PAST. PRESENT. FUTURE.ChE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS page 3

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING IS ON THE RISEJul 2014 che.ufl.edu

ART & ENGINEERING HIGHLIGHT page 10

ENGINEERINGCHEMICAL

NEWSOUR NEW BUILDING ADDITION page 6

University of Florida

www.che.ufl.edu

Dear Friends and Alumni of Gator Chemical Engineering: This year, the Chemical Engineering Department celebrates its 75th Anniversary! I hope you all can join us at the Anniversary Celebration in the new Chemical Engineering Student Center on September 5th at 4pm. At this event, we will unveil the Wall of Honor to recognize those alumni and former faculty members who have contributed most to the reputation and stature of the department. We are thrilled that three highly distinguished former Department Chairs, John O’Connell, Dinesh Shah and Tim Anderson, will be returning to Gainesville to join us for this big event. For our alumni, this a great chance to reconnect with old friends, classmates and professors of the department and to see the remarkable changes and growth within.

Last fall, we celebrated the grand opening of the Chemical Engineering Student Center; a new building which houses the Department Administration, the Academic Advising Center, a majestic new conference room and the most impressive student collaboration space on campus. We are so proud and honored that this wonderful new building was 100% funded by donations from the generous alumni and friends of

the department. Beyond funding this wonderful facility, our alumni continue to ensure a bright future for Gator Chemical Engineering through their tremendous generosity, including three endowed faculty positions: The Fred & Bonnie Edie Professor, The ExxonMobil Gator Chemical Engineering Alumni Professor and The Harry and Bertha Bernstein Professor. By next fall, the department will have a total of six endowed faculty positions (up from two in 2009), as well as two new bequest commitments for endowed Chairs. Endowed Professorship and Chair positions have a multiplying positive effect on our programs by helping honor, recruit and retain the most out-standing faculty members, as well as by providing financial support to the department. On behalf of the entire Gator ChE family, thank you to all who contributed to the new building and to the department’s endowments for your valuable support!

With such generous alumni and friends, outstanding faculty and staff, students and renewed state sup-port for UF, the future of Gator ChE is indeed bright. This year, undergraduate enrollment topped 650 students in the fall and graduate enrollment exceeded 200. Gator ChE’s continue to be in high demand and are placed in excellent graduate programs and with excellent companies. We have twenty-two ten-ure track faculty and we will be hiring two more faculty in the coming year, bringing the faculty size to an all-time high. Our faculty continue to shine in research with multiple new research projects from federal agencies such as NIH, NASA, NSF, the Department of Energy and industrial partners. We are very proud that expenditures on research have doubled in the past five years.

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CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Dr. Richard Dickinson

In This IssueFeature StoryOn the Rise Our New Building AdditionPages 6 and 7

Faculty Awards NASA Grants and morePage 5

Alumni News Awards and PromotionsPage 9

Faculty NewsPlenary Lectures in FallPage 8

Student News $25,000 Big Idea WinPages 10 and 11

Upcoming Events ChE Celebrates 75 YearsBack cover

Faculty Highlight Dr. Tanmay LelePage 4

To be added to our communications list or to send us your story, send an email to Monique Phears at mphears@che.ufl.edu.

THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO GROW IN ENROLLMENT, FACULTY & RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY.

Please stay in touch, and I hope to see you all in September! GO GATORS! Richard Dickinson

of Chemical Engineering at University of Florida

July 2014

Department of Chemical Engineering

3

1939

The chemical engineering curriculum at UF was first introduced in the 1916-17 course catalog. ChE was originally housed in Leigh Hall as a part of the Chemistry Department.

ChE became a part of the College of Engineering in 1939 and was moved to Benton Hall until 1950 when the department moved to the Hangar Building.

Join the department as wecelebrate our accomplishments

on Friday, September 5th. See back cover for information on how to RSVP.

2014CELEBRATING YEARS of Chemical Engineering at University of Florida

75

www.che.ufl.edu

University of Florida

The behavior of living cells depends on both chemical and mechanical cues, and a variety of human diseases like cancer, muscular dystrophies and cardiomyopathies, are related to altered mechanical forces on the cell nucleus. For example, cancer is commonly diag-nosed to be in stage 1, 2, 3 etc. by pathologists from the misshapen appearance of the nucleus, while the nucleus in normal cells usually is typically smooth and symmetrical, but in cancer cells it becomes distended and irregular, likely due to differences in mechanical forces.

Dr. Lele’s research group is funded by two current RO1 grants from the National Institutes of Health to study how forces are transmitted to the nucleus in normal and diseased cells and how forces on the nucleus influence the expression of different genes. His group has shown how force transmission to the nucleus and gene expression depend on the cell’s cytoskeleton and its molecular connections with the nucleus, as well as on the mechanical and topological properties of the cell’s micro-environment. This research is also highly relevant to tissue engi-neering, where tissues are grown out of the body before implantation in solid scaffolds that can be modified with the right mechanical and chemical cues to control cell behavior.

Professor Lele’s interdisciplinary research program lies at the intersection of chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, molecular cell biology, and biochemistry. His group is at the forefront of using cutting-edge microscopic techniques for dynamically imaging molec-ular function in living cells and tissues, and he actively collaborates with other engineers and cell biologists. In addition to the two NIH grants, Professor Lele has recently received exten-sive funding from NSF, including the prestigious NSF CAREER Award, and an award from the American Heart Association.

Despite the multidisciplinary flavor of his research, Professor Lele still selects to teach core chemical engineering courses in order to keep his ChE tools sharp, and he receives exceptional evaluations from his students. He says, “I believe the chemical engineering discipline needs to maintain its core identity during this time when more traditional areas are beginning to give way to newer opportunities in areas such as energy and bio-research. I believe that keeping a foot solidly in ChE is a big reason for our success in research.”

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FACULTY HIGHLIGHT

Chemical Engineering at UF is home to research programs in many diverse areas, but Associate Professor Tanmay Lele’s program may be the furthest from traditional chemical engineering. Although his PhD training at Purdue was in chemical reaction engineering, Professor Lele is now applying his traditional ChE thinking together with molecular cell biology training he received as a Harvard post-doc, to a wholly new exciting direction: cell and tissue mechanics.

DR. TANMAY LELE

For more information on Dr. Tanmay Lele’s work, visit his website at lelelab.org.

Image of a single fibroblast cell stained for the nucleus (blue), F-actin micro-filaments (green) and microtubules (red). Scale bar is 20 microns.

tlele@che.ufl.edu

Department of Chemical Engineering

July 20145

FACULTY AWARDS

Dr. Jennifer Curtis

AIChE THOMAS BARON AWARD IN FLUID-PARTICLE SYSTEMS

For her outstanding contributions in both CFD and DEM modeling of dilute and dense fluid-particle flows, with

application to a wide variety of fluidized processes.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY OUTSTANDING CHEMICAL ENGINEER AWARD

Pictured to the right with Purdue Professor Arvind Varma, Head, School of Chemical Engineering & Professor Michael Harris, Assoc. Dean of Engineering.

UF FOUNDATIONTERM PROFESSORSHIP

Dr. Fan Ren

UF RESEARCHFOUNDATION

PROFESSOR, 2014-2017

Dr. Mark OrazemTo develop novel broadband anti-reflection (AR) coatings on silicon refractive optics.

NASA RESEARCH GRANT AWARD

Dr. Peng Jiang

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTONR. WELLS MOULTON

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS AWARD

Dr. Richard Dickinson

This award is given to alumni who have made exceptional contribu-tions in engineering industry, faculty service in academia, and

government, public or volunteer service.

www.che.ufl.edu

University of Florida

6

Chemical Engineering adds a new building in 2013

ChE HOMES AT UFOCTOBER 24, 2011

WEEK 8

WEEK 16

1939-1950: BENTON HALL & ANNEX

1969-PRESENT: ChE BUILDING

1916-1939: LEIGH HALL (CHEMISTRY)

1950-1969: WWII ROTC HANGAR

After nearly 10 years of fundraising and planning, the new Chemical Engineering Student Center opened on October 4, 2013. “This building is the hub for student activity,” says Department Chair Rich Dickinson,

“This LEED certified building certainly enhances the already outstanding image and reputation the department reflects”.

Funded entirely by private donations, the $3.9 million project was constructed in two phases; the first being the completion of the building’s

outer shell and the student collaboration space, the second being the completion of the administrative suite, academic advising suite and conference room. The 9,800+ square-foot building addition is located on the south side of the existing ChE building, facing Black Hall.

Naming opportunities exist and can be funded in a number of ways, including making a multi-year pledge to the department. Recognition opportunities vary. For more information, please contact our Director of Development, Mike Masem at mmasem@eng.ufl.edu or at 352-392-6795.

To make a tax-deductible online donation to the new ChE Student Center, visit our website at www.che.ufl.edu.

ONTHERISE

Department of Chemical Engineering

July 20147

“THE GENEROSITY OF OUR ALUMNI AND CORPORATE PARTNERS

HAS BEEN ASTOUNDING.” — Dickinson

BUILDING FEATURES• A vast, multi-story atrium• A new academic advising suite, designed to more efficiently accommodate student needs • Multiple study and collaboration spaces designed by students, featuring study pods and glass-enclosed breakout rooms with white boards, power outlets and enhanced technology resources

WEEK 3

WEEK 12

WEEK 17

www.che.ufl.edu

University of Florida

8

FACULTY NEWS

Dr. Seymour Block celebrated his 96th birthday on May 16th with

faculty, staff and students.

Dr. Block holds the record for the longest service in the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, in the

College of Engineering and at UF! He also holds the longest

membership in the oldest organi-zation at UF, a discussion group,

called the Atheneum Society.

7th International Workshop on Impedance Spectroscopy (IWIS) in Chemnitz, Germany. September 24-26, 2014

10th International Symposium on Electrochemical Micro & Nanosystem Technologies (EMNT) in Okinawa, Japan. November 5-8, 2014

Chemnitz, Germany

Professor Mark Orazem set to deliver two PlenaryLectures this fall.

HAPPY 96TH

BIRTHDAYDR. BLOCK!

Department of Chemical Engineering

July 20149

ALUMNI NEWS

AIChE has created a UF ChE alumni map to serve as a helpful resource for ChE under-graduates. The map gives students the chance to network and see where a ChE degree will take them. Please send in your information (e.g. your name, company/graduate school, location, and position/title) to Pearl Leung at leungp@ufl.edu.

ALUMNI MAP

View the map online at http://www.che.ufl.edu/AIChE/alumni_map.html.

Joshua Walden was recently announced as the head of all processor design for Intel.

Receiving his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Florida in 1982, Josh’s new role as Vice President/General Manager of Platform engineering reports directly to Intel’s CEO.

See his Intel bio: http://www.che.ufl.edu/alumni_awards.htm

Miami native Aaron Harrington received the 2013-2014 Clayton Engineering Excellence Award for Outstanding Graduate Students from the LSU College of Engineering.

Harrington is earning his doctorate degree in chemical engineering and a minor in petroleum engineering while researching simulations of in-situ upgrading and conversion process of shale oil formations, and mechanisms of heat reflux and condensation in the formation wellbore. Harrington earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engi-neering from the University of Florida. He currently serves as pres-ident of the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association and wants to live a life revolved around study and discovery.

The Clayton Engineering Excellence Award is granted each year to an outstanding graduate student(s) who exhibits extraordinary character, scholastic achievement and evident leadership in the College of Engineering. This award entails a stipend of $10,000 to the recipient and a $2,000 stipend to the graduate student’s princi-pal advisor/faculty member. Donald W. Clayton (BS PETE, 1959) was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1993. He and Gloria Pichon Clayton founded the awards in 2004 with a generous donation.

Story courtesy of LSU College of Engineering. Read the full story online at http://www.che.ufl.edu/alumni_awards.htm.

Head of Processor Design for Intel

Engineering Excellence Award at LSU

Aaron Harrington Joshua Walden

Send your story to mphears@che.ufl.edu

Message from the Director of DevelopmentYour support to the Department of Chemical Engineering allows our fac-ulty to advance skilled research, our students to achieve their educational goals, and our programs to exceed those of our peers. We are grateful for your partnership

in helping us shape and transform the next generation of chemi-cal engineering. We are happy to discuss with you your individual philanthropic goals and interests. Please contact Mike Masem, Director of Development for UF Chemical Engineering, at 352 392-6795 or mmasem@eng.ufl.edu.

University of Florida

www.che.ufl.edu

ChE Ph.D. Candidate, ROB DAMITZ, along with two fellow Gator Engineers, were awarded the grand prize of $25,000 as winners of the “What’s Your Big Idea” Business Plan Competition on April 25th. The competition was organized by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Warrington College of Busi-ness Administration and was open to all UF students. Over 140 business plans were submitted for the inaugural competition.

According to water.org, over 780 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Rob’s company, aqUV, is developing a potential solution to this global issue: a water bottle which contains a UV light powered by a twist crank to sterilize water. Their solution provides clean drinking water without the need for expensive filters or batteries and is designed for use in developing nations or disaster relief. aqUV also believes their solution will be popular with outdoors activities such as camping, hiking, or hunting.

Rob’s interest in water purification began when he developed a water purification and meal preparation system for the U.S. Military at Mainstream Engineering Corp. in Rockledge, FL.

With the $25,000 award, aqUV hopes to develop and test their prototypes. The first batch of working prototypes will be donated to a Haitian orphanage.

For more information, please email aquv.bottles@gmail.com.10

STUDENT NEWSSTUDENT HIGHLIGHTUndergraduate ChE student ROSHAN PATEL, as a participant in the UF Art and Engineering program, presented his interactive project col-laboration during the Gainesville Art Walk and the Harn Museum in April and October 2013, respectively. As part of a group project in the M.E.A.T. (Media Experiments in Art and Tech-nology) course, Patel and his team explored Synesthesia, a condition where two or more of a person’s senses are experienced at the same time. His team ultimately replicated the ability to “see” sounds.

The overall theme of the M.E.A.T. group proj-ect was to “Reuse and Repurpose”. With the details of the project being left to each group’s discretion, Patel and his group members utilized sound as their inspiration to create a comput-er-activated machine that sprayed colored paint

onto a canvas—based on the frequencies in a person’s voice. Each person who participated during Patel’s showcase spoke into a micro-phone that was connected to the computer. Pumps were then activated to spray the appro-priate paint color via a nozzle. In order to discern the different frequency ranges in each person’s voice, code had to be written for each range to correspond to a color.

Colors used for higher frequency (higher pitched voices) were warm colors (yellow, orange, red); colors used for lower frequencies (deeper voices) were cool colors (green, blue, purple). The group used recycled paint cans to hold the paint and repurposed windshield washer fluid pumps from cars to pump the paint onto the canvas.

Course professors were Charlie Cummings and David Cheney. Group members included: Matt Gogh (engineering student), Jordan Pfost (engineering student) and Clarke Harris (art student).

See pictures from Patel’s Harn Museum Showcase online at

www.che.ufl.edu/student_highlight.htm.

BIG IDEA = BIG WINRob Damitz wins $25,000 in business plan competition

Congratulations to Andrew Alvarez and William Cuadra for winning first place in the

Unit Ops II Poster Competition with their poster titled: Design and Management of

High Performance Drilling Fluids. The competition was hosted during the

spring semester by Dr. Fan Ren.

View the winning poster and other winners at www.che.ufl.edu/student_awards.htm.

UNIT OPS II POSTER COMPETITION WINNERS

Department of Chemical Engineering

11

The 15th Annual GRACE Symposium was held on April 10th with great success! This yearly one-day research showcase aids graduate stu-dents in professional development in their field of research and also serves to enhance the academic experience of their colleagues.

Throughout the day, PhD and Master’s students have the opportunity to present their research in either a presentation or poster format to their

peers and a panel of judges, which can include faculty or industry personnel. This allows the graduate students to receive invaluable feedback on their

presentation skills and research topics.

GRACE also kicked off the summer with the inau-gural lunchtime lightning basketball game on

June 3rd. Games continue in the summer and will continue throughout the fall.

Department of Chemical EngineeringPO Box 116005Gainesville, FL 32611www.che.ufl.edu

EVENTSUPCOMING

2014 AIChE ANNUAL MEETINGAtlanta, GA

Nov. 16-21

The AIChE Annual Meeting is the premier educational forum for chemical engineers interested in innovation and profes-sional growth. Academic and industry experts will cover a wide range of topics relevant to cutting-edge research, new tech-nologies and emerging growth areas in chemical engineering. Program, registration and hotel information are now available at www.aiche.org.

UF ChE 75TH CELEBRATIONGainesville, FL

Sept. 5th, 4pm-8pm

Join the Department of Chemical Engineering in celebrating 75 years at the University of Florida! We are hosting a fun-filled evening of food, drinks, live entertainment, tours and more right here on campus at our new student center!

Register at www.che.ufl.edu before August 15th. Parking and hotel information are provided on the event page.