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UCSB’s Doherty to Keynote Larson-Ruth Symposium
The Iowa State Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering will host the 2007 biennial Larson-Ruth Symposium Thursday, April 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium of Howe Hall on the Iowa State campus. The symposium will be preceded by a banquet the previous evening in the Scheman Building of the Iowa State Center.
The keynote lecture for this year’s symposium, “Evolution of Crystal Shape During Growth and Dissolution,” will be given by Professor Michael Doherty of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A graduate of Imperial College, University of London, Professor Doherty received his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge in 1977. He works in the area of process synthesis and the conceptual design of chemical process systems, including combining reactions and separations, crystallization of organic materials, and systems with complex chemistries, with an emphasis on specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Current process models for solution crystallization focus on predicting particle size distribution for populations of spherical particles. However, growth models in this environment are isotropic and therefore incapable of predicting the shapes of faceted crystals, an important material characteristic. Professor Doherty will discuss his work in developing process models that can simultaneously and rapidly predict both crystal size and shape, while remaining faithful to the fundamental chemical processes and interactions governing the development and evolution of crystals.
In addition to Professor Doherty’s keynote presentation, members of the Iowa State Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering will present their work. Associate Professor R. Dennis Vigil will speak on the “Simulation of Nanoparticle Aggregation via Population Balances and Brownian Dynamics: Some Current Challenges,” and doctoral candidate Maria del Pilar Torres will discuss her work on “Novel Amphiphilic Polyanhydrides for Vaccine Delivery.” The symposium will conclude with a poster session after lunch in the lower atrium of Howe Hall.
The 2007 offering is the ninth symposium in the series dating from 1977, when longtime Iowa State chemical engineering faculty member Maurice A. Larson established the series in honor of former professor B. F. Ruth. Designed to showcase research in the department, the Larson-Ruth Symposium features both faculty and graduate student presentations.
Latecomers may register the day of the symposium at the event site in Howe Hall. For further information, please contact Wendy Ortmann at 515 294-7643 or via e-mail at wortmann@iastate.edu.
