************************************************************************
 
DAVE C. SWALM SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING E-NEWSLETTER
 
Volume 3, Number 4
 
March/April, 2004
 
************************************************************************
 
FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD.
 
Greetings from the increasingly warm and sunny south!  This has been an
exciting couple of months since the last newsletter, and I am pleased to
share with you in this newsletter a significant number of faculty
achievements and honors.  There are several additional awards that I did not
have room to share in this newsletter, so expect some additional faculty and
student accolades in the May/June E Newsletter.
 
Last time I wrote you, we were on the verge of wrapping up the SEC West
title in Men¹s Basketball, and it has been a roller coaster ride in Bulldog
Sports since that time.  We loaded up the family in the family truckster and
headed to Atlanta with visions of ³SEC Tournament Champion² in our heads.
All we had to do was the beat a solid Vanderbilt team, and move on to our
destiny game with mighty Kentucky.  Let me tell you, the walk back to the
hotel after the Vanderbilt loss seemed twice as long!  Even though we were
disappointed with the early loss, we had a great time at the SEC Tournament.
If you like basketball, it is hard to not have a good time at the
tournament. My two sons especially enjoyed the SEC Fanfare, where you can
play pick-up basketball games, get your face painted, dunk on short rims,
and shoot 3-pointers until your arms drop. Never before have I seen so much
³Kentucky² blue, and I really don¹t care to see that much blue again!
 
Tim and Andrew finish up school this next week, and ³summer² begins for
them.  Some days, I think I would like to trade places with them ­ they
could come to work, and I would have to go to Tennis Camp, Boy Scout Camp,
lounge around the house, watch movies, read fiction books, and in general
pick whatever I would like to do.  I guess that is called retirement!
 
Our first annual Super Bulldog Weekend Pancake Breakfast went off well.  We
had between 10 to 15 alumni show up for this event.  The faculty had a great
time fixing pancakes and sausage and visiting early on Saturday morning.
Please put this on your calendar for next year, and plan on coming to an
early Bulldog breakfast to visit with alumni and friends.
  
Please keep those alumni updates coming! Also, please continue to surf
our WWW site occasionally to see pictures of what is happening at MSU.
 
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the newsletter.   Go Dawgs!
 
************************************************************************

AICHE REGIONAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT MSU IN 2006
 
For the last several years, Mississippi State University has put in a bid to
host the AIChE Regional Conference in Starkville.  Lauren Michaelson, Carrie
Minton, Ernest Rufus, and Katie Schroeder put together a bid presentation
that was made during the Officer¹s breakfast at this year¹s Southern
Regional Conference at Georgia Tech.  This regional conference can attract
up to 500 attendees, so this represents a great opportunity for MSU to
showcase the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering to other schools in the
south.  There will be plenty of opportunities for alumni to assist in
putting on the regional conference, and additional updates will be sent with
the E Newsletter in the future.
 
************************************************************************

CHE FACULTY RECOGNIZED FOR PATENTS
 
Mississippi State holds a luncheon to honor faculty who have been issued a
patent during the last year.  Each honoree receives a plaque commemorating
their achievement that they can hang on their wall.  Of the 27 patents that
have been awarded to MSU faculty since 2000, Chemical Engineering faculty
won three.  In the Class of 2003 Awards, Eugene Columbus (ABE), Mark Zappi
(ChE), Timothy Burcham (ABE) and Jeffrey Jones were awarded Patent Number
6,436,288 for ³Base Medium Biological Reactor Treatment System for
Remediation and Odor Suppression of Organic Waste Streams².
 
Previous Awards to Chemical Engineering faculty occurred in the Class of
2002 Awards:  Jeff Lindner (DIAL), Hossein Toghiani (ChE), and Jason
Hamilton were awarded Patent Number 6,294,764 for ³Multi-Component Process
Analysis and Control²; Rudy Rogers (ChE) and Yu Zhong (ChE) were awarded
Patent Number 6,389,820 for ³Surfactant Process for Promoting Gas Hydrate
Formation and Application of the Same².
 
************************************************************************
 
 
DR. REBECCA TOGHIANI WINS ASEE TEACHING AWARD
 
Press Release through MSU Media Relations: A Mississippi State professor was
recognized for outstanding teaching in early April by the American Society
for Engineering Education.
 
Rebecca K. Toghiani, an associate professor of chemical engineering,
received the ASEE Southeast Section¹s Outstanding Teaching Award during the
organization¹s conference at Auburn University.
 
³This is a terrific honor and is a reflection on Becky¹s outstanding work in
the classroom and with students,² said Kirk Schulz, director of MSU¹s Swalm
School of Chemical Engineering.
 
Presented annually in each of ASEE¹s 12 geographic sections, the honor
focuses on the classroom performance by teachers of engineering and
engineering technology students.  It also is meant to serve as an incentive
for further teaching contributions.
 
In addition to a certificate from ASEE national headquarters, the award
includes an honorarium from the regional section. The Southeast Section
includes Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.
 
Toghiani holds bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral degrees in chemical
engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Since joining the MSU
faculty in 1989, she has been recognized as a John Grisham Master Teacher
for 1996-98; Bagley College of Engineering¹s Outstanding Engineering
Educator in 1999; and Outstanding Faculty Woman Award of the MSU President¹s
Commission on the Status of Women in 2001.
 
Toghiani¹s current research activities focus on thermodynamic measurements
and modeling in support of the U.S. Department of Energy¹s Hanford and
Savannah River facilities. Funding for them is provided through a
cooperative agreement with MSU¹s Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis
Laboratory.
 
************************************************************************
 
2004 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
 
Football season is just around the corner, and we will be sponsoring
tailgates once again this year.  If you or your company is interested in
sponsoring any of the home games, please send me an email
(schulz@che.msstate.edu) and we will ³reserve² that spot for you. As of
today, all of the home games are unsponsored, and will be allocated on a
first-come, first served basis.
 
September 4            Tulane
September 11            Auburn
September 18            Maine
October 9 University of Alabama-Birmingham
October 23 Florida
October 30 Kentucky
November 20 Arkansas
 
 
************************************************************************

DR. RUDY ROGERS AND EMILY EASTERLING WIN SIGMA XI AWARDS
                   
Dr. Rudy Rogers and Emily Easterling were recently honored by the
Mississippi State University Chapter of Sigma Xi for research
accomplishment.  Dr. Rogers won the Sigma Xi Ralph E. Powe Research Award,
and Ms. Emily Easterling won the Sigma Xi Support of Research Award.  The
Sigma Xi Ralph Powe Research Award is given in recognition of a faculty
member who has had a noteworthy research career at Mississippi State.  As
part of the requirements for the award, the awardee must have participated
significantly in research and have publications based on original research.
The Support of Research Award is given to a research technician or research
associate who has shown extraordinary support of scientific research at
Mississippi State. 
 
Congratulations to Rudy and Emily!
 
 
************************************************************************

DR. ADRIENNE MINERICK WINS ORAU JUNIOR FACULTY AWARD
 
Dr. Adrienne Minerick, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, was
recently selected to receive a 2004 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement
Award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. This award carries a
research stipend, which is matched by the institution in support of the
winner¹s research program.  Only 25 awardees were chosen out of a pool of
over 60 applicants.  Dr. Minerick¹s research program is focused on medical
microdevices.  More information can be found on her faculty WWW site at:
http://www.che.msstate.edu/academics/faculty_staff/Minerick/minerick.php .
 
************************************************************************

DR. ATLY JEFCOAT WINS 2004 ALUMNI TEACHING AWARD
 
In recent ceremonies on campus, Dr. Atly Jefcoat, Hunter Henry Chair and
Professor of Chemical Engineering, was selected to receive the 2004 Alumni
Association Award for Undergraduate Teaching (Freshman and Sophomore Level).
Dr. Jefcoat¹s nomination had multiple letters from students and faculty
colleagues supporting his nomination.  Dr. Jefcoat received a plaque and a
cash award in recognition of his outstanding work teaching and mentoring
undergraduate students.
 
Congratulations to Atly!

************************************************************************