New Faculty

Jose Romagnoli - Cain Chair in Chemical Engineering

In August 2005, the department welcomed Jose A. Romagnoli as a Gordon A. and Mary Cain Endowed Chair & Professor. He joined LSU following more than 10 years at the University of Sydney in Australia, where he most recently held the position of Chair & Professor of Process Systems Engineering and head of the Chemical Engineering Department (2001-02). Romagnoli received his B.S. from the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina in 1973 and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1980, both in chemical engineering. He is a world-renowned expert in process control.

Romagnoli has garnered many awards in his career. He is a recipient of the Centenary Medal of Australia, which is awarded by the Prime Minister for contributions to the field of Chemical Engineering. He is also a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. More recently, he was awarded the John Brodie Medal for contributions to Chemical Engineering by the Institute of Chemical Engineers, Australia for 2005. This medal is awarded for the best paper in the discipline of Chemical Engineering and is presented at the annual Chemeca Conference in Australia.

He is the author of the books, "Data processing and reconciliation for chemical process operation" (with M. Sanchez, 2000) and "Introduction to Process Control" (with A. Palazoglu, 2005). He has published more than 200 papers in scientific and professional journals. His research areas of interest encompass all aspects of process systems engineering, with a special focus on: advanced linear and nonlinear process control; advanced modeling architectures for complex processes; data processing and reconciliation; design and synthesis with economic-environmental-operability considerations; intelligent process monitoring; and artificial intelligence.

Because of his expertise in process systems, he is frequently invited to speak at international conferences. During spring 2006, Romagnoli was the invited keynote speaker at ADCHEM-2006, the International Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes, held in Brazil in April. His presentation was entitled, "On Data Processing and Reconciliation: Trends and the impact of technology." Then, in July, he was the invited speaker at PSE 2006-Escape 16, which was held in Garmicsh-Partenkirchen, Germany. His presentation at this conference was entitled, "Model-centric technologies for support of manufacturing operations."

The department is delighted to have Romagnoli as a member of our department and we are confident he will be a valuable asset as we continue to grow and move forward.

New Assistant Professor - James Henry

The Department is pleased to announce the hiring of James E. Henry as an assistant professor and Cain Professor #2. Henry comes to LSU from Texas A&M University, just having received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 2005. He received both his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Arkansas. His primary research areas of interest are nano-scale and biomimetic materials for biomedical applications.

His current research projects include:

1) Design and characterization of biomaterials for direct bone growth.
2) Development of an implantable glucose sensor for use in diabetics.
3) Development of a tertiary FRET sensor for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.
4) Investigating beta-amyloid aggregation and binding characteristics for use in treating and diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.
5) Development of gene-therapy delivery vehicles for use in treating skin related conditions.

Thus far, Henry says he has really enjoyed his first year in the department. "It's obviously been a time of adjustment for me going from being a graduate student to a professor, but I've had tremendous support from the faculty and staff in the department. Research is progressing nicely. I feel I have the freedom to develop and implement research ideas without the constant scrutiny of my colleagues. In addition, I have found several people outside the department that are more than willing to collaborate on ideas and share equipment. This has made my transition into this role even easier."

He and his wife, Casey, love the Baton Rouge areas and look forward to spending a long time here. Overall, Henry states he "can't imagine having a better first year on the job."

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