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Message from the Chair

Greetings. It has been another rewarding year here at the University of North Dakota. One of the most exciting events for the Chemical Engineering Department was the creation of the Ann and Norman Hoffmann Chair in National Defense/Energetics. This endowment will provide funding to help support a new faculty line. We have also been notified that a major North Dakota NSF EPSCoR grant has been funded, allowing us to convert Dr. Parker's position from a visiting to a tenure-track position.

The success of SUNRISE will also allow us to bring on another visiting faculty this fall. With the addition of these new faculty members, the department will be staffed at an unprecedented level, where we can enhance the quality of our undergraduate program while continuing to grow our graduate program.

The focus of our summer assessment retreat was a major review of our curriculum. We have formulated a number of ideas to discuss with the Industrial Advisory Committee when we meet in December. It is our goal to ensure that our graduates are adequately exposed to current trends while maintaining our strong emphasis on the fundamentals. Critical thinking, communication, life-long learning, and other traits essential to success are interwoven into aspects of the curriculum. If you have thoughts on improvements to our curriculum, please let me know.

Our undergraduate enrollment continues to grow. We have been aggressively recruiting both new freshman and transfer students. This year's enrollment numbers are up by 19 students. We hope to continue increasing these numbers to provide you with a larger pool of students to make your hires. This year, I have had to tell a number of you when you were recruiting: "Sorry, we don't have any graduates for you". On the positive side, this reflects full placements of our graduates.

We continue to promote experiential learning for our students. More than 85% of our graduating seniors during the past three years have been involved in either co-ops, internships, or sponsored research programs. We continue to stress the importance of obtaining and promoting work experience with our students. Thank you to those of you who helped create these opportunities.

Our research program continues to grow as indicated by significant increases in research expenditures, publications, and student involvement. A strong research presence combined with our reputation for excellence in teaching is critical in establishing the UND Department of Chemical Engineering as a UND Signature Program. By improving our national reputation, we can enhance our ability to recruit top-notch students and faculty, improve employment opportunities for our students, and continue to attract funding to support the department's mission.

On a personal note, I have been continuing my research in renewable and sustainable energy. Projects for this year include hydrogen production through hydrolysis, modeling of a new gasifier design, greenhouse gas inventory for the City of Grand Forks, and involvement in the development of our crop oil refinery.

I have participated in two new committees focused on climate change. The Green3 Grand Forks Resource Committee was formed by Mayor Brown in response to the city's signing of the Mayor's Climate Protection Act. The second, the Council on Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability was formed by President Kupchella in response to his signing of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. By signing these agreements, both the city and the campus have agreed to make substantial reductions in their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. I have been working with the committees to develop action plans.

I also spent 4 ½ months as Interim Dean, bridging the gap from April 1st when John Watson retired, until August 15th when Hesham El-Rewini took over as our new Dean. While this took a lot of time away from the department, it helped me gain a better perspective of how things work on campus. This experience will be useful as we continue to move the Chemical Engineering Program forward.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of the department.
Dr. Michael Mann,
Fall 2008