Spring 2011 - Department of Chemical Engineering - Texas A&M ...

the results of their research. At the conclusion of the program,
students present their results at a series of sessions.
Some students even go on to present their results at national
and international conferences as well as publish them in
scientific journals. That was the case for Rehmann, whose work
on engineering butanol-resistant E. coli was published in the
scientific journal “Biotechnology Letters,” along with Kao’s
graduate student James Winkler.
“Matt laid the foundations for an on-going project in my lab on
generating novel organisms with industrially relevant properties,
and he was able to produce publishable results, which is very
rare for an undergraduate student working alone for less than 10
weeks,” Kao notes.
In another instance,
Balbuena recalls
running into one
of her former REU
students at a national
meeting of the report results.”
American Institute of
Chemical Engineers.
The student, she said, had since received his doctorate from
the University of Minnesota and is now an executive in a
major food company.
“I introduced him into the world of molecular modeling, and
we published a paper together on the interactions of water with
a polymer used in fuel cells,” Balbuena said. “He was fascinated,
and his enthusiasm engaged other group members. For him, his
REU work was decisive in choosing graduate school.”
Key to the experience, Hahn notes, is the fact that the students
have the opportunity to play an important role in advancing
research as opposed to simply being assigned “grunt” work.
That’s a point of emphasis with Balbuena, who understands the
importance of exposing undergraduates to research in a way that
allows them to grow.
“It’s not useful to the student if the student’s task is to
exclusively collect data in a routine way,” Balbuena says.
“However, it could be very helpful if the student in part collects
data points and in part analyzes the data, while he or she is
inserted and interacts with the research group, which includes the
faculty adviser, graduate students, other undergraduate students
and post-doctoral associates. This allows the undergraduate to
more effectively visualize and add ideas to the whole picture,
impacting the research group as a whole.”
With the intent of equipping these students with a broader,
diverse perspective, the REU program fosters interactions
between its participants and other chemical engineering student
researchers from Texas A&M and abroad.
Running parallel to the REU program, the Undergraduate
Summer Research Grants (USRG) program enables select Texas
A&M students to participate in a research experience. In addition,
summer exchange programs with Tsinghua University in China,
Universidad Industrial
de Santander, and
Universidad de los Andes
in Colombia provide
foreign undergraduates
with parallel research
opportunities.
The result, Hahn notes,
is a diverse mixture of
nearly 20 undergraduate students from various backgrounds, all
converging on Texas A&M with the purpose of learning about
research. In the process, they also learn about each other while
discovering together what makes Texas A&M the special place
that it is.
Above all, they get to experience a world-class research
environment and determine if a graduate education is right for them.
“What I really want them to take away from this program
is a much better idea of what research is really about, and that
includes both the preparation needed in order to do it and how
to actually conduct the research as well as how to convey findings
to others afterwards,” Hahn says.
“If somebody wants to come back to attend graduate school
afterwards because of this experience, then that is even better,
but I’m happy if they just gain a better understanding of what
research and graduate school is about and can then decide if that
is something that they want to pursue. Hopefully they will take
away an experience that they simply could not get where they
currently are at.”
“We want to teach these students things such as research
methodologies; self-discipline because this is a little
longer than just the next homework set; teamwork and
team integration; and how to appropriately and effectively
Associate Professor Juergen Hahn
For more information on the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates program,
visit www.che.tamu.edu and click on “REU,” or contact Juergen Hahn, associate professor and REU coordinator, via email: hahn@tamu.edu
PROSPEC ING IN AGGIELAND
Thanks to Professor Mark Holtzapple and a Texas A&M
open-house event known as “Aggieland Saturday,” prospective
students got a glimpse into the impact chemical engineering
can make on issues of global importance.
For the prospective chemical engineering students touring the
campus this past February as part of an annual open-house event,
the message from Professor Mark Holtzapple was clear:
Some of the most critical issues facing the world’s everburgeoning
population are being addressed by chemical
engineers – across the globe and at Texas A&M University.
From energy and environmental issues to overcoming disease
and thwarting terrorism,
chemical engineers play a
larger role than ever, said
Holtzapple, addressing
the group, which largely
consisted of high school
students and their parents
as well as transfer students.
The group converged
on campus for “Aggieland
Saturday,” a universitywide
open house created
to help prospective
students and their families
learn about the opportunities
available at Texas A&M. Dr. Mark Holtzapple
Through the program, the
university opened its doors to an estimated 10,000 prospective
students, including those with aims at pursuing a chemical
engineering education.
While on campus, participants met current students, toured
residence halls and visited libraries and computer labs – all in an
attempt to gain a better understanding about what Texas A&M
has to offer. They also had the opportunity to learn more about
Texas A&M’s academic colleges and the majors they offer. In
addition, a variety of group sessions provided information about
admissions, financial aid, student services, student organizations,
and student traditions.
Sponsored by The Association of Former Students, the event,
which was free to attend, featured interactive demonstrations,
campus tours, and several other activities that enabled
participants to focus on their particular areas of interest.
Those students with chemical engineering interests visited the Jack
E. Brown Engineering Building – home of chemical engineering at
Texas A&M – and soon found themselves immersed in a discussion
about the world’s energy supplies with Holtzapple, professor in the
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
And for those students, there may not have been a more
appropriate person with whom to have that discussion. Few people
are as well-versed on energy issues as Holtzapple, who has devoted
more than 30 years of his career to issues of energy sustainability.
Through his research, he’s now on the cusp of offering a
solution to one of society’s biggest energy-related issues – helping
to alleviate the nation’s dependence on foreign oil by developing a
process that, quite simply,
turns trash into gas.
More specifically,
the process produces
renewable gasoline from
biomass — any feedstock
including, trees, grass,
manure, sewage sludge,
garbage, agricultural
residues, and energy crops.
Detailing that process,
Holtzapple impressed
upon the group the need
for innovative ideas
grounded in an understanding of the geopolitical framework
that is shaping their lives.
For instance, Holtzapple noted, the United States spends an
astonishing $400 billion a year importing foreign oil. It doesn’t
have to be that way, he said, using his own work as an illustration
of how chemical engineering can make a positive impact.
Further illustrating that point, Holtzapple also reviewed his
work with the city of Laredo, Texas – work that has resulted in a
fully functioning desalination pilot plant. Utilizing Holtzapple’s
method to more efficiently desalinate water, the new pilot plant
will provide data to help design next-generation desalination
plants that can potentially help the city of Laredo, which is
near the limit of water it can draw from the Rio Grande River to
support its 200,000 citizens.
Overall, it was an excursion into the realm of chemical
engineering that was as much about impact as it was innovation,
as much about solutions as it was science – not a bad starting
point for many of these potential chemical engineers.
Page 4 Page 5