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College News A New Mining Chair FROM PENN STATE Christopher Bise fter 30 years on the faculty at Penn State, Christopher Bise, who became the new chair of Mining Engineering this fall, decided it was time for a change. “I accepted this position because of the opportunities and support that West Virginia in general, and West Virginia University in particular, provide for mining-engineering education and for the mining industry,” Bise said. Bise was chair of the Mining Engineering and Industrial Health and Safety programs at Penn State. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from Virginia Tech, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in the same field at Penn State. In 1998, he earned a master’s degree in environmental health engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Bise authored the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s textbook, Mining Engineering Analysis, and edited the SME textbook, Coal Mining Technology: Theory and Practice. He is a registered professional engineer, certified mine safety professional, and board-certified forensic engineer. He served as chair of Penn State’s Faculty Senate in 2003-04 and is editor-in-chief for technical papers of SME’s Mining Engineering and Transactions of SME. He served as a resident engineer for two Consolidation Coal Company underground coal mines in eastern Ohio. Nanotechnology News SHARED NANOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING CLEAN ROOM OPENS In March, the College celebrated the opening of its new Shared Nanosystems Engineering Clean Room, the key hub in a set of laboratories supporting WV Nano, the campus-wide initiative in nanoscience and engineering. Larry Hornak, interim director of WV Nano and professor in the WVU Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, provided a presentation and description of the facility. WVU Provost Gerald Lang, College Dean Gene Cilento, and student Lee Rodak spoke about what it will mean to the University and to the state. Although housed in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the facility is shared by researchers from several WVU schools and colleges. Together with labs in physics, chemistry and health sciences, the Clean Room provides the means to build new nano- and micro-scale devices and systems to improve lives, health, and security, and will enable WVU to keep pace with developments in the emerging field of nanotechnology. NSF GRANT WILL STRENGTHEN WV NANO INITIATIVE In June, the National Science Foundation and Governor Joe Manchin announced a major science and technology grant that will complement and add to the University’s significant financial investment in these areas. The $9 million science and technology grant, the largest ever awarded by NSF to West Virginia, will go to WVU, Marshall University, and West Virginia State University over a threeyear period. The state will match it with an additional $4.5 million, bringing the total to $13.5 million. The award will enable WVU to fill nine new faculty positions in nanoscience and engineering. “Chris Bise has the broad knowledge and experience needed to uphold the high standards and commitment to excellence that Syd Peng established for this very important department at West Virginia University,” said Cilento. “We are very excited and look forward to having him join our team.” 16 Fall 2006
ACCOLADES WVU ENGINEERING AND MINERAL RESOURCES Volume 2 Issue 2 Gupta Gupta Wins Best Academic Paper Award Rakesh Gupta, the George and Carolyn Berry Professor of Chemical Engineering at WVU, has been awarded a “Best Academic Paper” Award by the Society of Plastics Engineers. The paper, co-authored with graduate student Mohit Bhardwaj, is entitled “Water Vapor Diffusion Through Glass Fiber Reinforced Nanocomposites: A Quantitative Approach.” Using a combination of theory, computations, and experiments, this paper shows how one might obtain superior barrier properties by dispersing nanometer-sized fillers, such as layered silicates, within a polymeric matrix. Gupta has taught in Chemical Engineering since 1991. Previously, he taught at the State University of New York-Buffalo for eleven years. He also worked for Monsanto and Dupont, and serves as a technical advisor to the Polymers Alliance Zone of West Virginia. His research is focused on polymer rheology, polymer processing, and polymer composites. Along with a colleague, he is now editing the Handbook of Polymer Nanocomposites for CRC Press. “Chemical engineers like Professor Gupta have long been involved with nanotechnology,” said Dady Dadyburjor, chair of Chemical Engineering. “This award provides welcome recognition of his work in this area.” Student Winners Smith Parish Phillips Solomon Kelly Smith, a graduate student in electrical engineering with an emphasis in biometrics, was named to USA Today’s 2006 All-USA College Academic Third Team in February. Civil and environmental engineering major George Parish was one of eight graduating seniors awarded the Order of Augusta, WVU’s highest student honor, in May. Mechanical and aerospace engineering major Kerri Phillips won the coveted Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premier undergraduate award for math, science, and engineering. Electrical engineering doctoral student Richard Solomon won third place at the 2006 National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Technical Paper Competition. Left to right are NSBE advisor John Zondlo, Richard Solomon, and Dean Gene Cilento. 17
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