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ASTM presented the 2009 Charles Dudley Medal and Award to Dr. Alan T. Riga, an adjunct professor in our department. The Dudley Award commemorates ASTM's first president, honors research that leads to standardization and extends knowledge in a field of interest to the Society and recognizes meritorious contributions to Society publications. Dr. Riga received the award for his work as editor of the ASTM Publication "STP 1326, Oxidative Behavior of Materials by Thermal Analytical Techniques, 1997," as well as being the co-author of two papers with the STP on the Statistical Development of the standard test methods E1858 and E2009, Oxidation Induction Time (OIT) and Oxidation Onset Temperature (OOT) by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, respectively.
We are pleased to announce that Prof. David Schiraldi has been appointed the new Chair of our department, succeeding Prof. Gary Wnek effective July 1st. ( Gary will continue to focus on his work in and out of the classroom, particularly with the TIME program as its faculty director.)
Dave has conducted extensive research on polymer synthesis and structure-property relationships, condensation polymers, and polymer nanocomposites. He recently created a company, AeroClay, based on his lab discoveries and has had an extensive career in industry before coming to Case in 2002. We would also like to thank Gary for his outstanding service as Chair. He has done a fabulous job during his almost three-year tenure. We wish him great success in his continued efforts on behalf of the TIME program.
Prof. David Schiraldi received the 2008 John S. Diekhoff Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentoring. This annual award is given to two faculty members that have made exemplary contributions to graduate students through advising and mentoring. Its purpose is to honor John S. Diekhoff, who served CWRU and WRU from 1956-70 as professor and chairman of English, dean of Cleveland College, acting dean of the graduate school, and vice provost. The award is presented annually to faculty members who have made exemplary contributions to the education and development of graduate students at Case Western Reserve University through work in the classroom, as an advisor, and as a mentor. Part of the prestige of this award is that the process by which winners are selected is run entirely by graduate students. The award consists of a plaque and honorarium that will be presented at the University's annual commencement convocation.
Professor Christoph Weder, has been named the F. Alex Nason II Professor of Engineering. Weder was part of the research group whose work on nanocomposites based on the mechanical properties of a sea cucumber was featured in Science and Nature Nanotechnology last year. A member of the Case faculty since 2001, he established the Functional Polymer Laboratory. He has also co-authored over 100 scientific papers and book chapters and is co-inventor of about 10 patents.
Professor and Chair Gary Wnek, presented a plenary lecture on June 18 at the International Symposium on Polymer Chemistry 2008 in Hefei, China, entitled "2-D Microfluidics, Multifunctional Microfibers and Some Thoughts on Innovation and Entrepreneurship."
Akshay Kamdar, a graduate student in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, was selected as the Winner of the ANTEC EPSDIV (Engineering Properties and Structure Division) Best Paper Award for his paper, “Adhesion of styrenic block copolymers to polyolefins" (co-authored also with Profs. E. Baer and A. Hiltner, P. Dias, Y.J. Lin, B.C. Poon, and P. Ansems). Akshay and his co-authors will be recognized at a reception during ANTEC 2009 in Chicago. Akshay also received an Honorable Mention for his poster at Research ShowCASE.
Prof. David Schiraldi received the Case School of Engineering Undergraduate Research Award for 2008. He also received this award in 2006, along with the 2006
Research Award and the 2005 CWRU Outstanding Teacher Award from the students.
In partnership with the Office of the Dean in the Case School of Engineering (CSE), the Office of Faculty Development has been created to provide resources and initiate activities designed to enhance an ongoing sense of scholarly community and to support the faculty in their continuing quest for excellence in research, teaching, outreach, and leadership. Specifically, it will assist with building a sense of community, fostering faculty development, improving policy and procedures and facilitating communications. Among its planned initiatives are formal mentoring programs for young and mid-career faculty, training sessions for promotions and tenure committee members, CSE town hall meetings, to name a few. The Office will be led by the new Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Prof. Ica Manas-Zloczower, who developed the proposal for this initiative.
Kelly Burke, a graduate student in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, was selected as the Winner of the 2007 ICI Student Award in Applied Polymer Science for her paper, “Liquid Crystalline Co-Elastomers Displaying One Way Shear Shape Memory." Kelly was selected as one of six finalists based on her preprint and was chosen as the winner based on a 30 minute oral presentation given at the Fall 2007 ACS Meeting in Boston, MA.
The ICI Student Award in Applied Polymer Science is sponsored by ICI and administered through the Joint Polymer Education Committee of the ACS Divisions of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) and Polymer Chemistry (POLY). The Award is given annually for the best paper presented at the ICI Award Symposium as part of the PMSE program at the Fall ACS Meeting to graduate students either currently in graduate school or not more than one year beyond graduation.
The ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry's Membership Committee is sponsoring a program to provide funding for polymer graduate students to travel to the Spring 2008 National ACS meeting in New Orleans, LA to present the results of their research. Out of the many candidates who applied for this competitive award, Joseph Lott, a student of Prof. Christoph Weder, was chosen to be one of the two 2008 POLY Industrial Sponsors' Graduate Student Travel Award Winners!
On Tuesday, April 8, 2008, in conjunction with the 235th American Chemical Society national meeting in New Orleans, Prof. Anne Hiltner will receive the ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science sponsored by Eastman Chemical at the Awards Ceremony.
Prof. Gary Wnek has been chosen as the recipient for the 2007 SPE John W. Hyatt Award (Benefit to Society). Prof. Wnek was officially recognized during the Society of Plastic Engineers' 65th Annual Technical Conference (ANTEC 2007) in Cincinnati, OH on May 6, 2007.
Dr. Jack Koenig will receive the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Nebraska. Dr. Koenig received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1960 from the University of Nebraska. He received the award on May 4, 2007 at an Alumni banquet in Lincoln, NE. He is being recognized for his many contributions in polymer research and education.
On behalf of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the Office of Government and Community Relations at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) presented Prof. Anne Hiltner with a "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition." This certificate acknowledges her many academic and research accomplishments, including her appointment as the first female professor of engineering in CWRU's history and her leadership of the National Science Foundation's Center for Layered Polymeric Systems.
Graduate student Matt Gawryla was the recipient of the 2006-07 Graduate Dean's Award for Instructional Excellence. This award is available to graduate student assistants who demonstrate outstanding achievement in instruction through exceptional skill and dedication in their work.
Based on her plenary lecture “Fractal Analysis – A Tool for Microstructure Characterization in Polymer Processing” presented at the Polymer Processing Society meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, October 9-13, 2006, Prof. Ica Manas-Zloczower has been invited to write a synopsis of the talk for the upcoming issue of the Polymer Processing Society newsletter.
Professor Elena Dormidontova was recently named Climo Assistant Professor for the Case School of Engineering (CSE). This Chair was made possible by Ms. Helen E. Davis (Class of 1917) who established a $1 million trust fund, which grants an endowment to an Assistant/Associate Professor recommended by the CSE Dean.
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