2004 News

December 20, 2004: Ed Atchison, Information Technology Manager, is the newest CEBC staff member

In December, CEBC hired a full-time Information Technology Manager to manage the large and growing IT network at CEBC Headquarters. Ed Atchison is currently getting to know the network and its users, and hopes to "advance the computer network to make it more useable and user friendly". Ed comes to us from the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department at KU, where he worked for 15 years, most recently as a Research Technologist. In addition to his expertise in IT and network management, Ed brings extensive experience with lab hardware and software design, maintenance, and repair, that will undoubtedly prove extremely valuable to our research. Ed is married and has two children, an 18 year-old son, and a 15 year-old daughter. Please join us in welcoming Ed to CEBC!

November, 2004: Hong Jin , CEBC Doctoral Student, Nears Graduation

"What I am looking at is the substance of what I am going to do in the future. It has to have certain qualities such as challenges, and where the future of Chemical Engineering is."

Although Hong will be exploring a wide range of employment opportunities after graduation, she is interested in research that is challenging, and lies on the cutting-edge of Chemical Engineering. She would consider careers in both Academe and Industry, but is leaning toward Industry, primarily because she is ready for a change after so many years in school. She is also interested in a job that would help her develop not only her technical skills, but her personal skills as well.

"It's a great opportunity for students because you have exposure to different disciplines and different departments. I think that the Center definitely has a great future"

Hong was very positive about her work at CEBC for a number of reasons. She felt it was beneficial to have the opportunity to work with both chemists and engineers. Also, she mentioned that her exposure to industry representatives was helpful because of their insight into her research and its industrial applications.

"I really like Lawrence, because people here are so nice and helpful. I just like the whole people environment here."

Living in Lawrence has been a positive experience for Hong, especially since she enjoys listening to music and has taken advantage of the many live performances available to students at KU. In addition, she has enjoyed the friendly people she met here, and appreciates the cultural diversity of the university. The fact that there were large Chinese and Indian student populations helped her feel more comfortable here. Congratulation to Hong Jin on her excellent work at CEBC, all the best as she continues her career after graduation.

Publications
o Jin, H., Subramaniam, B., Catalytic Hydroformylation of 1-octene in CO2-expanded solvent media, Chemical Engineering Science, 59 (2004), 4887-4893
o Jin, H., Subramaniam, B., Exothermic oxidation in supercritical CO2: effects of pressure-tunable heat capacity on adiabatic temperature rise and parametric sensitivity, Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 1897-1901.
o Jin, H., McCool, C.S., Michnick, M.J., Willhite, C.P., Green, K.W., Propagations of chromium (III) acetate solutions through dolomite rock, SPE 84941, June 2003 SPE Journal.

October 23, 2004: Outreach at Science City Successful

CEBC graduate students and graduate students from the KU Chemistry Department wowed the crowd at Science City on Saturday, October 23 in celebration of National Chemistry Week. Teaching Fellows April French and Carrie Hohl organized the event sponsored by CEBC, and graduate students Heidi Doyen, Melanie Gile, Hong Jin, Chad Johnson, James McParland, Stephen Palmerin, Bhuma Rajagopalan, and Sagar Sarsani as well as undergraduate Howard Washington performed chemistry and catalysis demonstrations for Science City visitors. A total of 2400 people visited the popular interactive science museum located in historic Union Station in Kansas City Missouri on Saturday, and April estimates that approximately 900 stopped to watch the demonstrations. A detergent foam volcano, oscillating color-change reaction, and the condensation can crusher were among the more popular demonstrations performed.

Two table-top displays created by Jim Busse, recently hired CEBC Graphics Technician, explained the concept of green catalysis and provided an overview of CEBC. The display was also used the following day for the Carnival of Chemistry in Malott Hall on the KU Lawrence campus, an annual outreach program sponsored by the Chemistry Club at KU. CEBC graduate students plan to repeat their performance for the Engineering Expo, scheduled for February 25th and 26th, 2005, in Learned Hall at KU.

April has been working and conducting research at Science City for over a year, and her contacts made this event possible. "The enthusiasm we have about chemistry rubs off.", April said. "People can't help but have fun when they see that others are having fun doing chemistry too. Enjoyment is a big part of learning in informal environments and by taking our enthusiasm and mixing it with a little science, making something happen, and giving people a chance to talk about what they see, makes the learning experience more worthwhile." In the future, she hopes to work with Science City Director Dean Jernigan to develop a green chemistry interactive display for Science City. CEBC would like to thank all of the graduate students who contributed to the success of this event, and whose efforts to interest young minds in the wonders of science are an important part of our outreach program.