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Shelly Peyton, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at UMass Amherst, is one of 22 researchers who have been named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholarships provide flexible funding to early career scientists researching the basis of perplexing health problems—including diabetes, autism, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. Pew scholars receive $240,000 over four years to pursue their projects without direction or restriction. Peyton says her research under the Pew program involves investigating how stem cells contribute to the metastatic spread of breast cancer. She says other scientists are also investigating this same problem, but primarily from the standpoint that stem cells might hijack the immune system, helping to protect cancer cells from being detected by the body.

ChE Researchers Get 90 Percent Yield with New Process

Chemical engineering researchers Wei Fan, Paul Dauenhauer, and colleagues have discovered a new chemical process to make p-xylene, an important ingredient of common plastics, including recyclable plastic bottles, from biomass. The 90 percent yield from lignocellulosic biomass is the highest yield achieved to date. Details are in the current issue of Green Chemistry: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/gc/c3gc40740c. As Dauenhauer explains, the chemical industry currently produces p-xylene from more expensive petroleum, while the new process will make the same chemical from lower-cost, renewable biomass. So far, the new process has been covered in R&D Magazine, Azonano.com, Azom.com, Biomass Magazine, Science Daily, Nanowerk, Environmental Leader, Biofuels Digest, Lab Manager, Plastics News, SpecialChem 4 Polymers, and PhysOrg.

Dauenhauer Receives DuPont Young Professor Award

Paul Dauenhauer of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of 14 researchers selected from around the world by DuPont to receive prestigious DuPont Young Professor Awards in 2013. The DuPont Young Professor Award will provide $75,000 for three years to support Dauenhauer’s research into “Production of Biomass-Derived Feedstocks for Renewable Chemicals.” The aim of Dauenhauer’s research is to develop an economical green process for the production of aromatic chemicals – key building blocks required in the production of numerous polymers, including polystyrene, polyurethane, nylon, and PET – from various forms of sugar common in sustainable biomass.

Paluca Wins Student Choice Award

Tami Paluca, the Academic Advisor for Undergraduate Studies and Director of Alumni Affairs in the Chemical Engineering Department, is the recipient of a UMass Amherst Residential First-Year Experience Student Choice Award. The award was announced by Danielle Barone, First-Year Experience Specialist in the Residential Learning Communities for the UMass Amherst campus. Paluca was nominated by first-year students for her positive contributions to their experience at UMass Amherst. First-year students were given the opportunity to nominate a professor or instructor who had a profound influence on them during their first semester. Paluca will accept her award at the Academic Engagement Awards Banquet, held at the Marriott Center (top of the Campus Center) on April 21 at 6:30 pm.

23 Engineering Students Present in Research Conference

The College of Engineering was well-represented on April 26 during the 19^th Annual Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference at the UMass Amherst Campus Center. Some 23 students from chemical, civil, and mechanical engineering were among more than 830 students from campuses across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts giving poster and oral presentations from a wide range of academic disciplines throughout the day. The faculty sponsor for almost half of those engineering projects was Jessica Schiffman of the Chemical Engineering Department who sponsored nine chemical engineering student presentations. Each year undergraduate students of diverse backgrounds from across the Massachusetts Public System of Higher Education gather to present the results of their original work in oral and poster presentations before their peers, faculty, and the public.

ChE Revolutionizes Its Student Hub

For many years the communal student work center in the basement of the Chemical Engineering (ChE) Department was so cramped, dark, and primitive that it was nicknamed "The Cave"; a name and conditions that evoked the famous remark of Thomas Hobbes that life is "nasty, brutish, and short." Not anymore! In the past year the ChE department has moved its student work area into a light and commodious space on the first floor of Goessmann Lab and transformed it into a high-tech, student-friendly, cheerful hub known as the CRIB. That's short for ChE Research & Innovation Base. The transformation is thanks to a group of dedicated donors, the leadership of ChE Department Head T.J. Lakis Mountziaris, and a visionary group of ChE faculty overseers, who planned, designed, decorated, equipped, and modernized the whole area.

Four Engineering Students Are Among 15 Undergrads Being Honored at Commencement

Four College of Engineering students were honored during Undergraduate Commencement on Friday, May 10, when the University of Massachusetts Amherst honored the exemplary achievement, initiative, and leadership of its most talented and accomplished graduating seniors. Civil engineering major Zachary Robert Bemis and civil and environmental engineering major Timothy Light were among the 11 graduating seniors that have been named 21st Century Leaders, honored for far-ranging achievement, initiative, and social awareness. Meanwhile, civil engineering major Philip Edward MacClellan and chemical engineering major Nicolas James Frederick Skarzynski were two of the four Jack Welch Scholars, recognized for their leadership and executive ability.

Three Honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards

The College of Engineering has chosen three highly accomplished academics to receive 2013 Outstanding Faculty Awards, which were distributed at the Senior Recognition Celebration for the Class of 2013, held on May 11. Dr. Lixin Gao of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department was the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Faculty Award, and Dr. Paul Dauenhauer of the Chemical Engineering Department and Dr. Casey Brown of the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department each accepted the Barbara H. and Joseph I. Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. Dr. Michael Knodler of the CEE department was previously selected to receive the College Outstanding Teaching Award, which was also handed out at the Senior Recognition Celebration.

UMass Hosts Northeast AIChE Conference

On April 13 through 14, the University of Massachusetts Amherst chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) hosted the Northeast Regional Student Conference of AIChE, featuring the regional Chem-E-Car Competition, a Jeopardy-style chemical engineering quiz for student teams, a keynote speaker, networking workshops, and much more. Most of the conference took place in the Integrated Science Building on the UMass Amherst campus. The goal of this event is to provide an opportunity for serious-minded chemical engineering students to come together and share their technical knowledge, compare notes on their university experiences and plans for the future, and meet with industry professionals. Go to conference website: 2013_regional_conference.

Roberts Featured in Research NEXT

Susan Roberts, a professor in the Chemical Engineering Department and founding director of the UMass Amherst Institute for Cellular Engineering (ICE), is featured in an enlightening article on the UMass Amherst Research NEXT website, which covers “Research, Scholarship, and Creativity for a Brighter Future.” ICE is working to generate interdisciplinary collaborations and traineeship opportunities at the interface between engineering and the life sciences. The institute is wrapping up a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship grant for $3 million—an interdisciplinary project focused on training rising young researchers interested in pursuing careers in cellular engineering. Read the Research NEXT article: https://www.umass.edu/researchnext/interface.

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