Engineering Faculty Win Awards and Honors

We are pleased to announce that chemical engineering alumni Antonios Armaou (PhD, 2001) and Nael El-Farra (PhD 2004) have received NSF CAREER awards in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Both were advised by Professor Panagiotis D. Christofides.

Professor James Liao's research on Systems Biology for identifying E. coli response network to nitric oxide was featured in Chemical & Engineering News, Aug. 20, 2007, Page 57. This work was published earlier this year (Hyduke et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2007, 8484-8489.)

The Second Annual Biotech Training Symposium, part of the NIH program at UCLA, was held from 9 am to 5 pm in the Boelter Hall penthouse, June 15.

The UCLA Engineering Technology Forum May 3, 2007 at DeNeve Commons highlighted the progress and research of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis presented a talk, "Hydrogen for Transportation: Why and How" at the UCLA Engineering Technology Forum May 3, 2007.

Dr. Yoram Cohen is a keynote Speaker at the 233rd ACS National Spring Meeting in Chicago at the Division of Sustainability of Energy, Food, and Water Session on "Advanced Membrane Technology for Water Reuse".  He will speak on ""High recovery membrane RO desalination of brackish water: Opportunities and limitations" (March 27, 2007).

UC President's Annual Report highlights the importance the UCLA Water Technology Research Center to California's future.

Professor James Liao received the Merck Award for Metabolic Engineering on Oct 4, 2006 at the Metabolic Engineering VI conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This award recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of Metabolic Engineering every other year.

Professor James Liao received the 2006 Food Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award of AIChE for his seminal contribution to Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology.

Assistant Professor Yi Tang Received the 2006 National Science Foundation CAREER award for Bioengineering of Secondary Metabolic Pathways.

Professor James Liao received the 2006 W.N. Lacey Lectureship in Chemical Engineering from California Institute of Technology.

Professor Jane Chang received the 2005 American Vacuum Society Peter Mark Award, which was recognizes the outstanding theoretical or experimental work by a young scientist or engineer 35 years of age or less.

Professor Panagiotis Christofides received 2004 Donald P. Eckman Award from American Automatic Control Council, and gave a plenary lecture at the 2005 American Control Conference.

Professor Yoram Cohen received the 2003 Lawrence K. Cecil Award from the Environmental Division of AIChE for his outstanding chemical engineering contribution in the preservation or improvement of the environment.

The department has received a new NIH biotechnology training grant, led by Prof. Monbouquette, for pre-doctoral students to obtain interdisciplinary education in biomolecular engineering. The department also received four additional NIH grants totaling more than $5 million. Professors James Liao and Hal Monbouquette are the PIs.

A team of chemical engineers lead by Professor and Chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis are studying the next generation of cutting-edge vehicles that could make for a cleaner environment – hydrogen fuel cell cars. UCLA is one of the first educational institutions to provide students with hands-on experience with fuel cell vehicles.

The UCLA Water Technology Research Center, dubbed the WaTeR Center, is led by chemical engineering professor and desalination expert Yoram Cohen. Center researchers will develop technologies to turn brackish or seawater into fresh water, and devise methods to minimize the environmental impacts associated with desalination

Chemical engineering professor Yoram Cohen has been elected as Vice-Chair of the AIChE Separations Division.  He also has been invited to be keynote speaker on High Recovery RO Desalination of Brackish Water at the 4th Eastern Mediterranean Chemical Engineering Conference to be held in January 2006 in Israel. Professor Cohen is part of an NSF-invited U.S. delegation to the conference.

Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Chemical Engineering Sheldon Friedlander delivered the keynote address on Aerosol Science and Technology: An Enabling Discipline at the meeting of the Asian Aerosol Conference in Bombay, India, in December.  Friedlander also gave the lead talk on Modern Developments in Nanoparticle Aerosol Science and Technology at a workshop preceding the conference and held at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay.  The workshop was attended by IIT students and faculty and the Secretary of the Indian Department of Science and Technology.  Participation by U.S. scientists was supported in part by the U.S. National Research Council.

Chemical engineering and materials science professor Nael El-Farra and chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Panagiotis Christofides have recently published a new book entitled Control of Nonlinear and Hybrid Process Systems that presents general, practical methods for the synthesis of nonlinear feedback control systems for chemical processes described by nonlinear and hybrid systems. (SEAS E-Bulletin, Nov. 2005)

Chemical Engineering Professor Gives Keynote Address
Chemical engineering professor Yoram Cohen was an invited international keynote speaker at the Australian Water Association’s Membranes and Desalination Conference in Adelaide, speaking on “High Recovery Membrane Desalination and Concentrate Issues in California.” (SEAS News)

Professor Jane Chang has been named the recipient of the 2005 American Vacuum Society (AVS) Peter Mark Award, which recognizes outstanding theoretical or experimental work by a young scientist or engineer. Honored for her pioneering work in the synthesis, proocessing and characterization of novel materials for applications in microelectronics and optoelectronics, Chang received an honoray lectureship at the 2005 AVS meeting in Boston (UCLA Today, Oct. 25, 2005).

Exploring Water Independence for California
As part of the School’s ongoing celebration of its 60th Anniversary, chemical engineering professor and director of the UCLA WaTeR Center Yoram Cohen shared his insights on reverse osmosis desalination and future water independence for California. For more information, click here. (SEAS News)

Water Center Launched, article. (UCLA Engineering Magazine Fall 2005)

Chemical Engineering Graduate Fulfills UCLA Dream (UCLA Engineering Magazine Fall 2005)

Lutz Mädler, currently a visiting researcher and lecturer in chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2005 Smoluchowski Award in aerosol science. Mäedler received the prestigious award in recognition of his research in aerosol reaction engineering which includes the synthesis of flame made quantum dots, nanoparticles for catalysts and dental fillings and nanostructured films for gas sensors, a field in which he is currently working at UCLA. The Smoluchowski Award, named after the physicist Marian Smoluchowski (1872-1917), is given to a young researcher (under 40 years of age) who has achieved and published new results in aerosol science, which deals with the formation and behavior of small particles in gases (SEAS E-Bulletin, Sept. 2005).

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Donated to School of Engineering by DaimlerChrysler
A team of chemical engineers is studying the next generation of cutting-edge vehicles that could make for a cleaner environment – hydrogen fuel cell cars. With two brand new F-Cell vehicles donated to the School this month from DaimlerChrysler, researchers, led by chemical and biomolecular engineering chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis and professor William Van Vorst, will be taking an even closer look at this zero-emission technology by gathering data on the active daily use of the vehicles. UCLA is one of the first educational institutions to provide students with hands-on experience with fuel cell vehicles. For more information, click here. (SEAS E-Bulletin, August 2005)

Water and Wastewater (FL)
UCLA Forms Water Technology Research Center
UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has formed a new Water Technology Research Center that will develop technologies to turn brackish or seawater into fresh water. (SEAS E-Bulletin, August 2005)

Water Technology Research Center: Desalinization
UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has formed a new Water Technology Research Center that will develop technologies to turn brackish or seawater into fresh water. The UCLA Water Technology Research Center, dubbed the WaTeR Center, will be led by chemical engineering professor and desalination expert Yoram Cohen, and will be the first such center on the West Coast. The WaTeR Center will focus on specific water technology issues, enlisting multidisciplinary project teams involving researchers from a number of academic institutions. For more information, click here. (SEAS E-Bulletin, July 2005)

World Future Society Looks at the Water Technology Research Center (July, 2005)

Chemical engineering professor Yoram Cohen has been elected to the Board of Directors of the North American Membrane Society (NAMS), for a three-year term beginning this month. Cohen is a long time active NAMS member. To read more about Cohen, click here. (SEAS E-Bulletin, June 2005)

The Daily Bruin
Engineering a Fuel Alternative
UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is not a foreign player in the search for alternative fuel sources. For the past 30 years, it has conducted in-depth research regarding hydrogen fuel. With the prices of gasoline on the rise and the knowledge that fossil fuel sources cannot be replenished, companies such as Daimler Chrysler are taking note and designing and manufacturing "hybrid vehicles" that combine the traditional use of fossil fuel as a source of energy with more environmentally friendly methods. Interview with Professor and Chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis. Click here to read more. (SEAS E-Bulletin, May 2005)

April 15, 2005
Lawrence B. Robinson, UCLA Chemical Engineering Professor, Dies at 85 (SEAS News Archives)

April 8, 2005
Demonstrations Showcase the Value of Engineering During E-Week, April 11-15 (SEAS News Archives)

April 1, 2005
School Ranks Among Top 15 Engineering Schools in U.S. News and World Report (SEAS News Archives)

UCLA Must Pave Way for Alternative Fuel Vehicles
An article on alternative fuel vehicles in the Daily Bruin included chemical engineering chair Vasilios Manousiouthakis’s efforts to have a hydrogen fueling station built at UCLA.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=31392 (SEAS E-Bulletin, Feb. 2005)

UCLA Partners on Hydrogen Fueling Station (UCLA Engineering Magazine, Fall 2004)

Workshop on Nanoparticle Aerosols

On June 27-28, 2003, a Workshop was held at UCLA on "Emerging Issues in Nanoparticle Aerosol Science and Technology". The Workshop was sponsored by NSF and the Southern California Particle Center (EPA supported) and was co-chaired by Sheldon K. Friedlander and David Y. H. Pui. The 119 page Workshop report which includes research recommendations is available through the following link:
Workshop Report (PDF).