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SPRING/SUMMER 2000 ARCHIVES Last Updated May 30, 2000 FEATURE: NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK 2000
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Clemson Chemical Engineering - The past few years have been an exciting time for Clemson's Chemical Engineering Program, with five new faculty members in the last five years, and two renovated classrooms that now house state-of-the-art electronic and computer equipment. More recently, the department was featured in the journal, Chemical Engineering Education, and several faculty were recognized for their hard work in teaching and research. These awards highlight our commitment to growth as a research and teaching department that is serving the diverse set of needs of our stakeholders. Dr. Dan Edie was the 1999 winner of Clemson's Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, which is the top research honor given at Clemson. In his 24-years at Clemson, Edie has built an internationally recognized research program focused on the development and physical testing of carbon fibers and their composites. In this time, 50 MS and Ph.D. students have completed their dissertations, and with Edie, have published over 100 articles and secured 6 patents. In 1989, Edie was named Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering and in August of 1998, along with a handful of faculty, started a focus area in fiber and film engineering and carbon-carbon composites. These early efforts, coupled with his leadership and determination, eventually led to the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films (CAEFF). The CAEFF is one of only 25 engineering research centers awarded by the National Science Foundation, and it involves 16 industrial partners. While Edie's job as Center Director occupies a great deal of his time, he is still active in teaching and advising graduate researchers. On the teaching front, Dr. S. Michael Kilbey II won Clemson's top teaching honor: the 1999 Alumni Master Teacher, the youngest ever and first chemical engineering recipient. Also, Mike was awarded by the student government as the 1999 Prince Award for Innovation in Teaching. In the four years Mike has been with Clemson, he has taught the sophomore-level material and energy balance course, undergraduate and graduate Transport Phenomena, and supervised various experiments in the unit operations laboratory. Mike's research focus is studying structure-property relationships of polymeric and molecularly-thin films. With Drs. Jim Haile and Doug Hirt, Mike has been studying how different teaching methods can be utilized to help students become better learners and how they can develop critical thinking skills. Dr. Mark C. Thies received the top engineering research award in the College of Engineering and Science this past year, the McQueen Quattlebaum Faculty Achievement Award. Mark's research on the novel properties of supercritical fluids continues to attract significant interest. Currently, he is investigating the use of supercritical fluids for materials processing, for fractionating high molecular weight carbonaceous materials, and for environmental remediation by supercritical water oxidation. Earlier this summer, Mark presented an invited plenary lecture at the 24th Biennial Conference on Carbon in Charleston, SC. As a former Humboldt Research Fellow, he is an enthusiastic supporter of cultural exchange, and typically has one or two visiting graduate students from Germany working in his laboratories. In June it was announced that Dr. Doug Hirt had been elected Vice-Chair of the Chemical Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Doug, who was Technical Program Chair for the ChE Division at the Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, will move up as Chair of the Division next year. In addition to his activity with ASEE, Doug has been chair of the Teaching Effectiveness Committee in the College of Engineering and Science at Clemson. This program, which began in 1993, has been a driving force for educational development and scholarship in the College. Doug has also been serving as the advisor for our AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) Student Chapter for several years. Although he has been gradually turning those reins over to Dr. David Bruce, Doug's leadership skills will be a great asset as our AIChE Student Chapter prepares to host the AIChE Southern Regional Conference in spring 2001. |
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