Gordon A. & Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering Announcements

March 25, 2008

Research Summer Stipend Grant Recipients

The Gordon A. & Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) congratulates Assistant Professors James Henry and Francisco Hung for being named Council on Research Summer Stipend Grant Recipients for 2008. The Council on Research (CoR) Summer Stipend Program provides financial support to junior researchers at the rank of assistant professor seeking to contribute to scholarly knowledge in their discipline, enabling them to spend a portion of the summer term in research activity without the disruption of other employment obligations. Each proposal is evaluated for the impact the project will have on the indicated discipline, broader impacts, and the effect on the researcher’s career.

Scholarship Winner

Joel E. LeDay, a first-year student in the ChE undergraduate program is a ChE recipient of a 2007-2008 academic year scholarship from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholars Program. The scholarship provides a monetary award as well as both academic and industrial mentors to assist in academics as students strive to meet their educational and professional goals. LeDay’s academic mentor at LSU will be Associate Professor Karsten Thompson.   This scholarship program is designed to encourage African-American, Hispanic, and American Indian students with strong academic records to pursue undergraduate college degrees in the chemical sciences and chemical technology.  

Alumnus Sakhalin Finnie Receives National Award

ChE congratulates alumnus, Sakhalin Finnie (BS 1991), a 2007 recipient of a Milken National Educator Award. Finnie teaches at the Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington, California.  The Milken National Educator Award is funded by the Milken Family Foundation, established by Lowell and Michael Milken in 1982.  Its mission is to discover and advance inventive and effective ways of helping people help themselves and those around them lead productive and satisfying lives. The Milken National Educator Award provides public recognition and an unrestricted financial award of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, and other education professionals who are furthering excellence in education. The recipients are chosen by an independent blue-ribbon committee established by each state’s Department Of Education. Criteria for selection include: exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school; exemplary educational accomplishments beyond the classroom that promote excellence for the profession; strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership; and, engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and the community.

Al and Maria Lopez make Major Gift to ChE Building Campaign

The department would like to thank alumnus Al Lopez (BS 1963, MS 1965, PhD 1968) and his wife, Maria for their most recent donation to the department, through the FOREVER LSU campaign. Their gift was made to the Chemical Engineering New Building fund and will assist the department greatly in meeting its goals for securing funding for a new facility. We are deeply grateful for their generosity and their continued support of the department.

Article by Melanie McCandless, College of Engineering, 225-578-3242, mmonce@lsu.edu

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