News Article
New CBE graduate fellowship focuses on energy research
Contacts: Surya K. Mallapragada, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 515 294-7407
Hyemi Sevening, Engineering Development, 515 294-6055
Mary Jo Glanville, Engineering Communications and Marketing, 515 294-8787
Related article: Katzer to present Doraiswamy Honor Lecture
A new endowed graduate fellowship dedicated to energy research has been established in the Iowa State University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE). The first James Katzer Energy Fellowship will be awarded for fall of 2009.
Jim Katzer, who earned his BS in chemical engineering at Iowa State and PhD from MIT, and his wife, Isabelle, established the endowment fund to support graduate students whose research aims to foster new and innovative energy-related research in CBE. The funds may also be used to support research that evaluates the relevance and impact of CBE energy research on state, national, and global energy needs and/or energy policies.
“We are very grateful to the Katzers for their generous gift that will help us recruit the best and brightest graduate students to our department to work on energy-related research,” says Surya K. Mallapragada, CBE professor and director of graduate education for the department. “We have significant strengths in this area, and attracting talented graduate students through this fellowship will help the department enormously in our quest to be the best.”
New and improved energy technologies are critical in meeting the growing demand for energy during a time of increasingly severe constraints, according to James Katzer. “This is where technology is so important. Increased focus on energy research should be a key component in the CBE department’s ‘quest to be the best,’” he says. “Further, it is important from time to time to step back and assess goals, objectives, progress, and impact of these energy activities. It is for this reason I decided to initiate this fellowship.”
Katzer, who retired in 2003 as manager of strategic planning performance analysis for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, spent his own career working with energy technologies. He first joined Mobil Oil Corporation in 1981 as manager of the catalyst section in the Central Research Laboratory and later served as vice president of technology with primary responsibilities for developing forward-looking technology scenarios.
Prior to joining Mobil, Katzer was a professor in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware where he was instrumental in the establishment of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology.
Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998, Katzer has worked on several panel studies at the National Research Council, including “Resource Needs for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies” and “Alternative Liquid Transportation Fuels.” He also served as the executive director of the MIT study on “The Future of Coal in a Carbon Constrained World.”
