Summer 2024
Dear alumni, friends and members of the UF ChE community,
I hope that this note finds you all well and in good spirits. I have several exciting things to share that have occurred since our last newsletter.
As you know, the University of Florida’s Department of Chemical Engineering has some of the best faculty in their fields and three of them were recently recognized. Kirk Zeigler, Ph.D., was honored for a second time by the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and the University of Florida for his transformative graduate mentorship. His thoughts and tips on supporting students are insightful and inspiring for anyone in a mentoring position. Long-time faculty member, Ranga Narayanan, Ph.D., was recognized as the 2023/2024 Teacher/Scholar of the Year by the college for his dedication to higher education and he explains that he has no intention of retiring any time soon. And, Mark Orazem, Ph.D. was recently named a lifetime fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his work in the field of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
In this newsletter we highlight research by Assistant Professor Whitney Stoppel, Ph.D. and her students on silk-producing insects and how we can utilize their silk for medical purposes. It’s a fascinating story, and we have video interviews with her on our YouTube Channel where she talks about her students and her research.
Our students continue to do great things and earn recognition from national organizations.
Caroline Lubbe, a first-year doctoral student, earned a prestigious 10-week summer internship with the National Science Foundation that begins this month. She is supervised by Sindia Rivera-Jimenez, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and an affiliated faculty member with Chemical Engineering. Additionally, Ph.D. student Victor Rivera-Llabres, participated in the NextProf Nexus conference in preparation for a future career in academia. He talks about how despite facing numerous, serious medical obstacles and a case of Imposter Syndrome, he prevailed and is due to graduate later in 2024.
Two ChE alumni, Ray Cocco, Ph.D., and Kevin Beuttner, Ph.D., were recognized at the Particle Technology Forum. Since leaving UF, they have had a significant impact on the field of chemical engineering.
Giving Day 2024 was our most successful ever, thanks to our generous alumni and supporters of the department. Originally, we hoped to generate $7,500 in donations but we wound up with nearly $15,000. These funds will support our student organizations and competition teams, like the AIChE student chapter and our many undergraduates who wish to present their research at the AIChE Annual Meeting. We appreciate everyone’s commitment to the success of our department and students.
Additionally, I want to shine a spotlight on faculty members Vincent Tocco, Ph.D., Dmitry Kopelevich, Ph.D., Spyros Svoronos, Ph.D., our new marketing and communications specialist, Ada Lang, and several of our impressive students, who put together and presented a series of online information sessions for prospective undergraduate students. They went above and beyond, and their efforts paid off. One parent of a new student commented that they were torn between UF ChE and another university, but our information sessions helped them decide that UF was where they want their future chemical engineer to be.
Finally, work on the Chemical Engineering Student Center is really moving along. The new slab was poured recently, and we expected remodeling to finish later this year. Keep your eyes open for news about our grand reopening this fall.
I hope you enjoy reading our e-newsletter, and I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at future events.
Warmest wishes,
Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D.
ChE Department Chair and Dean’s Leadership Professor
