Chemical Engineering News
by Arup Chakraborty, Chair

Enhancing our Strenghts

The campus community returned from the holidays, and it seemed that the spring semester was upon us in a flash. This year, the hustle and bustle of the beginning of the semester was particularly welcome as it prevented us from thinking too much about budgetary shortfalls and allowed us to focus attention on the pleasant tasks associated with undergraduate and graduate education.

Budget update
As you know, the state of California is in the midst of a period of large budget deficits, and the University is confronting associated challenges. The costs associated with research and teaching are increasingly derived from federal and private, rather than state, support. Fortunately, thus far, because of your support and the hard work of the faculty and staff, cuts in the state budget have not compromised the core elements that enable the teaching and research missions of the department.

Recuiting for a Distinguished Professorship
In the spirit of constant improvement, we are in the process of recruiting for a newly endowed Distinguished Professorship in the department. The Hubbard Howe Distinguished Professorship will allow us to attract a distinguished engineer in the field of biochemical engineering to join our faculty. We are very excited by this opportunity, as it will further enhance our already strong program in biological engineering.

Wilke Professorship
Many of you may remember Professor Charles Wilke as a distinguished researcher and a great teacher. Charlie also served as the founding Chair of the department, and our international prominence today derives largely from the directions that Charlie set for the department during its formative years. Thanks to some rather generous contributions from some of Charlie's
former colleagues, we have initiated a fund-raising drive to establish a Charles Wilke Professorship in Chemical Engineering. We believe that this is an appropriate way to mark Charlie's enormous contributions to the department. If you are interested in contributing, please contact Jane Scheiber at jane@cchem.berkeley.edu or 510/642-8782.

Course specialization considered
In response to the changes that occur in the field, the department continues to evolve its undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Constant effort and vigilance in this regard will allow us to serve the best interests of the students and prepare them in the best possible way for the challenges of a career in the twenty-first century. Currently, we are examining whether a more rigorous specialization in specific areas (e.g., biochemical engineering, microelectronics processing) is desirable. We would be most interested to hear your views on this issue. Please email me at ChemEngChair@cchem.berkeley.edu.

New Vice Chair
After two years of selfless service to the department, Professor Susan Muller has decided to step down from being Vice Chair of Graduate Studies. The graduate students and faculty greatly benefited from her fine work in this capacity, and we all owe her our gratitude. Effective July 1, Professor Roya Maboudian will take over Susan's responsibilities. Roya brings a lot of enthusiasm and is sure to do a fine job.

Faculty Awards
The chemical engineering faculty members continue to win awards and accolades for their excellence in research and teaching.

• Professor Jeffrey Reimer won the campus’ Distinguished Teaching Award. This is a rare honor reserved for the campus' most valued teachers. This is the fifth time in the department's history that a faculty member has received this coveted award and we are thrilled for his recognition. (Previous recipients from the department were Donald Hanson, David Lyon, Clay Radke and Mike Williams.)
• Prof. Clay Radke was awarded the ACS award in Colloid Chemistry at this spring's ACS meeting in New Orleans.
• Prof. Alex Bell will be the Burrell Lecturer in Catalysis, which will take Alex on a lecture tour to eight universities and national research facilities around the country.
• Prof. Jay Keasling is one of two co-primary investigators on the single largest research grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy from its Genomes to Life program.
  

Congratulations to graduates
We are looking forward to graduation ceremonies in May when another class of students will receive degrees and will join that very special group of professionals who are Berkeley alumni. Congratulations to all graduating students!

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