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Student News
Student NewsMatthew Balhoff, a graduate student under Karsten Thompson, will have a paper titled, "Modeling the Flow of Yield Stress Fliuds in Packed Beds," in an upcoming edition of AIChE Journal. He has also submitted an abstract titled, "Modeling Polymer Displacement in Hydraulic Fractures at the Pore Scale," that has been accepted for presentation at the 2004 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition; a proceedings paper will be submitted in June 2004 and an oral presentation will be given at the meeting in October. Jill Fitzgerald, a recent B.S. recipient, participated in a prestigious summer REU program in 2003 at Cornell University where she developed a BioMEMS device. She had been working in Elizabeth Podlaha's Electrochemical Engineering Lab since she was a freshman, and was a Chancellor's Student Aide recipient. Qiang Huang made the following presentation: Qiang Huang, R.W. Cohn, E.J. Podlaha, "Electrodeposited FeCoNiCu Nanostructures," 204th Meeting of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), Orlando, Florida, October 13, 2003, Electrodeposition Division. Yutong Li made the following presentation: Yutong Li and E.J. Podlaha, "Electrodeposition of CoCu Micro-posts and GMR Multilayers," 204th Meeting of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), Orlando, Florida, October 13, 2003, Electrodeposition Division. Alonso Lozano Morales made the following presentation: A. Lozano-Morales and E.J. Podlaha, "The Effect of Al2O3 Nanoparticles on Cu Electrodeposition," 204th Meeting of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), Orlando, Florida, October 13, 2003, Electrodeposition Division. AIChE News2003-04 Officers: President Josh Fontenot
Chemical engineering faculty, industry representatives, and the AIChE student chapter participants conducted experiments designed to spark interest in the field of chemical engineering and the event was a success. Everyone involved enjoyed the day, especially the children who received prizes. In other chapter news, members had various meetings with representatives from major companies like Shell, BP, and Exxon. Topics of interest included information about the companies, job opportunities, and advice on what students should do to maximize their employment opportunities. AIChE Student Chapter to Host Regional Conference
In March 2005, our student chapter, along with Tulane's chapter, will be co-hosting the AIChE 2005 Southern Regional Conference in New Orleans. This is a major event that attracts undergraduate chemical engineers from across the entire southeastern region of the country. The student chapter is currently seeking assistance and there are a number of ways in which companies can participate, including a career fair and sponsorship of events. For more information, please contact Ben Caire (bcaire1@lsu.edu), Yasaman Ghorashi (yghora1@lsu.edu) or Karsten Thompson (karsten@lsu.edu)—AIChE faculty advisr. The LSU AIChE student chapter is supported through fundraising and donations. ChE Graduate Speaks at Fall Commencement
David Monett, who received his B.S. in chemical engineering in December 2003, had the honor of speaking on behalf of the graduating class at the College of Engineering's commencement ceremonies. Those in attendance praised Monett for his eloquence and his message. Following is the text of his speech: "Thank you Dean Egbelu. Good morning. It's quite a pleasure to be here today and I am very honored to have been given the opportunity to speak as the graduating class representative at today's commencement for the College of Engineering. This degree has been 10 years in the making for me and I can't tell you how happy I am that it's finally over. The only person in this room that could possibly be any happier is my wife. Since most of you graduating here today didn't need a decade to complete your studies, I thought I'd share with you a little of how it was at LSU when I started 10 years ago. Some things were actually better then than they are now. For instance… Ten years ago, you could still park within a mile of campus. Ten years ago, if you had an "A" average going into finals, some instructors would let you skip the final exam. And 10 years ago, all you needed to get into football games was a valid student ID _ and it didn't even have to be your own. But mostly things weren't as good back then as they are now, especially to a part-time student like me trying to juggle family, work, and school. For instance… Ten years ago, you had to call a guy named Reggie to sign up for your classes. Reggie spent a lot of time on the phone and it was hard to get through when you needed him. Ten years ago, the Internet was still relatively new. No one had heard of eBay, Napster, or Google. I remember at my first ever class; I asked a professor if I could contact him by e-mail to save me from having to come by campus to ask him questions. "Are you kidding?" he said. "The Internet is a research tool." He didn't read e-mails from mere students. Ten years ago we didn't have PAWS, Semester Book, or Tiger Bytes. Now instructors can easily post assignments, grades, homework and exam solutions on Semester Book and students can access them anywhere, anytime. Back when I started, paper was still in vogue. I have to admit that since I started here, things have really improved at LSU and we should be grateful to the administrators, faculty, and staff for making those improvements possible. The Dean's Office said I should share some advice with you today. I'm not too big on dispensing advice since I believe the best lessons are those you learn yourself, but I do have three things to offer to today's graduates: First, when you're on the job and you're trying to solve a hard problem, don't assume the so-called assumptions are correct. Quite often I've found the solution to a problem staring me right back in the face, but I didn't see it initially because of the assumptions used to define the problem. Don't fall into the assumption trap. Second, as an engineer, you can never stop learning if you want to remain effective in your career. You don't have to torture yourself and go back to college for 10 years like I did. There are so many ways now to continue learning: seminars, continuing education classes, engineering societies, professional organizations, journals, and the Internet. Take advantage of these resources to enhance yourself and stay current in your field. Third, work hard, but keep your career and job in perspective. The hardest part for me has been knowing when to let go of work and school. Remember to keep your family and friends foremost in your life. With that thought in mind, I'd like to thank those who made it possible for me to earn my degree. Thanks to my advisers, Dr. Harrison and Dr. Wetzel, for their sage advice and for helping me get all my transfer credits straightened out and saving me from taking a lot of extra courses. Thanks to my employer, Rubicon, for allowing me to be away from my job in order to attend class and for footing the bill. Thanks to my parents and my in-laws for watching the kids all those times when I needed peace and quiet to study. Thanks to my beautiful children, Emory and Carolyn, for understanding when Daddy couldn't be there when they wanted him. And, most of all, a special thanks to my loving and patient wife, Amy. She's had to put up with a lot from me over the past 10 years and I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for her support. Graduates, your degree represents an incredible accomplishment and you should be very proud. Before I go, I'd like to leave you with some words that have inspired me throughout my career and have kept me going during the pursuit of my engineering degree here at LSU. They're from Robert Kennedy. He said: "Some men see things as they are and say, `Why?' I dream of things that never were and say, `Why not?'" Thank you again Dean Egbelu for giving me this opportunity. Congratulations and good luck to the 2003 class of the LSU College of Engineering. And Go Tigers _ Let's whip the Sooners!" David received a B.S. from Tulane University and a M.S. from the University of Chicago, both in chemistry, prior to coming to LSU. He has worked for Rubicon for the past 13 years—the first seven as a chemist and the past six as a senior process engineer. Prior to Rubicon, he worked for three years as a chemist for Union Carbide at the Texas City, Texas, plant. He was born in New Orleans but grew up in Gonzales, where he graduated from East Ascension High School. He has lived in Baton Rouge for the past 13 years. Student AwardsKristen Rabalais, a May 2003 graduate, received the Southwest Chemical Association $5,000 scholarship for 2003.Zhanhu Guo, a Ph.D. student under Elizabeth Podlaha, received a Graduate School Dissertation Award for 2004-05 in the amount of $18,000 plus a tuition waiver. This award is given to a full-time student with a gpa of 3.5 or better who will be spending a majority of the year in dissertation preparation. Yun Zhuang received the AIChE Best Dissertation Award in 2003. He graduated from LSU with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in December of 2002 and the title of his dissertation was "Mechanism of the NiCoFe Ternary Alloy Deposition." His major professor was Elizabeth Podlaha. He is currently a research associate at the University of Arizona. Commencement Awards and Honors
Bonnie Barrilleaux received the department's Jesse Coates Award this spring. This award is given to a graduating senior exhibiting the most outstanding professional, campus, and community activities. She received a LSU watch engraved with her name. This award is funded by an endowment provided by the friends of Professor Coates upon his retirement. Laura Elizabeth Stromer was among 52 graduates at LSU's spring
2004 commencement to receive the University Medal, one of the most prestigious
honors bestowed at graduation. This award is given to students achieving
the highest gpa in the University. Stromer graduated with a perfect 4.0. Best Design CompetitionThis year the design class designed a process to produce aniline by hydrogenation of nitrobenzene. They had to design both the benzene nitration process and the hydrogenation process. Rubicon Chemicals was most helpful with the course. Russell Whitehead, a process engineer with Rubicon, gave a lecture on their process, and the class was able to visit the Rubicon plant in Geismar. Russell and Mickey Campagna (B.S., 1978), Aniline Plant superintendent at the Geismar plant, judged the oral presentations by four of the teams on their design for the Celanese Best Design competition. The winners were: Best Design: Second Best Design: Third Best Design: 2003-04 Scholarship RecipientsCelanese Chemical EngineerJohn L. Bartus New Endowed Scholarship for ChE StudentsThe family of Alan M. Raymond has established a scholarship in his honor as a Christmas gift to him. The scholarship will be given to a chemical engineering student. Raymond earned his B.S. in chemical engineering in 1968, and has said he owes his success to his education and to LSU. He is retired from Shell Chemical. We wholeheartedly thank Mr. Raymond and his family for their generosity in establishing this scholarship, as well as their support for our students and our program. ChE Crab Boil
The annual crab boil hosted by the department was held in October of
2003. Attendees included our current graduate students, along with their
family and friends, as well as faculty, staff, and their families. All
who attended enjoyed crabs, sausage, corn, and potatoes while visiting
with one another.
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