Month: November 2014

Doug Cooper Elected as Fellow of AIChE

The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has elected Dr. Doug Cooper as a Fellow of AIChE. To be considered for the honor, a candidate must practice chemical engineering for at least 25 years, and be a member of AIChE for at least ten. Election as Fellow recognizes both service for the betterment of society and the profession, and professional accomplishment in engineering, management, research, education, or entrepreneurship.

Dr. Cooper has excelled in a number of these categories. Currently professor and head of the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Cooper has also served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at UConn.

His recent academic pursuits focus on helping nontraditional students engage in STEM disciplines. His research focus is on process control system analysis and design. He also has an ongoing interest in mentoring students in entrepreneurship, creativity, leadership, and life-long learning.

Dr. Cooper has authored and co-authored 85 scholarly publications, garnered more than $6 million in research funding from government and industry. In addition, he has been inducted into the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2004), honored by the Carnegie Foundation as the Connecticut Professor of the Year (2004), and designated as a Teaching Fellow at UConn (2003).

“Most of all,” says Dr. Cooper, “I enjoy interacting with students and guiding their intellectual growth.” He has taught engineering classes at all undergraduate and graduate levels, and has innovated software and supporting materials for teaching automatic process control, now used by 250 academic institutions around the world.

In 2004, Dr. Cooper founded Control Station, Inc., a company that offers a portfolio of industrial process control solutions and services to manufacturers. With a dozen employees, including four chemical engineers, Control Station offers an array of best-in-class technologies for optimizing plant operation.

“I am honored to join the ranks of Fellow of AIChE,” says Dr. Cooper.

Grad Student Spotlight: Jie Qi

The United States remains the top graduate destination in the world. With superior quality and flexibility in its programs, UConn has everything the best programs have to offer and more.  Third year PhD student Jie Qi stands by her decision to study Chemical Engineering here. “I chose UConn because of its strong reputation as a research University,” she says, “There are many great opportunities available to students including different internships, various options for financial aid, and a great network of alumni.”

Jie is originally from Harbin, China and received her bachelor’s degree at Dalian University of Technology in 2012. Most would consider coming to Connecticut a drastic change, but Jie adjusted to New England easily. “I love the color in fall. Storrs is a good place to study and live.” She adds, “I feel like I’m part of the school, and not just another international student in a city. I can always get help if I need it.”

Her research project under Dr. Brian Willis involves selective area atomic layer deposition (ALD) of copper. “I hope this new technique can help improve solar power technology and make it cost-competitive with fossil fuels.” Jie hopes to be able to apply what she’s learned to help ease the energy crisis by working in industry in the future.

This month Jie will attend her first conference: the AVS International Symposium and Exhibition. She will give a talk about the effects of seed layer properties and reaction conditions on ALD Cu thin films relevant to plasmonic devices.

“The engineering school has helped me develop and grow, and there is a lot of school pride at UConn,” says Jie, “The program is flexible, but challenging. I feel lucky to have the chance to complete my PhD here.”