theramers™ are regulated as devices, a keyadvantage which reduces the timeline and cost tomarket. Their versatility lies in the possibility oftailoring their responses; moreover, they actlocally without systemic consequences.

Always entrepreneurial, May was notinterested in becoming an academic, butProfessor Sefton warned him that it would beextremely difficult to get a job as a biomedicalresearcher in Canada. May, however, was

determined not to cross the border, so he createda job for himself. Trading on his childhoodexperience as sole proprietor of Mike’s CoolDelights, an ice cream bar at soccer games, hefound a niche: instead of a product, he wouldtake academic research to the market. In 2000,he and Professor Sefton launched RimonTherapeutics. Sefton’s son Ari chose the name,which is the Hebrew word for pomegranate, sincethe internal structure of the pomegranate resemblespolymer beads surrounded by blood vessels.

From the outset, Professor Sefton emphasizedthe importance of taking care of the hard sciencefirst, and, as he predicted, the focus on researchpaid off. Today, Rimon’s lead technology is anMMP (matrix metalloprotease) inhibitingchronic wound dressing designed for use in thetreatment of diabetic ulcers and bed sores. Highconcentrations of MMP in chronic wounds causetissues to degrade faster than they can heal;Rimon’s product MI-sorb™ normalizes MMPlevels so that healing can occur. Human clinicaltrials are now being conducted in collaborationwith Dr. Gary Sibbald, a world renowneddermatologist at Women’s College Hospital and amember of the University of Toronto teachingfaculty.

14Alumni News

As an undergraduate, Michael May was co-chair of Chem Club and CEGSA. He is now onthe Department’s Board of Advisors, and Rimonsupports a table at the Annual Dinner. Thestrength of Rimon is its strong ties with Toronto’sDiscovery District, including the MaRS facility,which enable the company to operate with lowoverhead on campus and in hospitals. ChemicalEngineering plays a crucial role: Rimon leases itspolymer synthesis lab from the Department andhas licenced technology from some of the otherlabs, notably a thermoreversible gel developed byProfessor Yu-Ling Cheng. Perhaps mostimportant, Rimon Therapeutics draws its pool oftalent from Chemical Engineering. Its researchstaff are all graduates of the Department, formingthe basis of a symbiotic relationship whichRimon hopes to nurture.

Rimon has recently been designated byBIOTECanada as one of the country’s two mostpromising emerging biotech companies.According to Chief Operating Officer May, it isremarkable that this small Canadian companyhas managed to survive for six years, increasingits base from one to five technologies andgrowing from one to ten employees. However,Rimon’s greatest achievement is that it hassucceeded in getting a product into human trials.This is in no small part due to May’s vision andcourage and the support he has received fromProfessor Sefton and the Department.

To find out more about Rimon andinvestment opportunities, visitwww.rimontherapeutics.com

Honourary Doctorate for Frank Dottori

On June 12, 2006, Chair Doug Reeve hadthe honour of asking the University to

confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoriscausa, upon Department alumnus Frank Dottori(Chem 6T3).

Frank set new standards for corporatecitzenship when, in 1972, he saved the pulp milltown of Temiscaming, Quebec from certaindemise. A major international company hadclosed the mill, and within days, five hundredemployees had been laid off. Frank, then a thirty-three-year-old chemical engineer, developed avision of “a company of people building theirown future.” He and his colleagues took over themill and, through his leadership, turned afledgling company into Tembec, Inc., aninternational forest products giant.

Frank was President and CEO of Tembecfrom 1979 until his retirement earlier this year.Under his guidance, the company evolvedsocially responsible policies, forged links withunions, First Nations, local business, andenvironmental groups, and committed to third-party certification for responsible management ofits forest lands. Tembec has also givenlongstanding support to the Faculties of Forestryand Engineering, endowing a chair in each.Frank’s legacy is his transformational vision: hehas shown us how great things can beaccomplished through the commitment of asingle individual.

From left to right: Dean and Professor Emeritus Michael

Charles, Frank Dottori, and Doug Reeve.

15Family News

Congratulations to Paul Jedynak (Chem 9T5)

and his wife Marian on the birth of their son on

May 17, 2006. Peter Thomas Jedynak weighed

9 lb, 10 oz.

Kevin Zhang (M.A.Sc., 2004) and his wife Tracy

Yang are the proud parents of Charles Sheng Hao

Zhang, who was born on June 21, 2006, weighing

8 lb, 1 oz.

Isabelle Bourgeois (Chem 0T2) and her husband

Ryan Morris joyously announce the arrival of their

daughter Audrey Marie Katherine Morris, who was

born on July 8, 2006 and weighed 7 lb, 14 oz.

Congratulations to Ayan Chakraborty (Ph.D.

candidate) and his wife Sritama, whose son Ayush

was born on December 13, 2005.

Edward Yee (Chem 9T4) and his wife Brenda

became the parents of a baby girl on January 9,

2006. Brianna weighed 6 lb, 13 oz at birth.

Bonding

Monika Chmiel (Chem 0T5+PEY) and Chris Skonieczny are

thrilled to announce their engagement.

Rami Abouatallah

(Chem 9T7; Ph.D., 2002)

and Sonja Atkins were

married in Toronto on

October 15, 2005.

Baby Chemistry

Vishal Ahuja (M.A.Sc., 2001) and his wife Priti

rejoice in announcing the birth of their daughter

Diya Raj Ahuja on February 8, 2006. She

weighed 7.3 lb.

Congratulations to David Schryer (Chem 0T0;

M.A.Sc., 2005) and his wife Maris Eigi (M.A.Sc.,

2004) on the arrival of their daughter Debi Schryer,

who was born on February 18, 2006, weighing 8.8 lb.

Livia Lau (Chem 9T9) and husband Garros Fung

(Ind Eng 9T9) are thrilled to announce the birth

of a baby girl on January 17, 2006. Gianna Fung

weighed 7 lb, 7 oz.

Rainey Wang (Ph.D. candidate) and his wife

Cindy had a baby boy on April 6, 2006. Matt

weighed 7 lb, 15 oz at birth.

Elizabeth Da Costa (Chem 0T1) and her

husband Alex Damjanoski (EE 0T1) welcomed

their daughter Isabella Damjanoski on January 21,

2006. She weighed 6 lb.

Mark A. Smith (M.A.Sc. candidate) and his wife

Simone are pleased to announce the birth of

Matthew Justin Smith, who was born on April 23,

2006, weighing 9 lb, 3 oz.

David Balke (Chem 9T1; M.A.Sc., 1994; Ph.D.,

2006) and his wife Heidi welcomed Lauren

Elizabeth Balke, a sister for Matthew. Born on

April 19, 2006, Lauren weighed

8 lb, 6.2 oz.

Olive Yuan (Ph.D. candidate) and her husband

Freeman Yufei Huang had a baby girl on May 13,

2006. Cynthia Xinyuan Huang weighed 7.1 lb

at birth.

To contribute family news, please contact Sonia DeBuglio.

Telephone: 416-978-8770

Email: debuglio@chem-eng.utoronto.ca

16Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar. These events are theperfect venue for expanding your mind or

reuniting with classmates and professors.

September 2006 to April 2007The Department will host a series of superbtalks: LECTURES AT THE LEADING EDGE. We hope you will join us to learn about a broadspectrum of international cutting-edge research.For more information, visit our website at:www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca

October 27, 2006The Department will hold its first GraduateAlumni/ae Dinner on Friday, October 27, 2006.The event will bring together former graduatestudents and their supervisors, as well as formermembers of each research group. Please join usfor an unforgettable evening of reminiscing withold friends. Meet the generations of students thathave passed through your lab, network, andreengage with the Department.

If you would like to organize a get-togetheror exchange information, contact Sonia DeBuglio at debuglio@chem-eng.utoronto.ca or(416) 978-8770.

November 2, 2006 Dr. Bert Wasmund (Ph.D., 1966), ExecutiveDirector of Hatch Associates, and ProfessorEmeritus Jane Phillips (Chem 5T3), formerPresident of the PEO, will be inducted into theEngineering Hall of Distinction at theEngineering Alumni Association AnnualAlumni Awards Night. For more than thirty-fiveyears, Dr. Wasmund has been recognized as aninternational expert in metallurgical andchemical processes for smelting metals. With theHatch team, in 1989, he revolutionized platinum

smelting with the design of a novel electricfurnace. Professor Phillips, a researcher in thearea of catalysis, has a history of extensiveinvolvement with professional and scientificsocieties. She has also been a mentor to students,serving as a role model to female students inChemical Engineering.

The dinner will be held in the GrandeBallroom at 89 Chestnut Street, Toronto. Formore information, contact Mary Butera in theEngineering Alumni Office at (416) 978-4941 orbutera@ecf.utoronto.ca

November 18, 2006The annual Professional Engineers OntarioAwards Gala, which celebrates best practicesamong engineers in the province, will be held onNovember 18, 2006. This year, alumnus PhillipJ. (Rocky) Simmons (Chem 6T4; M.A.Sc.,1965; Ph.D., 1968), President and CEO of Eco-Tec Limited, will receive the Engineering Medalin the Entrepreneurship Category. ProfessorMasahiro Kawaji will receive the EngineeringMedal in the Research and DevelopmentCategory.

The Gala will take place at The Carlu,Toronto. For more information, visit the PEOwebsite at www.peo.on.ca

March 23, 2007The 22nd Annual Chemical EngineeringDinner will take place on Friday, March 23,2007 at 89 Chestnut Street in Toronto. Allalumni/ae are welcome as we honour thegraduating classes of 8T2 and 5T7. We hope you will bring your classmates. For informationabout arranging a class reunion or sponsoring a table, contact Sonia De Buglio at (416) 978-8770 or debuglio@chem-eng.utoronto.ca

For more details about these events and other information,

visit our website at www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca

Thanks to Our Alumni/ae and Friends

T. Bruce Adams Asad Alam Bassel Annab John R.Ardagh Harold L.Aronovitch Peter J.Aust Ivano D. Bandiera J. Bruce Barraclough David G. Benner Brian D. Birchall Debbie A. Birks Adrienne Bitner Harris J. Bixler Jack Blunt John W. Blysniuk Peter M. Bortolin Charles G. Bowles Donald Buchanan Gary Burkhalter Dennis Caplice John A. Carnduff Frederick John Carter Lino Casalino Robert Chachel Elaine Patricia Chan Alfred Chau Katherine C. N. Cheng Vivian S. Chew David Colcleugh James L. Collins Ronald Francis Cook Duart Crabtree Ted Cross Jerzy K. Czajkowski John C. Dales Manuel Marvin Dalfen Sonia De Buglio Joe De Rose Bernard DeAbreu Dave A. Dimarco Sahar Dolatshahi Donald J. Douglas Jon A. Douglas Ryan Joseph Charles D’Souza Howard A. Dube Kenneth J. Duffy Laura Beth Easterbrook David W. Egan Marni L. Ellis Bruce A. Endicott Larry A. Enfield Paul Engel Gregory J. Evans Anis Farah Shari Graham Fell Darryl Isaac Firsten John C. Fisher John F. Flett David J. Forman Russell A. Foster Ronald P. Fournier Hector A. Franco Dieter J. C. Gamm John Garofalo

Albert Garred Alan R. Gemmell Ron Gladysz Luisa Gomes W. Donald Gordon Catherine Grant Donald L. Grass John R.W. Grieve Neil D. Haist Michael A. Hantzsch Douglas K. Harrison Lawrence H. Hartnett Robert M. Hayashi Robert Hill Ailee Oi-Lih Ho Jacqueline Ho Peter W. Hodgson Simon Hollinghurst K. Loralee Idler Wai Kevin Keung Ing Sidney Joseph Lena Liu Jung Claire M. C. Kennedy William Edward Kenyon Khizar Hayat Khan Teresa K. Kita George P. Kolosta David I. Kozai Edward J. Kuntz J. George Kurys Bernard P. Kuslikis Kalev Kuutan Mei Ling Kwee Elias Kyriacou Roy T. Lacey Sheldon Landsberger Thomas Latta Marc A. Laurin Gordon T. Leaist Leonard Leo June May Ing Li Carmen Lombardi Flora Yee Han Lui Karen A. MacDonald John S. Mackasey Ross A. MacMillan Edward S. Martin J.Andre P. Martineau Antonio Masella Thomas McCracken Thomas J. M. McDonough Thomas A. Meadowcroft Robert Michael Melnick Wladyslaw Metanomski Theodore B. Metzing Robert A. Michalowicz Peter Wayne Midkiff Ronald Miki Bruce M. Millar Maira Fatima Minia Ronald W. Missen Mehran Monabbati H.Alexander MonroEric Adde Morris

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Ronald C. Morrison William K. Munns Donald B. Mutton Souit I. Olvet Karen S. Owens Gulzar Panesar Joongwon Park Javnika Patel Nilesh Chandulal Patel John B. Patterson Roy Stanley Pedersen Alexandra Pelts O. Karl Pencis Tony Petricola Walter F. Petryschuk Albert Pidutti Tiziano Pizzolon David A. Pleasance Paul Primeau Angelo Proestos Hassan Rahal Michael Steven Ratuski Mandeep Singh Rayat Douglas W. ReeveKenneth C. Reeves Raivo Remmel Donald A. Riddle Paul Rizzuto Duncan R. Robertson Richard A. Robertson C Anne Rocchi Robert J. Rosati Steven J. Roschuk Kimberley A. Rynn Mark W. Sajewycz Paul A. Santamaura Peter Schonherr Wayne C.W. Seto Daniel N. Sgro Vijay Sharma Derek Shaw George R. Shaw Raymond J. F. Sherk Kimi Hiro Shikaze Nicholas Z. Shinbin

The Department of Chemical Engineering and AppliedChemistry is grateful for all gifts.We sincerely hopethat every donor has been correctly acknowledged.Please note that we have not included the names ofdonors who have requested anonymity, nor have weincluded bequests. If, however, your name has beenomitted inadvertently, we wish to offer our apologies.We hope that you will contact us at 416-978-8770 sothat we can correct the oversight.

In the next issue, we will recognize research sponsorsand corporate donors who have supported theDepartment.

A. C. Siarkowski David Alexander Watson Sime Phillip J. Simmons A. J. Simonavicius John J. Smith Robert F. Smith Stuart F. Smith Robert Stanfield Andrea E. Stojcevski Zoran Stojcevski Joseph D. L. Suarez Sritharan Subramaniam Piero J. Suppa Edward Y. Swanston Nabeel Syed Antonio Tarsitano Valiallah Tavasoli Barton F.Teasdale Enn Tiislar Darren Tinney Vello Tou William Troost Albert Chiu Ching Tsang Jeffery E.Turner Dorothy L. Urquhart Audrius Vaidila Dirk Vanderzwaag Kirsten Mary Vice John W.Voss Leonard G.Walker John Walton Bert Wasmund Robert G.West Edward Wheeler Mark R.Williamson Robert M.Willson David Gordon Wilson Marilyn H.Winberg H. George Winnett Walter Worth Minoru Yatabe Thayananthan Yogachandran Zhiwei Zhang Elizabeth A. Zurowski Gordon Zwaigenbaum

May 2005 – May 2006 Donors

Volume 4, Number 2 Fall 2006

Editor: Doug Reeve

Managing Editor: Debby Repka

Contributing Editors: Sonia DeBuglio,Kathy Weishar, Luke Y. H. Ng

Design and Layout: Dennis Boyes

Photographer: Maegan GueretteAdditional photography: Lisa Sakulensky,Alex Dvornyak

Cover Photographs: Chem Dinner,March 24, 2006; Spring Cleaning Day,June 5, 2006; Pre-Convocation Lunch andConvocation, June 16, 2006

Printing Services: General Printers

Circulation: 5,000

© 2006. Limited portions may bereprinted or reproduced without theprior written consent of the copyrightowner only if appropriately attributed.Otherwise, its reproduction in whole orin substantial part by any means withoutthe prior written consent of thecopyright owner is forbidden.

We invite inquiries, comments and suggestions from readers.Please contact:

Doug ReeveProfessor and Chair,Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry

200 College Street Toronto, ON Canada M5S 3E5 Telephone: 416-978-3069 Fax: 416-978-8065 Email: chair@chem-eng.utoronto.ca

Publications Mail Agreement No 40780631Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:

200 College Street,Toronto ON Canada M5S 3E5