A View From the Corner Chair

We recently enjoyed a great Chemical Engineering Alumni dinner program. Some 90 people attended the dinner, and we had a great time. Among the highlights of the evening was Bruce Hamaker's acceptance of the first annual L. Douglas Smoot Outstanding Alumnus Award (see the special highlight in this newsletter). In his acceptance, Bruce spun a tale about how he and a fellow student once played racquetball against Dr. Doug Smoot, while Dr. Smoot was on crutches and recovering from a broken leg. According to Bruce, Doug beat them 21-3. While the audience rolled with laughter, Bruce asked Doug (who was sitting only a few feet away) if the story wasn't true. With a straight face, Doug said, "It's false!" and after a well-placed pause he added, "It was 21-2." While the evening was a great deal of fun, it was also inspiring as Prof. Noel Reynolds shared some exciting developments from the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (F.A.R.M.S.).

Besides enjoying the festivities, a number of our alumni walked through the renovated Eyring Science Center and the new Cougareat in the remodeled Wilkinson Center. Next year, the library addition will be completed, and there will be even more new things to see. We are already thinking about next year's program, so start making your plans for Homecoming 1999.

A new wind is beginning to blow in education, and it will impact BYU, our department, and the Church in general. The message came to me strongly in a recent one-two punch. My wife and I recently enjoyed 10 days in Rio de Janeiro, combining a vacation with the International Conference on Engineering Education, where I presented a paper on our introductory course for first-year students. While there, we visited President Beck of the Rio de Janeiro North Mission. He shared with us the concern and sadness he feels as he watches bright and disciplined Brazilian missionaries return to their homes without the hope of ever attending a university. He asked if BYU could do something to provide educational opportunities to these young people through the Internet, perhaps through the computers located at LDS chapels. Because of Pres. Beck's pleadings, I attended all of the meetings that week that dealt with "distance learning" to learn more about the rapid progress being made in that area. But two weeks later, my greatest encouragement came from a remarkable talk given by BYU President Merrill Bateman at our university conference. The following are some brief excerpts from his talk (The full text can be obtained from the BYU web site in the "1997-98 Archives" under "Speeches.").

"…the educational status of Church members across the world will improve over time because of the impact of Church teachings on each individual. Revealed truths regarding the importance of education combined with prophets emphasizing the same, raise expectations among faithful members and increase their efforts to improve themselves. In other words, revealed truth increases the demand for education. Brigham Young University has been, is, and will continue to be in the center of this educational revolution.

"…During the past year approximately 20 university courses have been converted to the Internet. Plans call for 50 courses on the Internet by the end of 1998, with 300 or more courses available electronically within the next five years. The new Internet courses are enriched well beyond their paper predecessors. A student anywhere in the world may enroll in a course by accessing BYU's main Web site. Payment for the course may be done over the Internet, and a password is given that allows access to the course. Eventually all of the materials will come over the Internet.

"…I also foresee the day when BYU Web programs will prepare LDS students in foreign lands to enter universities and/or find employment. Retired professors and their wives will be called on missions to serve as tutors in foreign countries to help young adults complete BYU Web courses and prepare for entrance exams. If our reputation is strong enough, LDS students living outside the U.S. will complete a university degree by taking a combination of BYU courses over the Internet and completing courses at the local university. Currently, pilot projects in Monterrey, Mexico, and Sao Paulo, Brazil are laying the foundation for these possibilities."

In the Chemical Engineering Department, we are beginning to explore the possibility of putting at least 3 courses on the Internet. This will require immense investments of time and resources, but some of those resources are now becoming available. These first courses will be lower-division courses and will initially benefit the students that transfer to BYU from such schools as Ricks College and other 2-year programs, as well as 4-year schools that don't have a chemical engineering program. We hope these courses will eventually help "LDS students in foreign lands to enter universities and/or find employment." These are exciting times: we look forward to sharing them with you

--Ken Solen

Dr. Thomas H. Fletcheris currently teaching the combustion modeling course (ChE 641), and is the graduate coordinator and chair of the alumni committee, which keeps him busy, in addition to being the Director of ACERC. Dr. Fletcher currently has four graduate students, with one M.S. student expected to finish at the end of the year. Dr. Fletcher's research is currently focused on the release of nitrogen species from solid hydrocarbons (coal). The research has recently resulted in a model of nitrogen release that can be directly linked to the chemical structure of the parent material. Dr. Fletcher and his wife have five children ranging from 15 to 3, with one in high school, two in junior high, one in kindergarten, and one in pre-school.
 

Dr. William G. Pitt is teaching Fluid Mechanics again this fall, and thoroughly enjoying it. He is also staying very busy with his research in the use of ultrasound to enhance drug delivery. He and his students have found that they can eliminate viable bacteria from contaminated polymeric devices in vitro. The next step is to see if this can also be done in an animal, and then in people.
 

Dr. L. Douglas Smoot is teaching a Book of Mormon class (B/M 121H) to 45 freshman honors students. These students are enrolled in the Freshman Academy program, which seeks to help students adjust to campus life at our large, comprehensive university. He has wondered about how he can learn so much about things he thought he already knew. In addition, he teaches undergraduate and honors classes in energy, fossil fuels, and combustion, and a graduate class in combustion. He serves on three boards for Provo City; continues to advise research students; and does research, consulting, and writing on fossil fuels combustion topics. Dr. Smoot is also a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy and serves as an Area Authority in his Utah South Area.
 

Dr. Kenneth A. Solencontinues to focus on student learning. After a vigorous summer co-authoring the 3^rd edition of the introductory freshman book with John Harb, he presented a paper about the course and the book at the International Conference on Engineering Education in Rio de Janeiro. He is currently teaching that course, along with a course on semiconductor fabrication. Dr. Solen's research has reached a particularly productive point, as several projects have "matured," that is, the equipment and models have finally started to work. He and his students have recently demonstrated the potential of a newly approved drug to prevent the serious risks of thrombosis and embolism during the use of blood-contacting artificial organs. They have also developed an experimental model to study cold-induced platelet aggregation (a problem encountered during hypothermic open-heart surgery).
 

Dr. Ronald E. Terry began a year-long leave this fall. He is with the Novations Group part-time during his leave. Novations is a local consulting firm that, among other things, conducts career development workshops for professionals in industry. Dr Terry is developing several academic products for Novations centered on this career development workshop. These products include a faculty development workshop and a module for undergraduate engineering programs that will help students take more ownership of their careers.
 

Dr. Calvin H. Bartholomewis having fun teaching Materials Science and Creativity again this Fall. He continues to direct 8 students on 4 different projects relating to catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (conversion of natural gas to middle distillates) and catalytic methane formation in coal formations (joint with Professor Milton Lee of Chemistry). In late September he presented two invited lectures in Italy, one at a workshop on methane conversion and another at Eni Research. During mid-October he presented a 3-day short course on Catalyst Deactivation to 10 Exxon professionals in Baytown, Texas and a Tutorial on Cobalt Catalyst Design to professionals at Mobil in Dallas. This summer he enjoyed fishing and swimming with his grandkids.
 

Dr. W. Vincent Wildingis teaching two classes this semester--Graduate Thermodynamics and Environmental Engineering for Chemical Engineers. The environmental class is being taught for the second time and includes the topics of environmental legislation, toxicology, process design for pollution prevention and waste minimization, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, and remediation. There are 26 students in the class, including junior, seniors, and graduate students.

The DIPPR 801 project, which is a joint project with Drs. Rowley and Oscarson, is progressing well. The project is housed in rooms 394 & 396 of the Clyde building, which the university remodeled and furnished for the project. In addition to the three faculty members, there are two full-time staff, two graduate students and eleven undergraduate students working on the project. Dr. Wilding is also working on experimental phase equilibrium measurements.
 

Dr. Richard L. Rowleyis teaching both the statistical mechanics and separations courses this semester, and finds it a challenge to keep up with the students and his research. He is looking forward to teaching lower-division students next semester (material & energy balances) after being away from it for a couple of years. Work on the DIPPR database project is "fun" and progressing as well. The database is now in a convenient web-based form, and is available to companies as well as to educational institutions. His service on an AIChE - CAChE molecular modeling task force deals with teaching simulations in engineering, and has led to two NSF contracts shared with educators from other schools. The first of these projects is a web-based textbook on molecular simulations; the second is a national project to develop teaching modules that illustrate traditional chemical engineering concepts through molecular simulations. He is also working on a project sponsored by Neste Oil Company on molecular dynamics simulations that can be used to develop synthetic lubricants. Neste Oil is a Finnish company, and Dr. Rowley's ties with them were strengthened through his sabbatical last winter in Joensuu. "The sabbatical was great! We made a lot of new friends, I learned how to do ab initio calculations of forces between molecules, and we had some wonderful experiences as a family." On a more personal note, one of his sons just returned from a mission to Japan, so he now only has three sons currently serving missions.

When Dr. Tom Fletcher, the Selection Committee Chairman, told Bruce Hamaker he had been chosen as Chemical Engineering Alumnus of the Year, his reaction was, "This is such a great honor, but are you sure you called the right person?" Fletcher assured him there was no mistake, and Hamaker replied, "I'm shocked, surprised, and very humbled to think that I would even be considered for such a recognition."

Hamaker graduated from BYU in the middle of 1974, with a masters degree in chemical engineering. Initially, he went to work for Exxon Co., USA at their giant 450,000-barrel-per-day Baytown, Texas Refinery as a process engineer. For the next three years, Hamaker worked as a process engineer, refining engineer, and finally as a senior engineer before being promoted to his first supervisory position. Since then, he has taken a variety of supervisory responsibilities. He supervised plant process engineering support for two years, supervised plant computer applications and process control for two years, supervised Refinery Operations for three years, and supervised refinery economics/coordination and planning for two years. Hamaker then accepted a three year assignment to Exxon Co., USA Headquarters in Houston, Texas, in Long Range Planning and Business Analysis. Remaining at Headquarters, Hamaker accepted a loan assignment to the Marketing Department to coordinate the U. S. Distillate Fuels Marketing for two years. For the past seven years, Hamaker has been on the commercial side of Exxon's downstream business. He was the lead negotiator for Exxon USA's long-term commercial contracts for two years and then moved into spot commercial trading.

Currently, Hamaker trades feedstocks and products for Exxon Co., USA. "There's never a dull moment in a job like the one I hold now," says Hamaker. "With constantly changing international economic and political situations, you can imagine how critical it is to react quickly and decisively in the oil trading business. While my current responsibilities may seem far afield from my BYU chemical engineering background, I assure you that is not true. The way I was taught to analyze, think and work in chemical engineering is fundamental to the skills I use everyday."

In addition to his normal work assignments, for the last twenty years, Hamaker has recruited at BYU on the behalf of Exxon Corporation. During that time, Exxon has hired hundreds of top engineers from BYU. "I'm always proud of the BYU engineers that I help Exxon hire," says Hamaker. "They are a tribute to the philosophy of the University to develop the 'whole person', as well as a tribute to the BYU engineering faculty."

Since hiring on with Exxon, Hamaker has been a permanent resident of the Houston suburb of Baytown, Texas. Hamaker is married to Janie Hamaker, an LSU graduate and a native Baytownian. They have five sons and one daughter, ranging in age from 23 to 9. Currently, two of his returned missionary sons are at BYU, majoring in chemical engineering. Two more sons are currently serving full-time missions in Spain.

Active in both church and civic affairs, Hamaker has served as a bishop, three times on the Stake High Council, in two stake presidencies, and for the past nine years, has served as first counselor to three full-time mission presidents. As a returned missionary from Bolivia, Hamaker became heavily involved in the development of the Church among the Spanish people in the Houston area, from the establishment of the area's first all-Spanish Ward to the current all-Spanish Stake. Hamaker has also served on several local school board committees, including the steering committee for the school district's Gifted and Talented Education program and the high school mathematics textbook review committee. All "spare" time is devoted to helping coach community youth baseball, basketball, and soccer and to generally supporting his family.