Fierce Electronics named Michigan Tech alum Audra Thurston ’18 (B.S. Chemical Engineering) an honoree in the outlet’s inaugural 40 Under 40 awards program.
Professor and Chair Dr. Michael Mullins formally inducted the following alumni into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy: Gene Chamberlain (’75), Meg Guillaumin (’03), Dr. Bruce Barna (’70), Dr. Alan Nelson (’01), Dr. Teresa Karjala (’87), and Scott Collick (’89).
More than 800 first-year engineering Huskies turned out for the College of Engineering’s (COE’s) annual lecture, designed especially for them. The First-Year Engineering Series lecture took place Monday, Aug. 26, at the Rozsa Center, hosted by the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. This year’s featured lecturer was chemical engineering alumna Jessica Elwell ’02 ’03.
“Jessica told the fascinating and inspiring story of how she and her team at OxEon Energy worked with NASA to figure out how to make oxygen from in-situ resources on Mars (Yes, Mars!),” said COE Dean Michelle Scherer. “She also shared her journey to being chief operating officer at OxEon and how she has been able to focus her work on her passion of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and sustainable fuels.”
Scherer said Elwell’s words of wisdom reinforced why it’s important to move outside the comfort zone to try new things and to remember that engineering design requires failing many times until you find the solution.
Read more about the lecture series and Elwell’s accomplishments on the College of Engineering Blog.
Former chair of the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees, Julie Fream ’83, will be honored by the Automotive Hall of Fame this fall. Fream will receive the Distinguished Service Award during the Sept. 19 ceremony at Michigan Central Station.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals who have had a significant positive impact on the industry or their respective organizations.
Fream, a 1983 Michigan Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, is the retired President and CEO of MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers. Over her 40-year career, she worked at various OEMs and suppliers. For the most recent 10 years, Fream led MEMA-OE, championing industry challenges and opportunities on behalf of all automotive suppliers.
In addition to her service to the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees (2011–18), Fream served on the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Directors (2001–09) and the Michigan Tech Alumni Board of Directors (1988–2000). She was presented with Michigan Tech’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 1994 and its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021 and inducted into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy in 2003.
We are saddened to announce the passing of John T. Patton, a longtime supporter and former professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He passed on April 11, 2024, in El Paso, Texas at the age of 92.
Patton served as a chemical engineering faculty member for 9 years, starting in 1968. He played a definitive early role in the quality of design chemical engineering experiences at Michigan Tech. Within three years his design students started receiving national recognition from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). During his tenure at Michigan Tech, his students twice won the national AIChE Design Contest for undergraduates. Patton also initiated a viable graduate program and elevated the quality of the undergraduate curriculum, which then received full national accreditation.
“John Patton was the ‘father’ of our senior design program in chemical engineering, having taught it for many years at Michigan Tech starting in the early 70s,” says Michael Mullins, chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering. “John then mentored the next two generations of process design professors in Bruce Barna, who was his Ph.D. student, and then Tony Rogers. John’s impact on the chemical engineering department was not only profound, but has lasted for generations—over 50 years!”
In 1977, Patton left Michigan Tech to become Professor and Department Head of Chemical Engineering at New Mexico State University; a position he held until 1989, retiring as professor emeritus in 1994.
A Fort Worth, Texas, native, Patton earned his BS (1953), MS (1958), and PhD (1959) in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He joined Exxon USA as a section head responsible for research on enhanced petroleum operations in 1959. He held progressively responsible positions at Exxon until 1968 when he brought his extensive process design and operations experience to Michigan Tech as a professor of chemical engineering, plant design, and economics.
Patton founded a design and research corporation, Computer Bio/Engineering Institute Inc. of El Paso, Texas in 1967. As president and chief engineer, he maintained an active consulting practice on the design and operation of a multitude of chemical plants ranging from biosynthesis processes to oil field production facilities.
Patton has 26 patents and over 42 publications in areas of enhanced oil and gas recovery, biosynthesis, and advanced co-generation.
Over the years he remained a strong supporter of Michigan Tech. A major gift endowment from Patton has helped to sustain the Michigan Tech Presidential Scholars Award Program, supporting 84 chemical engineering student recipients to date. He was inducted into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy, and in 2016 he received the Michigan Tech Honorary Alumni Award.
Patton is survived by his wife, Maureen, six children: John, Jr. (Heather) of Angola, IN; Nancy (Jerry Burton) of Palmer, AK; Bob (Anne) of Kalama, WA; Jim (Tracy) of Phelan, CA; David (Anna-Kristina) of Oakton, VA and Carolyn (Royce Brodie) of Ashburn, VA; three step-children: Robin (David Solid) of Woodbury, MN, Heidi (George Nadjek) of Cumming, GA and Andrew F. Green (Jennifer) of Chesterfield, VA; twenty-eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Also surviving are six nieces and a nephew.
Read John Patton’s obituary.
Dear Alumni and Friends,
As you may have heard, with Dr. Agrawal’s retirement in June, I have stepped in to fill the department chair role until a national search for a new chair is completed. When I was asked to return as chair this summer, I was happy to come back to the department I have spent over 35 years helping to build. I was able to come back up to speed quickly and help get the department ready for fall semester. Many major department changes have happened since then and I’d like to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on a few of those.
I am not exaggerating to say this is a pivotal time in the history of Michigan Tech’s Department of Chemical Engineering. In addition to Pradeep’s retirement, our long-time colleague Tony Rogers decided to retire this summer after leading our nationally recognized senior capstone design course for over 30 year and serving as mentor and advisor for our Consumer Product Manufacturing (CPM) Enterprise for more than 25 years. Professor of Practice Kurt Rickard retired after helping to rebuild our process control course and co-teaching our UO lab over the past 4 years. (He has now taken the job as mayor of Hancock!). In the previous year, Drs. Tom Co, Faith Morrison and Komar Kawatra, who had over 100 years of dedicated service to MTU between them, also retired! We are now faced with a multi-year faculty rebuilding phase. Professor of Practice Jon Herlevich and Assistant Teaching Professor Kyle Griffin are great new additions to our department, and we’ve begun the search for additional rising stars to join our faculty over the next 2 years.
Our longtime academic advisor, Katie Torrey, has moved to another position in the university. I originally hired Katie when I was chair 18 years ago, and she has been an invaluable resource for a generation of students and our entire department. Katie will be greatly missed, but we have lured Judy Burl out of retirement to serve as academic advisor until we find a permanent replacement. We are also lucky to have Tyson Kauppinen join our lab manager Stefan Wiesnewski to help keep our chemical engineering laboratories the best in the USA.
There have been many transformational changes to our facilities over the past few months! Due to the generosity of our alumni, we have a wonderful new Student Learning Center and Department Conference Room, which are heavily used by students and faculty. This summer we finished a complete renovation of all the classrooms and public areas of our building, and the new $53M HSTEM addition to our building will be ready for move-in by late March 2024.
Just today, it was announced that Michigan Tech has received a $5 million grant – with a potential $2 million matching grant – from The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation for addition renovations to the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building. In 2024 we are initiating 2 projects that will have a huge impact on our students: a new Senior Capstone Design Lab and a Maker’s Space for the Enterprise Programs centered in our department, which could be eligible for these matching gifts.
As a former (and now current) department chair, I know how important our alumni supporters and friends like you are to the success of our program. The resources we receive from the state and from tuition dollars are just enough to cover the basic salaries of the chemical engineering program, and little else. It is the generosity of our alumni and industry friends that allows our program to truly excel. If you would like to be a part of this exciting time for our department, be sure to reach out to me anytime to learn more.
Warmest wishes for the new year,
Michael Mullins
Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering
memullin@mtu.edu
Most polyurethane foam, found in cushions, couches, mattress, insulation, shoes, and more, is made from petroleum. What if it could be environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and made from renewable biomass? It’s entirely possible, thanks to the work of chemical engineer Lauren Spahn ’22 (now an alumna) and her fellow researchers at Michigan Tech. It all happens in the Biofuels & Bio-based Products Lab at Michigan Tech, where researchers put plants—and their lignin—to good use. The lab is directed by Dr. Rebecca Ong, an associate professor of chemical engineering.
Q&A with Lauren Spahn
Please tell us a little about your work in the lab.
Our goal in working with Dr. Ong is to develop sustainable industries using renewable lignocellulosic biomass—the material derived from plant cell walls. There are five of us working on Dr. Ong’s team. We develop novel co-products from the side streams of biofuel production, and pulp and paper production. We’re trying to make good use of the leftover materials.
What kind of research are you doing?
My particular research project involves plant-based polyurethane foams. Unlike conventional poly foams, bio-based foams are generated from lignin, a renewable material. Lignin is like a glue that holds wood fibers together. It has the potential to replace petroleum-derived polymers in many applications. In the lab, we purify the lignin from something called “black liquor”. It’s not what sounds like. Black liquor is a by-product from the kraft process when pulpwood is made into paper. Lignin is collected by forcing dissolved lignin to precipitate or fall out of the solution (this is the opposite of the process of dissolving, which brings a solid into solution). By adjusting the functional properties of lignin during the precipitation process, we hope to be able to tailor the characteristics of resulting foams. It’s called functionalization.
Typically in the lab process, functionalization occurs on lignin that has already been purified. What we hope to do is integrate functionalization into the purification process, to reduce energy and raw material inputs, and improve the economics and sustainability of the process, too.
How did you get started in undergraduate research?
I came to Michigan Tech knowing I wanted to get involved in research. As a first-year student, I was accepted into the Undergraduate Research Internship Program (URSIP), through the Pavlis Honors College here at Tech. Through this program I received funding, mentorship, and guidance as I looked to identify a research mentor.
How did you find Dr. Ong, or how did she find you?
I wanted to work with Dr. Ong because I found the work in her lab to be very interesting and relevant to the world we live in, in terms of sustainability. She was more than willing to welcome me into the lab and assist me in my research when I needed it. I am very thankful for all her help and guidance.
What is the most challenging and difficult part of the work and the experience?
Not everything always goes according to plan. Achieving the desired result often takes many iterations, adjustments, and even restructuring the experiment itself. After a while, it can even become discouraging.
What do you do when you get discouraged? How do you persevere?
I start thinking about my goals. I enjoy my research—it’s fun! Once I remind myself why I like it, I am able to get back to work.
Lignin at the nanoscale, imaged with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raisa Carmen Andeme Ela, a PhD candidate working in Dr. Ong’s lab, generated this image to examine the fundamental mechanisms driving lignin precipitation.
What do you enjoy most about research?
I enjoy being able to run experiments in the lab that directly lead to new designs, processes, or products in the world around me. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to think up new product ideas, then go through the steps needed to implement them in the real world.
What are your career goals and plans?
I plan to work in R&D for industry. I am very passionate about research—I want to continue participating in research in my professional career.
Why did you choose engineering as your major?
The field is so large. Chemical engineers can work in industry in numerous areas. I liked the wide variety of work that I could enter into as a career.
Editor’s note: Lauren graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in April 2022, and started work at Hemlock Semiconductor in Saginaw, Michigan soon after.
Did you know?
- Michigan Tech has more than 35 research centers and institutes
- 20 percent of all Michigan Tech patent applications involve undergraduate students
- Students in any engineering discipline are welcome to give research a try
- Research expenditures at Michigan Tech—over $44 million-—have increased by 33% over the last decade, despite increased competition for research funding.
- Michigan Tech research leads to more invention disclosures—the first notification that an invention has been created—than any other research institution in Michigan.
The department of Chemical Engineering inducted six alumni into our Distinguished Academy on Friday April 14th, 2023, at the Miscowaubik Club in Calumet.
The purpose of the Academy is to honor outstanding graduates of the Michigan Technological University Department of Chemical Engineering. Selection into the Academy recognizes excellence and leadership in engineering and civic affairs.
This induction honors some of the most successful alumni of Michigan Tech’s Department of Chemical Engineering. Portraits and a brief biography of Academy members are prominently displayed on the Distinguished Academy Honor Wall in the hallway outside the main departmental offices to serve as inspirational role models for future Chemical Engineering students.
The 2023 Inductees include Bryan Glover ’86, Bruce Janda ’76, Carlos Jorda ’71, Brad Rick ’84, ’86, John Smuk ’55, Phillip Watters ’69.
Bryan Glover is President and CEO of Honeywell UOP, a Des Plaines, IL based company, which is the leading provider of technologies for the global energy and petrochemicals industries. Since 1914 UOP has led the development of technologies for oil refining, petrochemicals, natural gas processing and most recently a full range of sustainable technologies including renewable fuels, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, energy storage and advanced plastics recycling.
Bruce W. Janda recently retired as Senior Consultant at Fisher International. He is a TAPPI Fellow and Education Committee Chair of TAPPI’s Tissue Division. He is also a tissue paper product and process expert, serving as the leader of TAPPI’s Tissue 101, 202, and 203 courses. Bruce continues to write and consult on the tissue business and technology as InnovaSpec, LLC.
With 52 years of experience in the international oil and gas industry, Carlos Jordá has served at the highest executive levels in refining and marketing, corporate planning, finance, and the production of Syncrude from Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt with PDVSA, rising to President of PDV America and Chairman of the CITGO Board of Directors.
Brad Rick graduated from MTU with degrees in Chemical Engineering (BSChE 1984, MSChE 1986). He spent his 35 year career with Amway Corporation in Ada, Michigan, beginning as a Process Engineer developing and scaling processes for personal care and cosmetic products. Brad transitioned to Product Development leading engineering and design efforts for a small appliance division where he received four US patents and multiple foreign patents for the design of an air treatment system.
A native of Aurora, MN, John Smuk attended St. Thomas College in St. Paul for two years prior to transferring to Michigan Tech to play football and complete his B.S. degree with honors in Chemical Engineering. He was initiated into the Phi Lambda Upsilon honorary chemical engineering and Sigma Xi. John passed away on April 2, 2022, at the age of 90.
Philip Watters received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech in 1969 and then joined the Exxon Chemical Company. During his years at Exxon, Philip earned an MBA from the University of Houston in 1972. Philip has spent his career working on various aspects of the business in the field of petrochemical and energy industry. In 1986, he joined Resource Planning Consultants first as Vice-President and then as President. Philip joined Rimkus Consulting Group in 1989 and served as Senior Vice President for 30 years.
Related
CITGO CEO Carlos Jordá Among Six Alumni Honored by Michigan Tech
“I was honored to receive this recognition from my alma mater, Michigan Tech. My background in chemical engineering has proven highly valuable throughout my career in the international oil and gas industry, and I’m proud to join the academy alongside such a distinguished group of fellow inductees.”
The Department of Chemical Engineering proudly bestows honors and awards to ChE students each spring by way of a Convocation Awards Ceremony. Awards were presented on April 11, 2022.
The faculty and staff of Chemical Engineering join together in offering our sincerest congratulations to all of our honored recipients and this year’s graduating class. Kudos on your resilience, determination and drive for success.
Keynote Speaker
Meg Guillaumin ’03
Plant Manager at DTE Energy
Meg Guillaumin is a plant manager for DTE Energy, a Detroit-based energy company serving 2.2 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.3 million natural gas customers across the state. DTE Energy aspires to be the best operated energy company in North America, and a force for growth in the communities where we live and serve.
Meg is currently responsible for the Blue Water Energy Center, DTE Energy’s state of the art combined cycle natural gas facility set to begin commercial operation in spring 2022. Upon completion, Blue Water will supply enough electricity to power 850,000 homes and supports DTE Energy’s progress in reducing carbon emissions by more than 80% by 2040.
Prior to her current role Meg was the manager of the Greenwood Energy Center and Peaking organizations, constituting over 1/3 of DTE Energy’s total generating capacity. She has held other leadership roles in the operation, maintenance and engineering support of power plant facilities across her career.
Meg earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University in 2003 and began her career with DTE Energy upon graduation. She is currently the chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering External Advisory Board.
Chair’s Award for Outstanding Chemical Engineering Senior
Riley Andersen
The Chair’s Award for Outstanding Chemical Engineering Senior recognizes the exceptional record of a chemical engineering graduating senior for their academic achievement, experiential learning activities, and community engagement. To be eligible for consideration the candidate must be graduating in the current calendar year, demonstrate their commitment to the chemical engineering profession, and show how their activities have positively impacted others through inspiration, action, and/or leadership. This award consists of a certificate and monetary award in the amount of $1,000
Excellence in Communication Award
Sarah Foyer
The Excellence in Communication Award was created to acknowledge the critical role that effective communication plays in successful leadership. This award recognizes a graduating senior from the department of chemical engineering for their effective use of communication of the highest standard. Candidates for this award may be nominated by faculty, staff, or students.
Professional Ethics Award
Gabrielle Feber
This award recognizes a student who has exhibited exemplary ethics and admirable professional conduct during Plant Design and Unit Operations experiences and throughout their academic career at Michigan Technological University.
Prevent Accidents With Safety (PAWS) Award
Bella Haberski
The Prevent Accidents with Safety (PAWS) Undergraduate Lab Safety Program is a comprehensive safety program requiring training, constant vigilance, and incident reporting and documentation systems— all with an eye toward critical review and continuous improvement. The Prevent Accidents with Safety (PAWS) program provides a framework to develop the necessary safety culture within the student community. The key to the PAWS program is that the students in the Unit Operations Laboratory bear the responsibility for personal health and safety and for the safety of those around them. Specific safety-related responsibilities are assigned to the students in addition to their course responsibilities. The student-owned portion of the PAWS program is built around a safety committee and a communications and documentation system.
Dow Chemical Marriot W. Bredekamp Award
Joshua Bilkey, Michael Schumacher, and Dianna Westrick
This award recognizes outstanding technical skills in the laboratory, outstanding teamwork and professionalism, effective oral and written communication, and strong adherence to process safety practices as recognized by your peers and supported by the faculty of the department. This award is in memory of Dr. Marriott W. Bredekamp.
Senior Design Team Awards
Dr. John Patton, as Chair and faculty member, initiated much of the content of today’s design courses in the ChE Department. He brought his experiences at Exxon to the classroom to provide students with a systematic way to design and analyze a new large-scale capital project. This award recognizes the student team in CM4861 that created the best plant design and recommendation for Fictitious Chemical Company. The three finalist teams for the Patton Award are:
Winner (John T. Patton Award for $1000): Team Bernoulli
Alicia Ball, Mykenzie Garza, Jessie McInnis, and Morgan Ottman for “Biomass to Transportation Fuels by the Fischer-Tropsch Process”
Runner-up ($600): Team Cupreous
AJ Alexa, Nate Liebhauser, Jeremy Lien, and Zachary Olson for “Vinyl Chloride Production by the Direct Chlorination of Ethylene”
Third Place ($400): Team Fenske
Clayton Lynn, Devon Price, John Sullens, and John Ylitalo for “Ibuprofen Production by the BHC Company Process”
Davis W. Hubbard Outstanding Rising Senior Award
Sheridan Waldack
Dr. Davis W. Hubbard was a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering for many years. He was committed to engineering education and inspired a generation of students to excel through hard work and perseverance. The eligible candidate for this award has completed all their junior-level core chemical engineering courses. The selection of the award is based on (i) grade point average for the course work done at Michigan Technological University, (ii) research engagement, and (iii) internship/co-op work experience. The award consists of a certificate and monetary award in the amount of $1000.
Student Organization Leadership Awards
AIChE
Stephanie Manthei
CMLC
Gabrielle Feber
CPM
Brooke Bates
OXE
Nathan Schaar
SAB
Devon Price
AEE
Jessie Lyons
AIChE Awards
Teacher of the Year Award
Jeanna Collins
Research Mentor of the Year Award
David Shonnard
Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Award
John Szczap
Undergraduate Grader of the Year
Riley Smith
Staff Making a Difference Award
Katie Torrey
Peer Mentor and Coach of the Year
Tie: Quinn Miller and Riley Andersen
Inductees
On April 6, 2022, the Department of Chemical Engineering hosted its Order of the Engineer induction ceremony. The ceremony welcomed 28 new members to the order.
Austin Alexa
Alicia Ball
Lydia Bell
Joshua M. Bilkey
Autumn Cole
Elisha Coleman
Tarot M. Denger
Sarah Foyer
Brady T. Good
Andrew Gryspeerd
Rachael Haslam
Sarah Kempin
Paul Langsford
Jeremy Lien
Audrey Lyons
Stephanie Manthei
Emerald Mehler
Morgan Miller
Kira Millhausen
Zachary Olson
Morgan Ottman
Zachary D. Peil
Abigail Pula
Rebecca Rivera
Michael Schumacher
Jonathan Sullens
Rebecca Williams
John Lawrence Ylitalo
Keynote Speaker Audra Thurston
Audra Thurston graduated from Michigan Tech in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. After graduation, she started as a process engineer at Calumet Electronics Corporation, a printed circuit board engineering and manufacturing facility located in Calumet, Michigan. In 2019, she represented IPC, the global trade association for electronics, at the White House as part of the President’s Pledge to American Workers. In 2021, she transitioned from process engineering to Calumet Electronics’ first R&D team. That same year, she won IPC’s Rising Star Award. Outside of work, she is a board member of Keweenaw Young Professionals.
About The Order
The Order of the Engineer was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer. Learn more about the Order of the Engineer.
History
The first ceremony was held on June 4, 1970 at Cleveland State University. Since then, similar ceremonies have been held across the United States at which graduate and registered engineers are invited to accept the Obligation of the Engineer and a stainless steel ring. The ceremonies are conducted by Links (local sections) of the Order. Learn more about the history of the Order of the Engineer.