ChBE 2010 Alumni Day
Peck Lecture | Distinguished Alumni Awards | Annual Alumni Dinner | Student Poster CompetitionFriday, April 30, 2009
Perlstein Hall Auditorium
Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 W. 33rd Street, Chicago, Illinois
PROGRAM
2:00 - 4:00 pm -- Student Poster Competition
Arrive early to view the recent work of ChBE students
4:00 – 5:15 pm -- 2010 Peck Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards
Perlstein Hall Auditorium
From Rheology to Biology: The Application of Polymer Hydrodynamics to Problems in Biology
Presented by Ronald G. Larson, University of Michigan
5:15 – 6:00 pm -- Reception
Perlstein Hall Lobby
6:00 - 8:00 pm -- 4rd Annual ChBE Alumni Dinner
MTCC Pritzker Club
Online Registration
Abstract
From Rheology to Biology: The Application of Polymer Hydrodynamics to Problems in Biology
Ronald G. Larson, George Granger Brown Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, will describe the development of computational and experimental methods for analyzing polymer dynamics in microflows. These are applied to phenomena including DNA deposition from drying droplets, polymer deformation in flow fields, the flagella-driven motion of motile bacteria, and DNA-protein interactions.
2010 Peck Lecturer Biography
Larson became a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan in 1996, after working for 17 years at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. He received a B.S. in 1975, an M.S. in 1977, and a Ph.D. in 1980, all in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Larson’s research interests include the structure and flow properties of viscous or elastic fluids, sometimes called “complex fluids,” which include polymers, colloids, surfactant-containing fluids, liquid crystals, and biological macromolecules such as DNA, proteins, and lipid membranes. He is also interested in fluid mechanics, including microfluidics, and transport modeling. He has written numerous scientific papers and two books on these subjects, including a 1998 textbook, The Structure and Rheology of Complex Fluids.
Larson is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and is currently chairman-elect of the Division of Polymers of the APS. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, where he currently serves on the Fluid Mechanics Programming Committee. In 1996, he was named the Prudential Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge, England. In 2000, he was awarded the Alpha Chi Sigma Award from AIChE, and in 2002 he received the Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology. He is a fellow of the APS and AIChE, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
2010 Charles W. Pierce Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Each year, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at IIT invites an esteemed colleague from academia, government or industry to speak on topical biological, environmental and/or chemical engineering issues. This lecture series has its roots in the late 1970s when it was initiated in honor of Ralph Peck, who served as chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT from 1953 to 1967.
In addition, on the day of the lecture, the department presents its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards. These awards are presented annually to alumni who have brought recognition to the department through their outstanding contributions to the advancement of the chemical and/or environmental engineering professions, and to alumni who have shown exceptional dedication to the department through the generous donation of their time, effort and/or financial resources.
Christopher T. Hill (ChE ’64)
Christopher T. Hill attended IIT on a scholarship in the Institute of Gas Technology from the Hope Natural Gas Company of Clarksburg, West Virginia, his hometown. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After two years at Uniroyal, Hill joined the engineering faculty of Washington University in St. Louis in 1970. There he moved into science and technology policy.
Since 1994, Hill has served as professor of public policy and technology in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. From 1997–2005, he was Mason’s vice provost for research.
From 1976–1994, Hill held positions in science and technology policy at the Office of Technology Assessment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Congressional Research Service, the National Academies, and RAND. He is a principal in Technology Policy International and consults for agencies in Japan and elsewhere. He is the editor or co-editor of four books and author of nearly 150 papers and research or advisory reports.
At IIT, Hill directed and played lead alto in the IIT big band. His musical group, the Chris Hill Quartet, appeared throughout the Chicago area. He was elected to Tau Beta Pi and Alpha Chi Sigma, and was a founding member of the Campus Richard Foundation. Hill and his wife, Sheila, a psychotherapist, live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. They expect to retire from full-time employment this year and to move to Knoxville, Tennessee.
