ChE News
Also see Engineering School News for related U. Va. engineering news.
Xin Ren, graduate student in the Hudson lab, won 2nd place in the Ninth-Annual University of Virginia Engineering Research Symposium (UVERS) with her poster titled "Dynamic Emergence of Neuronal Synchrony during Kindling." The yearly Symposium highlighted the exciting research discoveries of the graduate student body in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), featuring a poster session and competition to identify graduate students who demonstrate excellence in relating their research to a broader societal context. The posters were scored on the basis of technical merit, impact, and clarity of presentation. For 2nd place, Xin received a $1000 award.
Ernie X. Pérez Almodóvar (Ph.D. '12) was named as a
winner of the inaugural International Adsorption
Society Award for Excellence in the Ph.D.
Dissertation. The award was created to provide
recognition to exceptional young scientists or
engineers who have performed original doctoral
thesis work of outstanding quality, achievement
and impact in the area of adsorption, broadly
defined. The award consists of $1,000, a
certificate citing the accomplishments of the
recipient, and an allowance to attend the
triennial International Conference on the
Fundamentals of Adsorption (FOA) of the IAS and
present the recipient's research in a plenary
session. The award is given triennially, so
represents the best dissertation over a three
year period, not only the preceeding year.
For more information, see the U. Va. press release.
Ellen Zhong (ChE '14) was named one of 271 Goldwater scholars nationwide. She was one of two U.Va. students to receive the honor, and the second chemical engineering student at U. Va. to be named a Goldwater Scholar in the last four years. A list of the 2013 Goldwater Scholars and a description of the award can be found at the Goldwater Scholar home page.
Michael Shirts, assistant professor of chemical engineering, was awarded an OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty award from the Computers in Chemistry Division of the ACS. The award is designed to recognized outstanding younger faculty who are pioneering new computational methods benefiting the computational chemistry and chemical engineering community. For a description of the research, read the U. Va. news release.
Simpson Gregoire, graduate student in the Kwon lab, was recently awarded a TRANE Graduate Fellowship. The U. Va. news release provides more details about this and other fellowships awarded schoolwide in the SEAS.
John Yates receives Gehard Ertl Lecture Award
John Yates, professor of chemistry and affiliated member of the chemical engineering deparment faculty, was recently named the Gehard Ertl Lecture Award winner in 2013. The prestigious chemistry award, given by the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin, is named after Ertl, a Nobel Prize-winning surface chemistry professor emeritus at the Fritz-Haber-Institut, and is chosen for outstanding research in the field of surface science and heterogeneous catalysis. For more information, see the U. Va. news release.Margot Vigeant receives SEAS 2012 Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award
Margot Vigeant (‘99) received the 2012 Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award from the U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science. The award is given to recognize alumni who have made significant achievements and contributions in the early phase of their careers. This is now the third year in a row that a U.Va. chemical engineer graduate has won the award. Margot earned her Ph.D. in 1999 and is now an associate professor in Chemical Engineering at Bucknell University, also
serving as an Associate Dean with duties encompassing international, graduate, innovation, and outreach programs. Read more about Margot and the award.
Ellen Zhong (ChE '14) receives the Astronaut Scholarship
Ellen Zhong was one of 26 students nationwide to recieve the Astronaut Scholarship, a $10,000 award, for her outstanding academic achievement. Read more about her work and the award in the press release.
ChE department ranked #20 in country by US News & World Report
ChE department ranked #20 in country by US News & World Report We are pleased to report that the chemical engineering undergraduate program at U.Va. was ranked 20th in the country in the 2013 US News & World Report college rankings! ChE was the highest rated undergraduate department in SEAS this year.
Professor Emeritus Elmer Gaden Passes Away
We are saddened by the passing of our colleague and friend Elmer Gaden on March 10, 2012. Those of you who knew Elmer will remember his quick wit, broad interests, and enthusiasm for teaching, mentoring and helping young people in their careers. Although Elmer retired from our department in 1994, he continued to be an active participant in many departmental activities and maintained strong ties with our faculty, staff, students and alumni. His obituary is posted here.