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 The team from UC Davis competed at the UCLA Western Regional Chemical Engineering conference on April 13th, trouncing their competition in the Chemical Car competion. Their car did so well that it stopped only 18 inches past the required 70 feet they were informed of only one hour prior. Teams falling by the wayside included Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, and University of Nevada, Reno. The UC Davis representatives also brought home 2nd place in the poster competition. Congratulations! |
One of our very own graduate students, Vannarith M. Leang, has been selected to receive a 2008 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award! Van's nominator Professor Brian Higgins said, "Van worked very hard and well deserved this award." Supporting recommendations came from undergraduate students: Matthew Girardi; Alberto Cortes; Chen-Yian Low; Annie Dai, Charles Cai; Jonathan Yen and Steven Selverston. Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef will present the award to Van at a
ceremony to be held in May. Please extend your congratulations to Van. |
| Erica Gjersing, a graduate student in Prof. Sen’s research group, has been awarded a NSF EAPSI (East Asia and Pacific islands Summer Institute) fellowship to conduct research in Japan for 8 weeks in summer 2008. The project, entitled "High Temperature NMR Spectroscopy to Assess Dynamics of Chalcogenide Glasses", is in collaboration with Prof. Hideki Maekawa of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The award provides a $5000 stipend from NSF while all travel and living expenses in the host country will be paid for by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS). The EAPSI program fosters international collaborations by enabling U.S. graduate students to conduct world class research in addition to learning about the language and culture of their host country. |
Scott Himmelberger, a member of the first class of Chemical Engineering Honors Students, has been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. Scott is one of three Goldwater Scholars selected from UC Davis and the only sophomore. Goldwater Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit from a field. For 2008-09, this field consisted of 1,035 mathematics, science, and engineering students from which 321 scholars were selected.
The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 70 Rhodes Scholarships, 94 Marshall Awards (8 of the 40 awarded in the United States in 2008), and numerous other distinguished fellowships.
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 West Sacramento company Q1 NanoSystems and the university have agreed on terms for exclusive licensing of intellectual property stemming from inventions both on and off campus. Professor Pieter Stroeve and others made several key inventions that will enable manufacture of very thin, very small wires, films, and other structures with a precise chemical makeup. For more information, see the UC Davis News & Information article, and the Q1 NanoSystems website. |
 This image by Dr. Adam Moule appeared on the inside cover of the February edition of Advanced Materials. It shows a scanning electron microscopy image of a porous film of P3HT on an indium tin oxide substrate. The related article shows control over the aggregation of P3HT in solution by mixing a dipolar, but miscible solvent to the coating solution. The resulting nanoparticle dispersions are stable and allow a quantitative comparison of the absorption spectra of amorphous and aggregated P3HT. These results are interesting not only because they allow control of morphology on the nanometer scale, but they also show a path to low-cost morphological control of large-area films, which is an essential step for the commercialization of plastic PV devices. |
UC Davis is among 15 universities and six companies to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new photovoltaic technology. UC Davis is to research organic photovoltaics containing multiple-layer polymer films.
The $21.7 million investment is part of the Solar America Initiative, which sets a goal of making solar energy cost competitive with conventional electricity sources by 2015.
Adam Moule, assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science, is to receive the grant starting Feb. 1. A new professor from Germany who just began this school year, Moule applied for the grant in June and submitted the proposal right after he accepted the job in May. Moule proposes the fabrication of a device using multiple-layer polymers to improve the device efficiency.
Read the full article in the California Aggie |
Dr. Nael El-Farra has received a National Science Foundation CAREER award and grant for his project titled "Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks in Process Control". The award is given to faculty members at or near the beginning of their careers who have effectively integrated research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. This is a remarkable acheivement and a true affirmation of the great work that Dr. El-Farra does.
Congratulations on this well deserved award! |
 The UC Davis AIChE chapter has been selected as an Outstanding Chapter for the 2006-2007 school year. Only 15 such honors are distributed to the 150+ student chapters nation-wide. Awards are given in recognition of the membership and participation of the students and faculty, the quality and quantity of meetings and activities, and the chapter's involvement in local, regional and national events. At the Annual Meeting, the award will be announced where a plaque will be presented to the Chapter and certificates to the advisor Dr. Tonya Kuhl and president Alina Av.
Congratulations and keep up the good work! |
Due to the strong effort of a multidisciplinary faculty team - lead by Karen McDonald, College of Engineering Associate Dean and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, with the assistance from Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Research - we are proud to announce that the campus has received a new Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award from the National Science Foundation.
The award was based on the team's project: "Collaborative Research and Education in Agricultural Technologies and Engineering" (CREATE). This multi-institutional IGERT establishes a research and educational partnership between UC Davis, Tuskegee University, University of Ireland, Maynooth and the Teagasc Oak Park Research Center in Carlow, Ireland.
Out of 443 IGERT pre-proposals received this year, 98 full proposals were selected, and out of those only about 20 will receive the prestigious award. This award is a continuing grant and will be awarded $600,000 in the first year and up to $3.1 million over the five-year period.
Congratulations, team! |
| An article by Dr. Sangtae Kim "Electrochemical Characteristics of ZnO-Nanowire/Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Composite as a Cathode for SOFCs" published in Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters 10, B187 (2007), has been selected for the September 3, 2007 issue of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology. The Virtual Journal, which is published by the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society in cooperation with numerous other societies and publishers, is an edited compilation of links to articles from participating publishers, covering a focused area of frontier research. You can access the Virtual Journal at http://www.vjnano.org |
| Miaofang Chi and Judy Kim have been awarded travel support to attend the FEMMS2007 meeting. They both began their PhD program Fall Quater 2003 in materials science and engineering under the mentorship of Professor Nigel Browning. Congratulations to both of them! |
| Corey Dodge, a doctoral student in Chemical Engineering & Materials Science who is also obtaining a Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology, won the ISPE (International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering) SF/Bay Area Chapter Student Poster Competition held at ALZA Corporation in Vacaville CA.Corey will receive a cash award and a trip to the ISPE Annual Meeting in Las Vegas next Fall where he will compete in the International ISPE Student Poster Competition. |
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science students Ileri Nazar and
Michael Plesha, who is also obtaining a Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology, won GREAT (Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive Biotechnology) Training Grant awards from the UC Systemwide Biotechnology Research and Education Program. Michael is working in the McDonald lab developing cost-effective, scalable methods for production of human therapeutics using a novel plant-based expression system. Ileri works in the development of si-nanopores for external control of transport of biomolecules under the sponsorship of Professor Peter Stroeve. As indicated on the GREAT program website, at $50,000 per year over 2 years, this is one of the highest individual awards given for graduate education and training given anywhere in the nation. |
| A provisional patent on Dr. Sangtae Kim's recent invention entitled "A new type of oxide nanowire composite cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs)" has been filed. This composite cathode significantly reduces concerns about chemical and mechanical compatibility with conventional electrolytes, which has remained one of the main challenges for practical utilization of the SOFC. |
| The UC Davis College of Engineering has awarded Professor Alex Navrotsky the Outstanding Senior Faculty Research Award and Professor Tonya Kuhl the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award. These are great accomplishments! Please join us in congratulating them. |
The University of California, Davis' Low-Temperature Nanomaterials for Fuel Cells have been named a winner in the third annual Nanotech Briefs®’ Nano 50 Awards in the Technology category. This groundbreaking work was done by UC Davis researchers in Dr. Sangtae Kim and Dr. Zuhair Munir's labs in collaboration with Professor Manfred Martin's lab at University of Aachen in Germany.
Presented by Nanotech Briefs magazine - the monthly digital publication from the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs - the Nano 50 recognizes the top 50 technologies, products, and innovators that have significantly impacted, or are expected to impact, the state of the art in nanotechnology. The winners of the Nano 50 awards are the "best of the best" - the innovative people and designs that will move nanotechnology to key mainstream markets.
Nano 50 nominations were entered via an online submission form, and were judged by a panel of nanotechnology and MEMS experts. The technologies, products, and innovators receiving the 50 highest scores were named Nano 50 award winners.
The Nano 50 will be presented at a special awards dinner to be held during the NASA Tech Briefs National Nano Engineering Conference in Boston, November 14-15, 2007. |
| Suzanne Barber has been selected for the attribution of a Chateaubriand Fellowship with which to carry out the research project: "/Membranes and Colloids: How Polymer Decoration Impacts Fusion and Adhesion" /at the laboratory M^3 Membranes and Microforces, Institut Charles Sadron, Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique in Strasbourg (France), under the supervision of Professor Carlos Marques. Congratulations Suzanne! |
 The Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science celebrated Picnic Day this year with a BBQ get together that was enjoyed by all. |
Distinguished Professor Subhash Risbud has been recommended to be a recipient of the Distinguished Graduate/Professional Teaching Award for 2007. (Confirmation will be at the Representative Assembly meeting on June 7, 2007 when he will formally be named a recipient).
Congratulations to Professor Risbud for this
well-deserved recognition! |
 Dr. Roland Faller's article "Simulations of glasses: multiscale modelling and density of states Monte-Carlo simulations" was among the top ten most accessed during 2006 on the journal Molecular Simulation website. The article, which appeared in Volume 32, issue 3-4, shows the application of two recent developments in molecular simulations: density of states and Monte-Carlo and multiscale modeling with regard to glass transition. View the article. |
Dr. David Block has been selected to receive the 2006/2007 Chemical Engineering Excellence Award in the Academic Teaching category. The Chemical Engineering Excellence Award program has been instituted to recognize outstanding Northern California chemical engineering professionals and projects. The awards are offered in a number of categories. Selection is by committee vote and only nominations meeting minimum criteria are considered.
The awards, consisting of personalized plaques are presented during the luncheon at the NorCal AIChE April 12, 2007 One Day Symposium, which is held at the H's Lordship Restaurant in Berkeley.
Congratulations to Dr. Block for receiving this recognition of his excellence!
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Chemical Engineering students from the UC Davis Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) went to UC Santa Barbara this past weekend (April 20-21) to compete in the Western Regional Conference and swept the competition. Chemical Engineering Sophomore, Sean Beacroft, won the student paper presentation for his talk entitled "Molecular Modeling of Glycoprotein Systems". Ted Geissler, Stefanie Boehme, and Patrick Wong led the Chemical-Car Team (other team members not present include Khan Do, Sean Beacroft, Julien Lecuyer, and Andie Chan), which won for best poster presentation and took first place in the main event of the conference - the Chemical-Car Race -beating teams from UCLA and UCSB. Chemical Engineering experts judging the poster competition called it the "best poster among the lot" and a "novel design." AIChE Student Chapter President, Alina Av, commented "Three years ago when we first entered the competition, I knew that we could bring our club to a new level. It feels good to hear other schools credit us and say 'We didn’t even know about this until (UC) Davis!'" AIChE Student Chapter Advisor, Dr. Tonya Kuhl, also attended the two day event to lend her support for UC Davis. On the first day, the team and supporting AIChE Officers attended a bowling social with all the other UCs. On the second day, the team answered tough questions about power source, unique features, and environmental/safety factors. The team also did some serious troubleshooting before taking first place in the Chemical-Car Race. One hour before the competition, the host school announced the distance the car is required to travel and the load it must carry. The competition distance and load were 63 feet and 215 milliliters of water. Not only did the team calculate how much catalyst they needed to add to their reaction to achieve this distance, they also had to troubleshoot what to do since the filter they were using had worn out. "Women’s tampons became our secret weapon," joked Chemical-Car Coordinator, Ted Geissler. The AIChE Student Chapter Vice President, Swati Batra, expressed "We are very proud of our Chemical-Car team and we look forward to seeing us glide to the finish line at the National Competition in Utah next year." |
In his research, Dr. Zuhair Munir has shown the influence of electric fields in creating new, unique materials. In his teaching Munir, distinguished professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of California, Davis, seems to create his own personal field that allows students to grow and find their own way to the answers. Now the "Zuhair Munir effect" has been recognized with the award of the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Achievement. The Prize includes a cash award of $35,000, thought to be the largest of its kind in the nation. Read the whole story... |
 Dr. Ahmet Palazoglu has co-authored a book with Ferhan Kayihan of Integrated Engineering Technologies entitled Chemical Process Performance Evaluation.Reviews the limitations of using classical, single-variable statistical techniques for monitoring multivariable processesBuilds upon general statistics, monitoring, and control concepts with new methods and techniquesHighlights new directions in process monitoring methodologies, such as modeling process signalsIntegrates the assessment of controller and process performance for more practical implementationPresents key concepts drawn from the authors' own research and from various courses they've taught on the subject.I'll be the first to admit that Chemical Engineering is, aside from making good pizza as it really is an art and a science both, likely one of the most challenging fields one can enter. Then to be able to arrange your knowledge and place it in a form where others can reference it at will, that is art. Congratulations on a great feat! |
 Pizza is a difficult thing. There was this place in Brooklyn called Lenny's. You'd just walk up to the counter and say "slice", slap down your buck twenty-five, and have the best slice of cheese pizza on the planet.Here in Davis, we've got a large variety of pizza, and while none of it is exactly like Lenny's, some of it's pretty darn good. So we're having a pizza party to introduce the graduate recruits to the department, and Davis pizza. You should come. Pizza Party
March 9, 2007, 6:30 PM
University Club
Faculty, Staff, Researchers, and Current Grad students all invited.We'd appreciate you letting us know you're coming, so please SIGN UP! |
 The paper "Energy Crossovers in Nanocrystalline Zirconia" by Michael W. Pitcher, Sergey V. Ushakov, Alexandra Navrotsky, Brian F. Woodfield, Guangshe Li, Juliana Boerio-Goates, Brian M. Tissue is third on a list of the top 20 most cited articles in Journal of the American Ceramic Society for last three years.Dr. Navrotsky's group is part of the NEAT Organizational Research Unit. |
 Faculty Candidates will be giving seminars over the next two weeks. Please review the schedules so you may attend. The seminars are open to everyone.Aditya Bhan
UC Berkeley
Feb 20, 10 AM, 1003 Kemper
Abstract (PDF) Edgar Lotero
Clemson University
Feb 22, 10 AM, 1003 Kemper
Abstract (PDF) Adam Moule
Univ. of Zu Koln
Feb 26, 10 AM, 1003 Kemper
Abstract (PDF) Peter Khalifah
Univ of Massachusetts
Mar 1, 10 AM, 1003 Kemper
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| From the Department Chair: "It is with great pleasure that I report the election of Distinguished Professor Bruce Gates to the National Academy of Engineering. This is truly the highest distinction that an engineer can receive." Dr. Gates is one of 66 Chemical Engineers in the entire country to hold a membership in the Academy. Please take the time to congratulate him on this great honor. |
 Dr. Pieter Stroeve is quoted in the current edition of Food Technology Magazine in the article Analyzing Nanotechnology:"Food-related nanotechnology research is already underway and could significantly affect our food supply within the next decade." The article goes on to discuss various uses of nanotechnolgy in food systems. If Dr. Stroeve's quoted, it's worth a look. |
| We are seeking individuals with research expertise and commitment to the field of Food Biochemical Engineering as part of the UC Davis "Foods for Health" Institute, a campus-wide institute focusing on cross-disciplinary research on food production, nutrition and health. The successful candidate will demonstrate an ability to apply and analyze the application of cutting-edge analytical methods to complex food matrices. These methods may include, but are not limited to: nanotechnology, nanoscience, microfabricated systems, photonics. Employment Application and Details |
 This class was offered 2 years ago and it's being offered again Winter Quarter. Topics include:
- physics of synchrotron radiation
- fundamentals of storage rings & beamlines
- new sources - free electron lasers & energy recover linacs
- x-ray absorption, EXAFS, flourescence, inelastic scattering
- synchrotron-based nuclear spectroscopy
- visits, experiments at ALS and SSRL (perhaps APS)
- graduate and undergraduate students welcome
X-Ray Spectroscopy & Synchrotron Radiation
EAD273 - Winter 2007
116 Veihemeyer Hall
Tues & Thurs, 12:10 - 1:30 PMFor information, contact Prof. Stephen Cramer, spjcramer@ucdavis.edu |
Lilian P. Davila, Ph.D. (CHMS Alumna) was awarded the prestigious Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship by the University of California to pursue collaborative research projects in the School of Engineering at UC Merced and Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This highly competitive fellowship (6% success rate) was established in 1984 by the UCOP to encourage outstanding Ph.D.recipients to pursue academic careers. The program selects the best of the best from a pool of applicants from all ten UC campuses who are committed to university careers in research,
teaching and service that will enhance the diversity of the academic community.
Lilian completed her Ph.D. research in CHMS under the joint guidance of Professors Jim Shackelford and Subhash Risbud and was awarded the SEGRF fellowship by LLNL to pursue her doctoral dissertation. |
| Each year, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef uses a portion of UC Davis Annual Fund contributions to fund the Chancellor's Fellows awards, which recognize bright young faculty members. The campus has named 27 Chancellor's Fellows since the program began in 2000. This honor for Dr. Kuhl is hot off the presses -- stay tuned for details, but give her a big congratulations if you see her. |
 From a write-up by Andy Fell at the UC Davis News Feed:Subhash Risbud, professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, John Miao from UCLA, and colleagues from SLAC, Japan and Taiwan just published a paper in Physical Review Letters (the 24
November 2006 issue, Vol. 97, No. 21) describing a new three-dimensional X-ray microscope that can look at nanomaterials in three dimensions. The device could be used for making better materials, for example for use in electronics, optics and biotechnology.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has traditionally been used to study nanomaterials, but because electrons do not penetrate far into materials, the sample preparation procedure is usually complicated and destructive. Furthermore, TEM only gives two-dimensional images.
The new method shines a powerful X-ray source (from a Synchrotron) onto a nanoparticle and collects the X-rays scattered from the sample. Then computers construct a three-dimensional image from that data. The new X-ray microscope can resolve details down to 17 nanometers.
Using the new microscope, Risbud and colleagues were able to obtain detailed three-dimensional pictures of a quantum dot of gallium nitride on which an oxide layer had been grown by thermal treatment. They were also able to study the 3-D structure at a nanometer scale. Quantum dots are tiny particles that change their optical and electronic properties, depending on the particle size. Gallium nitride quantum dots could be used in blue-green lasers or flat-panel displays.
"The present work hence opens the door for comprehensive, nondestructive and quantitative 3D imaging of a wide range of samples including porous materials, semiconductors, quantum dots and wires, inorganic nanostructures, granular materials, biomaterials, and cellular structure," they wrote.
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 It'll be hard to outdo last year's Frosty the Snowman singalong (with the entire 117 verses if I recall correctly) and his untimely decapitation thereafter (it was a pinata, folks, don't get sentimental), but it's time to start preparing for theCHMS HOLIDAY PARTY
Friday, Dec 1, 5:30 PM
Rec Pool LodgePlease sign up so we can plan the amount of food to set out. And it is a pot luck, so if you can cook or know how to get to the front of the deli line at the supermarket, please bring something. Sign up here! |
 From a press announcement on October 20, 2006:Jack Baylis, 49, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Since May 2006, he has served as the chief executive officer of the west region group for AECOM, a global design, engineering and program management firm. From 2000 to 2006, Baylis served in a variety of positions at CH2M Hill, a global project delivery company, including senior vice president and vice president. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of the manufacturing firm Linabond. Baylis serves on the Los Angeles City Quality and Productivity Commission and is a member of the Heal the Bay Board of Directors and Ph.D. Advisory Board for the University of Southern California Center for Sustainability. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Baylis is a Republican. Jack tells us: "In my first meeting we set aside over 7000 acres as Wilderness (Sinkyone Wilderness), way cool." I spent three days hiking the Lost Coast in the Sinkyone Wilderness and I approve this message. |
 Science, the paper-based holy grail of publications has been graced with the work of our own Dr. Margie Longo. Here's a bit of the write-up in UC Davis News:"The composition of lipid membranes, similar to those that surround living cells, can now be mapped at the nanometer scale. The work, by researchers at Stanford University, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Davis, is published in the Sept. 29 issue of the journal Science." Read more of this news item by Andy Fell at UC Davis News and accompanying perspectives on page 1901 of the Sept. 29 issue of the journal Science. |
| Graduate Student Liangfeng Fu of Dr. Nigel Browning's research group was awarded the International Microscopy Congress Scholarship for Young Scientists in the 16th International Microscopy Congress (IMC16) in Sapporo, Japan on September 3, 2006. The Scholarships were established to recognize the outstanding Young Scientists who have significant scientific contributions to the International Federation Societies Microscopy (IFSM) based on the quality of the papers submitted for presentation at the meeting. The criteria for the award winners are quite strict, e.g. at least 5 published high-quality papers and 2 strong recommendation letters, so that the awards are always competitive each year. Excellent work and a great accomplishment. Congratulations, Lianfeng! |
| While I'm under the impression more leaves actually fall off the tree in the 110 degree Summer heat than in the 70 to 90 degree days of a California Autumn, we still call it the Fall barbeque. Interesting sidenote here: When I was in Paris, we were asked which foods are considered typically American. I couldn't really think of any, as my stomach-mind generally focuses on lasagna which, given the high number of syllables and vowels, can't possibly be uniquely American. Well, the French told me that the BBQ (they actually say each letter, rather than saying barbecue -- though I won't generalize and say all French do that) was an American food. The first thing that popped into my mind was: No, that's Texan. But of course, I agreed with them almost immediately thereafter. Bring a friend, your family, your frisbee arm, and certainly your appetite. Just make sure you tell us who you're bringing so our wonderful Graduate Student cooks prepare enough food. We always run out of hamburgers, so if you're just bringing yourself, put a 2 down anyway for number of persons. (Just kidding. Well, sort of kidding.) SIGN UP HERE!
CHMS FALL BBQ 2006
October 6th, 5:00 PM - ??
Putah Creek Lodge |
| The Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in the area of advanced (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM). In the last two years, UC Davis has made a significant investment in electron microscopy facilities for both the engineering and biological sciences (including three new field-emission (S)TEMs). The current position seeks a candidate to work within this environment who has expertise in the development and application of advanced methods of imaging and analysis in (S)TEM for the engineering sciences, and who has a strong commitment to applying these methods to soft/biological materials. MORE INFORMATION... |
| The UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science invites applications for an open-rank faculty position as part of the UC Davis Energy for the Future initiative targeting major energy issues facing California and the nation. Please see the Employment section of our website for details and how to apply. |
 After submitting an abstract entitled "The Effect of Epitaxial Strain on Domain Formation in LaSrMnO3 Thin Films and Nanostructures" to the Materials Research Society (MRS), CHMS's newest faculty member Yayoi Takamura has been invited to speak at the Fall meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.I guess we'll need to hurry up and get her name on the door. Nice work, Dr. Takamura! |
| The Vice Chancellor for Research, Barry Klein, wrote to congratulate Dr. Robert Powell's graduate student Vannarith Leang on receiving one of the 12 biotechnology fellowships awarded in the 2006-07 year. Congratulations, Vannarith! |
| Graduate student of Dr. Nigel Browning, Lianfeng Fu, has been formally awarded a 2006 Microscopy Society of America Presidential Scholars Award during the past 2006 Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting in Chicago, IL on July 31, 2006. The President's Award was established to recognize outstanding scientific contributions to the Microscopy Society of America based on the paper submitted for presentation at the meeting. This year, more than 130 applicants have applied for this competitive award. Only the top ten individuals can be selected to receive this award each year. Congratulations, Lianfeng! |
 The ballots were made. The students voted. The votes were counted.For this year's AIChE Professor of the Year, please give a hearty congratulations to Dr. Pieter Stroeve! |
| Michael Plesha earned first place honors for presenting a poster depicting his research at the 2006 International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Student Poster Competition. The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, which includes both industry professionals and university affiliates from Northern California, held the student competition on June 1, 2006 at Baxter Bioscience in Hayward, CA. Michael’s poster entitled Transient expression in planta as a platform for rapid production of functional recombinant human therapeutic proteins impressed the panel of four industry judges who evaluated posters relating to research and development, facilities, or business operation of interest to the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. As an award for winning the competition, Michael earned an all expenses paid trip to the 2006 ISPE Annual Meeting, Nov. 5-8 in Orlando, FL to compete in the national ISPE Student Poster Competition. Congratulations Michael! |
| Professor Munir is the first Faculty Research Lecturer in the College of Engineering since J. M. Smith, founder of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, received this honor 36 years ago! Photos of the event. |
 Professor Subhash Risbud has been appointed as Editor of the Elsevier journal Scripta Materialia effective May 1, 2006. In his capacity as Editor, Professor Risbud will work closely with the Board of Governors of Acta Materialia, Inc, reviewers and contributing authors to encourage submission and publication of "cutting edge" research manuscripts in the field of materials science and engineering. Scripta Materialia emphasizes papers that deal with the fundamentals of the structure, processing, properties of materials as well as simulations and modelling to advance this understanding.
Scripta Materialia, a companion journal of Acta Materialia, is a leading LETTERS journal for materials science and engineering. It provides a forum for rapid publication of cutting edge short papers which advance the understanding of structural and functional materials including metals, ceramics, semiconductors and polymers. Emphasis is on those aspects of the science and engineering of materials that address an understanding of:- the relationship between the microstructure of materials and their properties, including mechanical (from both the defect and continuum viewpoints), electrical, magnetic optical and chemical properties;
- the relationship between the microstructure of materials and the thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanisms of processes occurring within solids;
- the synthesis and processing of materials, with emphasis on microstructural mechanisms and control;
- the modeling and simulation of microstructure and properties of materials; and (v) advances in the characterization of the microstructure and properties of materials.
In addition, Scripta Materialia encourages the submission of comments on papers published particularly in Acta Materialia and Scripta Materialia. The journal also publishes Viewpoint Sets, which are a collection of short articles focused on topics of current interest within the scope of the journal and co-ordinated by invited guest editors. |
| From Dr. Karen McDonald: I am pleased to announce the winner of the 2006 Zuhair A. Munir Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation. Dr. Juan Carlos Fierro-Gonzalez was selected for his research entitled Supported Gold Complexes and Clusters: Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Properties under the mentorship of Professor Bruce Gates in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. Fierro-Gonzalez received his Ph.D, in December 2005.
The College Awards Committee, chaired by Professor Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, made the selection from eight extremely competitive submissions. On behalf of Dean Lavernia and myself, I want to extend my congratulations to Dr. Fierro-Gonzalez, and to Professor Gates and also to express my appreciation to the members of the selection committee for their hard work.
The award will be presented to Dr. Fierro-Gonzalez during the College of Engineering Awards Ceremony which will be held on Thursday June 8, 3:00-5:00 pm in Room 1065 Kemper Hall. A reception will immediately follow in Room 1003.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Fierro-Gonzalez and his mentor, Professor Gates. |
As many of you know, this Saturday, April 22, is Picnic Day. The Chemical Engineering and Material Science Department will be having our annual alumni BBQ and would like to invite you and your family to Picnic Day 2006. The BBQ will be on the south lawn of Bainer Hall from 11AM to 3 PM. The BBQ is free to all prospective CHMS students, faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, friends of the department, alumni and their families. Come and enjoy free food and fun!
In addition to the alumni BBQ, our department will have demonstrations for all to enjoy. The friendly students of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers will be providing their famous liquid nitrogen ice cream and helping kids of all ages make non-toxic lava lamps. The Davis Society of Materials will also be on hand at the front of Bainer to provide demos on various materials and info about their club.The BBQ is on the south lawn of Bainer, the experiments (and ice cream) are at the main entrance to Bainer. Come and enjoy! |
| From the Department Chair Dr. Robert Powell: "It is with distinct pleasure that I report that Tonya Kuhl has been given the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award. This is the highest honor bestowed by the faculty at UC Davis for excellence in teaching. This is an outstanding tribute, particularly for someone at such an early stage of her career.
Tonya's receipt of this award continues a long tradition of excellence in teaching in this Department where other recipients have included Profs. Mukherjee, Shackelford, Stroeve and Whitaker. It is a resounding affirmation of Tonya's commitment to her students and their education. Please join me in offering our congratulations for this wonderful achievement. " Congratulations, Dr. Kuhl! |
 Recently returning from San Diego, CHMS Department Chair Dr. Robert Powell is allowing students both old, new, and prospective to view his informative lecture (I read it -- it's good) on engineering. It speaks of what engineers do, how to become one, and where the field of engineering is headed. You can view the PowerPoint Show by clicking on the below link. It will also be available on the Admissions portion of our website:PowerPoint Show: Engineering 2006 |
| In research described in this week’s issue of Physical Review Letters, Visiting Professor Michael Manley and his colleagues from Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Argonne National Laboratories and from the Institute for Transuranium Elements in Karlsruhe, Germany describe their use of x-ray and neutron scattering experiments to identify random localized vibrations, called lattice solitons, in uranium crystals at high temperatures. Although such vibrations were proposed as general phenomena in the mid 1980’s, clear observations in three-dimensional solids have remained elusive.
For more on this story see Physical Review Focus on the Web, http://focus.aps.org/, or a direct link to the article Uranium Atoms Don't Share the Vibe.
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 The Thermochemisty research group headed by CHMS faculty member Dr. Alex Navrotsky published an article that has made the list of the top 25 most requested articles in the 2005 Journal of the American Ceramic Society.The article is titled: Direct Calorimetric Measurement of Enthalpies of Phase Transitions at 2000o-2400oC in Yttria and Zirconia and is authored by Dr. Navrotsky, Luc Benoist, and Herve Lefebvre. Nothing like being popular! Congratulations! |
 Due to popular demand, we've made a presentation available that was made during our Monday seminar series for ECH 290. The very engaging presenter was Dr. Linda Vanasupa from California Polytechnic State University. Her topic: The Science and Engineering PhD: Career Paths in a Post-Modern World.The presentation is downloadable as a Powerpoint 2003 Show. It will work in Powerpoint 2000, it just won't be as pretty. |
 According to a recent article in the Daily Republic, Feb. 16, 2006, there is concern in the Bay Area over the rapid growth of the biotechnology industry, and the lack of graduates coming from universties to fill the needed positions."Right now the universities and colleges are not graduating enough trained students to meet the demand of industry." If you are interested in working in the biotech industry as an engineer, the Biochemical Engineering major is the right choice for you! |
| From the Department Chair, Dr. Robert Powell: It is my deep pleasure to announce that Dr. Zuhair Munir has been named the 2006 Academic Senate Faculty Research Lecturer. This is the single highest honor that the Academic Senate bestows on its faculty in order to recognize scholarship. The last member of the College of Engineering to receive this honor was Joe Smith in 1970! Indeed, Joe and Zuhair are the only members of the College to receive this honor. Indeed, the former recipients comprise a "who's who" of the history of the campus. Dr. Munir is back and he means business! Congratulations! |
| With the addition of the diligent Jeff Feerer to our department as lecturer, lab mechanician, safety officer, and now Alumni Gazette editor-in-chief, the CHMS Alumni Website is making faster advances than nanotechnology (don't tell this to Dr. Stroeve or Dr. Navrotsky, of course). Take a look at the wonderful new additions to the site: - Alumni Gazette, the newsletter for those that came before.
- Alumni Connections, finding out how the Joneses are doing.
Come take a look!
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| Dr. Dewey Ryu has been awarded the 2005 Enzyme Engineering Award from the International Enzyme Engineering Conferences and the Engineering Foundation. The Enzyme Engineering Award was established in 1982 to recognize exceptional achievements in enzyme engineering research and applications. It recognizes new discoveries, research, process or device developments in enzyme engineering, and outstanding contributions of a scientific or engineering nature in the design, operation, and management of facilities, processes, or devices based primarily on enzyme engineering. Previous awardees include:
Ephriam Katchalski-Katzir (Weizmann Institute)
Alexander Klibanov (MIT)
Malcom Lilly (London)
Saburo Fukui (Kyoto)
Ichiro Chibata (Tanabe Pharmaceutical)
Chritian Wandrey (Julich)
Congratulations, Dr. Ryu! |
| Per his CHMS faculty adviser, Dr. Pieter Stroeve, Julio Martinez has been awarded the Student Employee Graduate Research Fellowship from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. From the LLNL site: The Student Employee Graduate Research Fellowship (SEGRF) Program has for many years played a critical role in helping to recruit new scientific and engineering talent to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Top students from the ten campuses of the University of California are granted up to four year fellowships to conduct research at the Laboratory while completing their thesis. Congratulations to Julio on a great opportunity! |
 It's that time once more. Volleyball, frisbee, footballs and plenty of other things those whippersnapper kids keep throwing at good people trying to just sit and have a nice glass of wine.Returning Peeps: Please sign up to bring a dessert or side dish - and don't forget to bring your special person. New Peeps: Bring yourselves, your significant others, and a playful attitude! But sign up too (just leave the food part blank) so we know how much food to cook! The details: Putah Creek Lodge
Friday, Oct 14, 2005
5 PM - ??See you there! |
| If you haven't taken your necessary training courses at least once in the past few years, you will need to enroll in safety classes at the link below. If you took your training last year, please follow the link below to register as a returning student for your records. http://engineering.ucdavis.edu/pages/safety/safety.html Thank you for enrolling ASAP! |
| Dr. Amiya Mukherjee is a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award, presented by the Academic Senate of the University of Calironia Davis. The text of the award was lengthy but began with these words: Amiya Mukherjee has created a legacy, described by some of his current students as inspiring "a generation of students to become established scientists, managers, and professors at the top of their fields." We are a research University, but it is the students we mentor who continue and improve upon that research. Congratulations, Dr. Mukherjee, on this award. |
| The position for Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science has been re-opened for more applications. You can apply at the link below: http://www.chms.ucdavis.edu/employment |
| Per the award notice: "On behalf of the Biotechnology Fellowship Review Committee, we are pleased to inform you that you *have been selected* for fellowship support in the *NIH Training Program in Biomolecular Technology* for 2005-06. We had an outstanding pool of nominees, so this fellowship is highly valued." The fellowship offers a large stipend for one academic year. Now they can finally upgrade from morning coffee to morning non-fat chai latte! Congratulations! |
| Dr. Bruce Gates received this letter from Wei Li, President of the Michigan Catalysis Society: "As the president of the Michigan Catalysis Society (MCS), I am glad to inform you that you have been chosen as the 2005 Giuseppe Parravano Memorial Award winner. Although we have a very strong pool of candidates this year, your pioneering work on metal clusters, zeolites, and bimetallic catalysts stands out as the clear winner." Another day, another award for a CHMS professor. Keep up the good work! |
| One of the department's many energetic and personable professors, Dr. Amiya Mukherjee received the Academic Senate's Distinguished Mentoring Award. Department Chair Dr. Robert Powell states, "This recognizes Amiya's long term dedication to graduate education and his continuing commitment to the careers of his students." Congratulations on well-deserved recognition! |
 The UC Davis Big Bang Competition is an eight month competition which "provides a year round forum in which UC Davis students, alumni, staff, and faculty can collaborate to develop and test their business vision and plans. The competition provides a network of resources for mentorship, team creation, education, networking, and financing for these aspring entrepreneurs."Second place and $3,000 was awarded to All Best Materials, which has developed a solar energy technology for creating solar cells that it says are far smaller, lighter, more powerful, and more versatile than any on the market today. The technology is applicable to a variety of
uses, ranging from solar mobile phones to large-scale energy production. Team members are alumni John and Brian Argo; Ruxandra Vidu, a former UC Davis researcher; doctoral candidate Jie-Ren Ku; and engineering professor Pieter Stroeve. Congratulations and good luck in the next stage of competition! |
| Tony Robles, graduate student of Dr. Alan Jackman, has been chosen as a recipient of the 2005 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award. The award ceremony will be held on May 31 at 3:30 pm in Ballroom B of the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC). As it happens, Dr. Jackman has also received a teaching award this year. Apple not falling too far from the tree, I guess. Congratulations, Tony! |
| From Dr. Robert Powell, Department Chair: "I am pleased to announce that Alan Jackman has received the UC Davis College of Engineering 2005 Engineering Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. This award is based on surveys of alumni from the classes of 1963, 1964, 1973, 1974, 1984, 1985, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002! As the letter to Prof. Jackman says, 'Since they have had time to reflect on their experience at UC Davis, their vote for best teacher is especially meaningful.'" Please join us in congratulating Alan. |
| A few months ago, we posted an article regarding Dr. Indira Samarasekera's appointment to the Presidency of the University of Alberta, Canada. The good doctor is a former student of Dr. Zuhair Munir and because of her accomplishments has been awarded the 2005 UC Davis Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award - there's only one given per year, so you know it's big news! The presentation of the award is June 17th and our department will be hosting the reception. More news on this to follow as the date closes in. |
| CELL BIOENGINEERING: APPROACH TO IMPROVED DESIGN OF MOLECULAR THERAPEUTICS by Douglas A. Lauffenburger. April 19, 2005
Poster Session: 11:30-1:30 PM, 1003/1007 Kemper Hall
Lecture at 2:00 PM, 1065 Kemper Hall Check out the ABSTRACT! |
| The International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics has elected Dr. Alex Navrotsky as the 2006 Rossini Awardee. From the IACT website: "This highly esteemed award, which is made by the IACT, is given in recognition of a significant contribution to the field of thermodynamics. It is presented every two years at the Biennial IUPAC Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics, when the recipient delivers the Rossini Lecture." Congratulations, Dr. Navrotsky, on yet another prestigious award! |
 In a previous bit of news, we mentioned that Dr. Stroeve has been working with nanocables. In the February 2005 edition of Popular Science, page 40, Dr. Stroeve is highlighted in the Headline from the Future section:"2015 Wearable Toxin Detectors Turn Citizens into Homeland-Security Foot Soldiers Personal microbe detectors enable public health officials to respond faster to bioterror attacks. The electronic badges, pinned to clothing or jewelry, continuously sample air for noxious microbes, such as anthrax and smallpox. Acting as mini laboratories, each badge employs an array of metal nanocables, which are coated with proteins. When a toxin binds to a protein, the aray emits a unique electrical signal. Your cellphone analyzes the signal, transmits the germ data to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and dials your doctor for a pronto prescription. With 20 million badges sold, the CDC now tracks outbreaks in real time and coordinates care in a flash." Hopefully, it'll reduce insurance rates as well. An interesting peek at a possible future. |
| Dr. Terry M. Seward, Professor at ETH, states - "As president of the European Association for Geochemistry (EAG), it is my very great pleasure to inform [Dr. Alex Navrotsky] that [she has] been chosen to receive the Urey medal of our society for 2005. The Urey award is the highest award of the EAG and honours outstanding senior scientists for their life-long contributions to geochemistry." Running out of awards for the good doctor.
Continue the excellence! |
 From Marie Boisvert, Academic Coordinator, Summer Sessions Abroad, UC Davis:"Hello from Summer Abroad. I was hoping that your departmental webpage could have a link to campus study abroad options. Summer Sessions Abroad is specifically offering two programs that may be of interest to your majors: A Materials Engineering program in Romania and a Civil and Environmental Engineering that counts towards the Engineering Technical Elective. Our URL is: http://summer-abroad.ucdavis.edu, the EAC center also |
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Dr. Alex Navrotsky Interviewed on Channel 10 News on November 9, 2006 with Christina Mendonsa. You can see a list of videos from Channel 10 here:
Three of our faculty have recently completed and had published original works. No, you won't find them written in 
For his contributions to the Asia-Pacific Biochemical Engineering communities, 
Dr. Indira Samarasekera, who received her MS from UC Davis under the supervisionof our own