Bio
John Harb completed his Ph.D. in Electrochemical Engineering under the
direction of Professor Richard C. Alkire in 1988. He joined the chemical
engineering faculty at Brigham Young University immediately after
finishing his degree, and has been at BYU ever since. During his first
decade as a faculty member, he studied and modeled the behavior of
inorganic matter in coal as part of a large combustion research center
at BYU. He came to his senses in 1997 and used a sabbatical leave to
return to his first love, electrochemical engineering. During that leave
he worked at a small battery company where he did battery modeling for
hybrid vehicle applications as part of a DOE program involving GM,
Optima Batteries and NREL, among others. Returning to the university a
year later, he began work on microfabricated batteries. Since that time
he has directed projects in a number of different areas ranging from
biotemplated nanofabrication to 3D-modeling of electrochemical systems.
He has repeatedly assembled multidisciplinary groups to address
important problems at a level and scope not possible within a single
discipline. Multidisciplinary projects have included Multidisciplinary
MIcrosystem Design and Integration (NSF “XYZ On a Chip”), Nanomaterials
for Micro and Nano Power Applications (NASA), an implanted neural probe
project (NIH), DNA-templated nanoelectronics (NSF NIRT and SRC),
carbon-templated nanotube battery electrodes (NSF), and a biofuel cell
project (NSF). In addition to current work on the last three of these
projects, he also has industrially funded projects to examine and model
Mg corrosion, and to investigate and model electrophoretic coating for
corrosion protection.
Professor Harb is also deeply committed to engineering education. His efforts in this area have included a textbook for first-year students in chemical engineering (Wiley), a monograph on learning styles and engineering instruction, and the development of courses in electrochemical engineering, semiconductor processing and leadership. He and Tom Fuller will soon complete an electrochemical engineering textbook (Wiley) that includes both fundamentals and applications (EDLCs, batteries, electrodeposition, semiconductors, etc.). Dr. Harb currently holds the J. J. Christensen Professorship in Chemical Engineering at BYU. His administrative experience includes seven years as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology at BYU.
As for his personal life, Professor Harb was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a convert at age 11, and has been an active member ever since. He is a descendent of Christian Arabs, and enjoys doing genealogy in his spare time. He also enjoys reading, fishing, collecting old books, and "hanging with his family." He served a two-year mission for his church in Guadalajara, Mexico at age 19, and returned home to marry his Sweetheart, Ruth, who waited for him while he served. He and Ruth are the proud parents of 6 wonderful children and the proud grandparents of 6 adorable grandchildren.
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