2010 Headlines
Senior Emily Berger was named USC 2010 Homecoming Queen and crowned
at the conclusion of Carolina Showcase on November 2. Emily is an
outstanding student who helped establish Theta Tau engineering
fraternity in the College, and who was the recipient in 2009 of a
scholarship from the American Council of Engineering Companies of
South Carolina. She is also the President of Chi Omega sorority.
The 2010 National Research Council ( NRC ) evaluation of PhD programs lists the
Department of Chemical Engineering among the top 40 in the U.S., and the top 10
in the South ( Delaware to Texas ). Rankings from the 2010 Report are shown in
the table. The S metric is a measure of the strength of a department in 20
characteristics such as publications per faculty member and time to degree. The R
metric is an indirect approach to determining what faculty value in a program,
and is based on a re-weighting of the 20 characteristics. The RA ranking reflects
overall program characteristics such as publications, citations, the percent of
faculty holding research grants, and recognition through honors and awards.
For more information, see [ www.sc.edu ]
The complete report may be viewed at [ www.nap.edu ]
| All Universities | Public Universities |
| Metric | Southern | National | Southern | National |
| R | 10 | 41 | 9 | 25 |
| S | 7 | 29 | 6 | 17 |
| RA | 6 | 30 | 5 | 15 |
More than one million fractures each year in the US require intervention, many in the
form of bone graft procedures. Reconstruction of large skeletal defects in orthopedic
and maxillofacial surgery is limited by insufficient blood supply, morbidity, long
recovery time, and cost of the operation. In this project we will develop novel
constructs, inspired by the natural microstructure of the bone and seeded with stem
cells, to overcome fundamental limitations in the design of scaffolds for skeletal
tissue regeneration. This project creates a unique multidisciplinary environment for
students to benefit from the overall research approach to fabricate and test novel
biomaterials for cutting-edge applications in regenerative medicine.
Congratulations to graduate student Qiang Gao ( Advisers: Williams, Segawa ),
who has been awarded Best Oral Presentation Award TOCAT6/APCAT5, Youth Session at
the 6th Tokyo Conference on Advanced Catalytic Science and Technology and the 5th
Asia Pacific Congress on Catalysis, which was held in
[ shokubai website ] Sapporo,
Japan, during July 18 - 23, 2010. Qiang was one of 6 award winners out of a total
of 120 presentations from graduate students attending the conference. His
presentation was entitled "The Effect of Ni Promoter and Chelating Reagent for
the Preparation of Highly Active
Ni-MoS2/g-Al2O3
HDS Catalysts” and his research is funded by UOP LLC.
Dr. Popov has received his DOE Golden award – it’s $4.4 million over 4 years with
1.1 million in cost-share. Total $5.5 million. ( co-PI’s Weidner and Heyden ) “Development
of Ultra Low Platinum Alloy Cathode Catalyst for PEM Fuel Cells”
Dr. John Weidner has received funding for his project entitled "Development of
SO2 Depolarized Electrolyzer for Hydrogen and Sulfuric
Acid Production" and is funded by Korea Institute of Energy Research/Korean Government.
Dr. Ralph White has received funding for his project entitled "Phase II STTR Program
entitled "Lithium-Ion Cell and Battery Life Modeling to Encompass Wider Life
Parameters"" and is funded by Quallion LLC/Missile Defense Agency/DoD.
Dr. Melissa Moss Recognized
Dr. Melissa Moss, Associate Professor, and Dr. Sue Lessner, Adjunct Assistant Professor,
were recognized as "Rising Stars" by the USC Office of Research and Graduate
Education and honored at an April 17 reception. Both were profiled in the Spring Issue of
Breakthrough and were cited for their contributions and commitment to research
and scholarly pursuits, and for their exceptional and praiseworthy passion for teaching
and inquiry. Dr. Moss is studying how and why certain protein aggregates which deposit in
the brain can trigger Alzheimer"s disease and how these deposits might be stopped.
Dr. Lessner"s research deals with measuring the properties of plaque deposits in the
arteries and developing math-ematical models to describe their biomechanical behavior.
Dr. Ralph White Authors New Book
Dr. Ralph White"s book, Computational Methods in Chemical Engineering with Maple,
was published in March by Springer of New York, NY.
Dr. Branko Popov Funds New Research
Dr. Branko Popov has been awarded a $300,000 National Science Foundation ( NSF ) grant
for his project "Development of Ultra-Low Loading Platinum Alloy Cathode Catalysts for
PEM Fuel Cells: Theoretical and Experimental Studies".
Joey Montoya Enrolls at Stanford University
Graduating senior Joseph ( Joey ) Montoya has received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
and will enroll in the Stanford University Graduate School this fall. See another news
item of Joey"s [ here ].
Dr. Andreas Heyden Receives Promising Investigator Research Award
Dr. Andreas Heyden is the recipient of a Promising Investigator Research Award ( PIRA )
from the Office of Research and Graduate Education for his proposal "Computational
Investigation of Aqueous-Phase Processing for Hydrogen Production".
Dr. Jochen Lauterbach Joins Department Faculty
Dr. Jochen Lauterbach has joined the Department faculty as the College Endowed Chair
for Strategic Environmental Approaches to Electricity Production from Coal. Professor
Lauterbach recently received mention in The Catalysis Review as a "mover
and shaker" The magazine noted that he will be leading a new Center for Economic
Excellence at USC, and that "research opportunities will include the development
of novel catalytic materials for utilization of carbon dioxide as a chemical feedstock,
carbon dioxide capture and storage, nitrous oxide abatement and mercury removal from
flue gas".
Professor Lauterbach earned his undergraduate degree in technical physics from the
University of Bayreuth, Germany, and his Ph.D. from the Free University of Berlin.
He served as a Research Associate at the University of California at Santa Barbara
before becoming a faculty member at Purdue University. In 2002, he joined the
Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware, attaining the rank of
Professor in 2006.
He was selected for a National Science Foundation Career Development Award in 1998,
and earned a Union Carbide Innovation Recognition Award in 2000. He was also a finalist
for the University of Delaware"s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. He has
published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and 5 book chapters, in addition to
giving more than 150 invited lectures.
Brandon Murphy Receives Multiple Awards
May graduate Brandon Murphy has compiled an impressive list of awards during his years
at USC. He is a Gates Cambridge Scholarship finalist and received the National Society
of Professional Engineers Outstanding Senior Award at the NSPE awards dinner. He won the
top prize for oral presentation, about his research on Alzheimer"s disease, at the
Southern Regional AICHE meeting at NC State in April. He will represent the AICHE
Southern Region at the annual student conference in November in Salt Lake City.
Growing up in Gray Court, SC, Brandon enjoyed chemistry and math and decided that an
engineering career would be the best path to allow him to apply his technical abilities.
He visited USC on a tour, and liked the Chem E Department, where he enrolled in Fall 2006.
His favorite class was Kinetics ( taught by Dr. Chris Williams ), where he was able to
apply his knowledge from other classes in designing reactors.
Brandon, a Capstone Scholar, received a Rothberg Scholarship and was a South Carolina
Palmetto Fellow, in addition to receiving a Magellan Scholars grant. He served as
vice-president of AICHE and as membership officer of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor
society. He studied at the University of Leeds in England for a semester, and subsequently
served as a peer advisor in the USC Study Abroad office.
Brandon has been accepted at Cambridge University, England to study for a M.Phil. in
advanced chemical engineering.
Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari Funds New Research
Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari has been awarded a National Science Foundation ( NSF ) grant of
$40,590 for the study of "Engineering Bone Formation in Multi-Functional
Nanocomposite Scaffolds". He will also receive $108,000 from the National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health
( NIDCR/NIH ) for his project "Biodegradable Self-Inductive Scaffold for
Cranial Regeneration".
Dr. John Staser Accepts Position
PhD graduate John Staser has accepted a position as a Project Engineer at Giner
Electrochemical Systems in Newton, MA. He will work on fuel cell design and systems
for generating hydrogen.
Dr. John Weidner Appointed as CEC Campaign Professor
Dr. John Weidner has been appointed as the CEC Campaign for Excellence Professor of
Chemical Engineering. He also has earned the Research Award of the Energy Technology
Division of the Electrochemical Society. The Award recognizes outstanding and original
contributions to the science and technology of energy-related research areas that
include scientific and technological aspects of fossil fuels and alternative energy
sources, energy management, and environmental consequences of energy utilization.
Dr. Weidner is also supported by E.ON AG with $136,968 for his project
"Nanostructured Electrodes for High Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production by Means
of PEM Water Electrolysis".
Dr. Branko Popov Featured Speaker
Dr. Branko Popov was a featured speaker at the Fuel Cells Durability and Performance
International Conference held in December in Alexandria, VA. His topic was
"Development of Durable Cathode Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel
Cells at the University of South Carolina".
ChE Senior, Meghan Clardy, Receives Prize
Meghan Clardy, received a second place award at the AICHE annual national meeting in
Nashville for her poster "Characterization and Activation Temperature Modification
of Nanoporous Sorbents".
