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DAVE C. SWALM SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING E-NEWSLETTER

Volume 2, Number 1

September/October, 2002

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FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD ...

Well, fall showed up this week, so it is time to dig the fall/winter attire out of the storage closet. When we lived up North, 50 and 60-degree weather was considered warm. However, my blood has " thinned " considerably, and I have gotten used to the warmer temperatures we have in Mississippi. This was brought to harsh reality this morning when we got up and noticed it was kind of cold in our bedroom. When I looked at the thermostat, it read a balmy 64 in the house. A bit chilly for my taste! Thus, I turned on the heat, got the house to a toasty 70, and didn ' t hear too many complaints from the children about how cold the house was.

The fall is always a busy time with football games, companies on campus recruiting co-op, interns, and full-time hires, faculty searches and other activities. If your company is looking for a coop student, summer intern, or full-time hire, remember MSU. Please contact me directly and let me know what you are looking for, and we will do our best to get you some resumes to look over to assist your company with their hiring needs.

The Tailgating tents for football have been a big success. This year at Homecoming, we had over 50 visitors to the tent, which is our highest ever (the previous record was somewhere around 35 for the LSU-MSU football game last year). Unfortunately, the football team is not having the same success as our tailgating tent. We are still bowl eligible; so keep your fingers crossed for good luck over the next couple of weeks. After all, basketball season is just around the corner, and several early season publications have MSU as high as the top 10!

This past summer, we completely redid our web pages. They have a new look, and it should be easier to navigate around our web site. If you haven ' t done so already recently, I would invite you to check out the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering WWW page (http://www.che.msstate.edu/). We are constantly updating the School WWW pages, so be sure and check back once every couple of weeks to see new pictures and stories. I would especially direct you to visit the alumni page (http://www.che.msstate.edu/alumni/alumni_news/alumni_news.htm). Past issues of the Electronic newsletter will be posted to this site following distribution to the electronic email list.

I would also encourage you to send in Alumni Updates. I will put them in the newsletter (at the end) so that your former classmates can see what you are doing. If you would like to contribute an update, just send it to me (schulz@che.msstate.edu).

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the newsletter. Go Dawgs!

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SCHOOL VISITS TO INDUSTRY

In an effort to foster improved relationships with chemical industry in the Southeast, the School has arranged several visits to companies in the region this semester. I had the pleasure of visiting with alumni and corporate friends during visits to Merck (in Albany, GA), Eastman Chemical (in Kingsport, TN), CibaVision (in Duluth, GA) and Citgo (Lake Charles, LA). On most of these trips, the MSU team of faculty had a chance to see manufacturing operations, visit with co-ops and interns, and learn a little more about how MSU can help to provide industry in this region with world-class engineers. Many thanks go to Dr. Todd French, Dr. Priscil la Hill, and Dr. Mark Bricka for taking time out of their schedules to visit with our industrial partners. If you or your company would like to host a visit from the School, please contact me (schulz@che.msstate.edu) to arrange a convienant time.

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HOME FOOTBALL GAME TAILGATES UNDERWAY

The ChE tailgating before football games is off to a great start in our second year. We have had excellent attendance, and have been grateful to the Albemarle Chemical Company for hosting the tailgating event for the Auburn-MSU football game.

Because the times on the games tend to change some depending on TV and other factors, we will have each tent starting 3 hours prior to kick-off, and will shut down the tent about 1-hour prior to kick-off. The Chemical Engineering Alumni Ambassadors will be on hand to give building tours, and to talk about some of the new things happening in the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. Even if you can only stop by for a few minutes, drop by, have a hamburger, and visit with some of your fellow ChE alumni. We take pictures at each of the tailgates that are posted on the WWW site, so make sure to check on the alumni pages and see if your picture is there!

This year, Albemarle Chemical, Mississippi Chemical, and Eka Chemical are sponsoring our tailgating tent for the Auburn, Kentucky, and Tennessee games respectively. We still don ' t have a sponsor for the Arkansas game, so if you are interested, please drop me an email note.

Our remaining home game schedule will be as follows:

November 2 Kentucky (sponsored by Mississippi Chemical)
November 16 Tennessee (sponsored by Eka Chemical)
November 23 Arkansas


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CITGO DONATES NOMEX LABORATORY COATS

In a continual effort to improve the Gully Unit Operations Laboratory, we have been upgrading our personal protective equipment to bring our laboratory safety policies more in line with that of industry. We received a donation of 50 hard hats from Shell to begin this year, and most recently were pleased to have received 50 Nomex laboratory coats from Citgo for our students to use while they are in the laboratory. We appreciate the outstanding corporate support we receive from industry to help ensure that the Swalm School continues to educate world-class engineers.

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OMEGA CHI EPSILON INDUCTS NEW MEMBERS

Omega Chi Epsilon held its fall induction on October 15, 2002 at the Golden Horn restaurant by the airport. The speaker for the evening was Mr. David Purvis from Shell, who talked to the inductees about how to be successful in the workplace. Current members of OCE, Chemical Engineering faculty members and their spouses, Dr. Bob Taylor from the Dean of Engineering Office, and Mark Peters and William Hill from Dow Chemical attended the dinner. The Dow Chemical Company picked up the cost of the dinner, and we appreciate their exceptional support for OCE and ChE at MSU. Congratulations to all of the new members!

Amy Brownlee
Lance Coley
Britton Eyles
Danielle Forsythe
Sarah Franke
Amy Hall
Claire Larsen
Jennifer Maness
Douglass Mayberry
Joshua Price
Michelle Root
Susan Sierra
Tara Smith

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SCHOOL LOOKING FOR TWO NEW FACULTY MEMBERS

With the retirement of Dr. Donald Hill and Dr. Charles Sparrow, the School of Chemical Engineering is looking to hire two new Assistant Professors. We are in the middle of conducting a national search to fill these positions, and would welcome suggestions from alumni of potential candidates. The official advertisement has appeared in Chemical Engineering Progress, and we are just starting to screen applicants. The official advertisement appears below:

Assistant/Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. The Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at Mississippi State University is seeking applicants for two tenure track positions at the Assistant or Associate Professor level with an appointment to begin August 16, 2003. Applicants must have a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or a related field. All areas of research will be considered, with preference given to candidates with research experience in one of several identified strategic areas: applied biotechnology; environmental chemical engineering; fundamentals of chemical engineering science, including materials and catalysis; and energy resource engineering, including fuel cell technology. Candidates with a strong interest in both outstanding teaching and research are particularly welcome. The Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering is an energetic and growing program that is housed in a new state-of-the-art bui!
lding dedicated to Chemical Engineering. The School currently enrolls over 200 undergraduate students, 35 graduate students, and conducts over $2M in externally funded research. Mississippi State University is located in Starkville, Mississippi, a vibrant college town located in Northeast Mississippi. More information about the Dave C Swalm School of Chemical Engineering can be found on the School web site at www.che.msstate.edu <http://www.che.msstate.edu. Applicants should send a detailed vitae, a statement of research and teaching interests, and the names of three references to Dr. Kirk H. Schulz, Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. Chair and Director, Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762. Review of applications will begin October 15, 2002, and will continue until the positions are filled. AA/EOE.

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ALUMNI UPDATES

JENNIFER MAYO-KIHLKEN ( ' 96)

New Address: 3325 Judy Lane, Shreveport, LA 71119. Email: msdawgs@sport.rr.com