Dear colleagues, alumni and friends:
With the holiday season nearly upon us, it is a great time to reflect upon how much the department has changed over a single year. A creative, dynamic, engaged and caring faculty has always been one of our strengths and I am proud to report that we continue to add this “secret” ingredient to our ranks.
NEW FACULTY | In January, Dr. Vincent Holmberg relocated from Zurich where he was a Marie Curie Fellow to start his career as an Assistant Professor with a triple challenge: teaching Process Design to a seasoned class of seniors, training his first graduate students and setting up his brand new nanomaterial synthesis and characterization laboratory. To no-one’s surprise, Vincent succeeded admirably on all counts, scoring some of the highest student ratings in the department and producing his first batch of nanomaterials over the summer.
Last Winter, we were delighted to hear that Dr. Elizabeth Nance had selected to join our department over some of the best programs in the nation. Elizabeth, a Hartwell Foundation Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and a recipient of the prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Foundation Award, had just been named one of Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 in Science and Medicine for her groundbreaking work in treating diseases of the central nervous system with nanoparticles that take advantage of the unique transport properties of brain tissues. Dr. Nance started in September as the first Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering. She has been busy ordering equipment when not teaching Transport Processes I to our undergraduate students and bringing her boundless energy to all facets of departmental activities.
Last year’s hires, Washington Research Foundation Associate Professor Venkat Subramanian and John C. Berg Lecturer Andy Kim, have fully integrated into the ChemE ecosystem and turned their considerable skills to the development of shared infrastructure, new courses and laboratory modules. Finally, we were proud to see Dr. Jim Pfaendtner named Steve and Connie Rogel Fellow and elevated to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure, a well deserved recognition for his outstanding accomplishments in research and teaching.
HONORS AND RECOGNITION | Together, our faculty raised over $10 million in new research awards, published nearly 150 articles, filed 24 patent applications, received 8 patents and raked in honors and awards. These include the Tietze Young Investigator Award (Cole DeForest), the UW Landolt Distinguished Award and the Electrodeposition Division Award from the Electrochemical Society (Dan Schwartz) and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Langmuir Lectureship (Buddy Ratner). Faculty were also recognized by their peers through election to Fellow status by the ACS Polymer Division (Buddy Ratner), American Institute of Medical and Biomedical Engineers and American Academy of Microbiology (François Baneyx) and Royal Society of Chemistry (Sam Jenekhe).
INFRASTRUCTURE | With Benson Hall turning 50 years old in 2016, infrastructure upgrades that enhance the student experience and improve research outcomes have become a priority. In January, we dedicated the Bindra Innovation Laboratory, a shared instrumentation facility used for teaching and prototyping by undergraduate teams enrolled in our entrepreneurial design option and research by graduate students. In May, we inaugurated a spiffed up Berg Surface & Colloids Lab in which Prof. Berg’s long-running and signature Surface & Colloid Science Laboratory class is being taught. Over the spring and summer, we remodeled second and third floor alcoves into conferencing and huddle spaces, created shared office space for 25 graduate students and entirely overhauled the computer lab to create a vibrant environment that combines an undergraduate conference room with collaborative and workstation spaces.
We are incredibly proud of the achievements of our faculty, students and alumni. Thank you for being a loyal part of the ChemE family and for your generous support of the department.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year.
François Baneyx
Department Chair and Charles W.H. Matthaei Professor