| PIRE Grant Allows UNM Researchers to Study the Chemistry of Biomass | |
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Abhaya Datye, director, Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, is leading an international team of researchers and students studying large-scale chemical catalysis of biomass materials into fuels, chemicals and materials. This is the first year of a $2.5 million, five-year Partnership for International Research and Education Grant (PIRE) funded by the National Science Foundation to foster new international research partnerships and provide international education opportunities for students. |
| UNM is the lead institution for the grant, which includes the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, University of Virginia, Technical University of Denmark, the Fritz Haber Institute and the Institute for Colloids and Surfaces of the Max Planck Society in Germany, and Haldor Topsoe A/S, Denmark, a large Danish catalyst company. Two projects will focus on hydroxymethylfurfal (HMF), a compound formed during the selective catalytic conversion of sugars. A third project is conversion of biomass into materials, providing an opportunity to reverse negative environmental effects of burning fossil fuels. | |
| SOE Faculty Promoted to Distinguished Professor | |
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C. Jeffrey Brinker, professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, joined the UNM faculty in 1999, but his impact on UNM students and the department goes back to the inception of the Center for Microengineered Materials, around 1987. |
| He helped develop the Nanoscience and Microsystems degree program at UNM. Brinker has brought in more than $7.9 million in extramural funding to UNM where he was listed as principal or co-principal investigator. He has received some of the highest honors in the materials research field and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Brinker is internationally acclaimed for his book on Sol-Gel Synthesis and for his many publications on materials synthesis. | |
| 2008 School of Engineering Annual Awards | |
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The School of Engineering recognized 24 outstanding faculty, students, and staff at the 2008 Annual Awards on May 2. Faculty received awards for teaching and research at junior and senior levels. Assistant Professor Plamen |
| Atanassov, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering received a Senior Faculty Research Excellence award. | |