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The Mellow Met Newsletter
No. 27 — October 2004
An Extraction of the News for Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Utah
A Message from Professor Jan D. Miller, Department Chair
Dear Alumni and Friends,
During the 2003/04 academic
year we successfully completed
the Accreditation Board for
Engineering & Technology (ABET)
review of our program for a full six-
year accreditation. The reviewers
wrote that our program “is unique
in its horizontal integration of all
areas of its field,” and “has an
admirable sequence of courses
that allows students to gain signifi-
Past and present chairs, 1958 to present. From left, Gerry Byrne, Ferron Olson, Milt Wadsworth, Peter King,
cant experience with engineering
and Jan Miller, November 10, 2003 . Additional past chairs include John Herbst and Raj Rajamani.
design in the context of materials
Retired Department Chairs still provide us with advice and
and metals.”
To the many of you who assisted us with the ABET review by assistance. Last fall we were pleased to have them convene for a
responding to evaluation questionnaires, we want to thank you for lunch at the Panorama Room. It was good to have everyone
together even for a short time. The discussion was great, and their
your assistance. We continue to need your help and input.
We are disappointed to report that Dr. Saskia Duyvesteyn, experience has helped us formulate a course for the future.
For five years Prof. Doug Halbe, Consultant and Adjunct
Assistant Professor for the past seven years,
Professor, has been of great assistance to the
resigned at the end of the 2003/04 academic
department teaching our senior design course.
year to take employment with Barrick Gold in
We all want to thank Doug for his generous
Elko. We wish Saskia all the best in her new
contribution of time and effort to our program.
position and are pleased that she has agreed
His dedication and assistance have been
to serve as an adjunct faculty member.
greatly appreciated. We look forward to
The good news is that the administration
Doug’s continued involvement with the
has now authorized filling two vacant faculty
department as might be possible in the future.
positions, and a faculty search is being
Yours sincerely,
organized by Prof. Rajamani, an important
Jan D. Miller
task which demands careful attention to
maintain the high quality of our degree Saskia Duyvesteyn Doug Halbe
programs. Adjunct Professor
Adjunct Asst. Prof.
Frederick Sutton Building Student Recognition, 2003/04
Graduate
The 2004 Utah State Legislature approved the
planning and construction of the Frederick Sutton Robert Corson was selected as a member of the U.S. student delegation to the
Building for the College of Mines and Earth 54th Nobel laureates meeting in Landau, Germany, June-July, 2004. Rob works with
Sciences. Fred Sutton, a U geology graduate, Dr. Guruswamy on FeGa magnetostrictive alloys. He was the only graduate student
was known as the person who mapped the in the engineering discipline selected by NSF/DOE for this meeting, a distinct and
Maricaibo Basin. His daughter, Marta Sutton well-deserved honor for him, Dr. Guruswamy’s group, and the department.
Weeks, is the principal donor for the building. David Harding spent two weeks in the Philippines in February as an Education
The Department of Geology and Geophysics, Team Leader for Operation Smile, assisting at a hospital, visiting children at local
the largest in the College, will be the principal schools and orphanages, and doing basic health-care presentations. Operation Smile
tenant of the new building. By moving Geology is an international organization that provides free reconstructive surgeries for child-
and Geophysics, the new facility will let the hood facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates, trains local surgeons, and
college consolidate its four departments, educates public health organizations. Last year Dave was President of the U. Opera-
Geology & Geophysics, Mining Engineering, tion Smile Student Association, which raises awareness and money to support Op-
Metallurgical Engineering, and Meteorology, into eration Smile’s goals. Dave is part of Zak Fang’s research group.
two primary buildings, the Sutton and the Jose Angel Delgadillo won Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards from both
Browning. We have been spread in as many as the department and (in a tie) the College of Mines & Earth Sciences. Jose was Dr.
eleven facilities, such as the Old Mines Building, Rajamani’s T.A. Spring 2003 for Process Engineering Statistics and Fall 2003 for
which has changed but little since 1927 when it Fluid Flow and Statistical Methods in Earth Sciences & Engineering. Students said
was completed. Currently, the programming he stayed for the entire lab sessions, was easy to work with, always willing to help,
phase for the building is underway, which will and enthusiastic about teaching. Jose is from Mexico and is working with Dr. Raja-
determine the facility's site, size, and its makeup. mani on computational fluid dynamics in hydrocyclones for his Ph.D.
Design should begin in January and take about a The Graduate Seminar Award for Best Student Presentation went to Christian
year. Construction will run from eighteen months Roldan for his seminar, “Estimation of Ultimate Recovery in Heap Leaching Opera-
to two years. tions Using High–Resolution Cone Beam X–Ray Microtomography,” April 16, 2003.
His ratings averaged 90.38 out of 100.
(Continued on page 2)
1
Enrollment
Michael Oja, doing an M.S. under Dr. Chandran,
75
received the Utah Engineering Experiment Station’s
Team of Excellence Award, with a cash prize of 70
$100, for demonstrating outstanding dedication to 65
team building both as a leader and a follower.
Number of Students
60
Pinai Mungsantisuk, another student of Dr. Gu- Undergraduates
55
ruswamy’s, was selected as a University Graduate
Graduates
50
Research Fellow for 2004/05.
45
Undergraduate
40
Rebecca Chandler, an undergraduate re-
35
searcher in Dr. Guruswamy’s group, published a
paper in the 2004 TMS meeting proceedings and 30
made a presentation at the University of Utah Un- 25
dergraduate Research Conference. 20
David O. Tibbits won the Oblad Medal of Excel-
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lence in Metallurgical Engineering as well as the
Outstanding Senior Student Award. Dave’s four–
year cumulative g.p.a. was 3.6, and his senior year Years
g.p.a. was 3.8.
New Graduates
Curtis Dixon Lee was the Outstanding Junior, with a 3.88 gpa. A 4.0
gpa garnered Brady Butler the Outstanding Sophomore Award. The
B.S. Graduates
Outstanding Freshman was Scott Middlemas, also with a 4.0.
Everett Jason Less .. S ‘04 David O. Tibbitts* .. S ‘04
Faculty and Staff News *Oblad Medal for Excellence in Metallurgical Engineering; 2002 Outstanding
Sophomore, 2003 Junior, & 2004 Senior Student Awards.
The department support staff are our Office Support Coordinator, Ms.
Karen Haynes, Executive Secretary Ms. Kay Argyle, Technician Mr. M.S. Graduates, Advisor, and Thesis Title
Jim Davis, and Ms. Dorrie Spurlock, who works with Dr. Miller. Kay is
Ravindra Bhide .......................... S ‘04 [Michael Free]
expanding her skills as our new webmaster. See the changes at “Ferric Ion Reduction in Acidic Media”
www.mines.utah.edu/metallurgy/!
Christian Fabricio Roldan .......... U ‘04 [J. D. Miller]
Research staff includes Mr. François Vos, Dr. Sanjeeva Latchireddi,
“Mineral Exposure Analysis for the Prediction of Copper
Dr. Gilsoo Han, and Dr. Xuming Wang. Recovery in Column Leaching Experiments”
New Faculty Appointments Ph.D. Graduates, Advisor, and Thesis Title
Dr. D. Jack Adams joined the department this year as an Adjunct Pro-
Ronel du Plessis........................ S ‘04 [J. D. Miller]
fessor and will be developing research programs in biotechnology and “The Thiocarbonate Flotation Chemistry of Auriferous Pyrite”
environmental engineering. Dr. Adams is a Research Professor at Weber
Keqing Fa .................................. U ‘04 J. D. Miller]
State University. He has taught classes in environmental and industrial “Interfacial Chemistry in the Fluorite and Calcite Flotation
microbiology, and lectured in the Microbiology, Botany, Zoology, Environ- Systems”
mental Engineering and Metallurgy Departments. Stewart Neil Middlemiss ............ U ‘04 [R. Peter King]
He has worked in environmental biotechnology for over 26 years in “Microscale Fracture Studies in Geological Materials with
industry and state and federal governments. He headed U.S. Army and Implications for Mineral Liberation”
U.S.B.M. biotechnology programs and directed the Bioremediation Center
at Weber State University. He is the founder and manager of Bioreme- was a Research Associate, Asst. Professor, and then Assoc.
diation and Bioprocess Consulting, in Park City, Utah, and serves as a Professor of Physics there. He has worked as a Visiting
consultant to private industry and all levels of government. Professor and Researcher at Queen’s University of Belfast,
He received his B.S. from the U, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from UK; Hiroshima University, Japan; Lund University, Sweden;
Utah State University. He has authored over 150 publications, presenta- and Moscow State University, Russia. He has coauthored
tions, and formal reports, organized several symposia, and organized or more than 55 papers in peer-reviewed science journals.
chaired sessions for numerous conferences. He is a member of several Dr. Jakub Nalaskowski has been promoted to Research
interstate technology regulatory councils. Welcome aboard, Jack. Assistant Professor.
Dr. Zhorro Nikolov was appointed Research Associate Professor in Dr. Nalaskowski manages a new interdepartmental
January 2004 after working as a Research Associate since July 2000. atomic force microscopy facility equipped with two state-of-
Prof. Nikolov developed and teaches a graduate course in surface the-art AFM systems. He also enjoys teaching graduate
vibrational spectroscopy. He established a new nonlinear optics and courses in surface chemistry, analysis and technology, and
spectroscopy laboratory employing SFS and SHG and manages research atomic force microscopy.
in the vibrational spectroscopy laboratory, with mid-, near-, and far-FTIR His research interests include interaction force characteri-
spectrometers, and FT-Raman and IR microscope zation using atomic force microscopy, surface chemistry and
attachments; trains graduate students; writes re- physicochemical phenomena in sepa-
ports and proposals for projects with NSF and DOE; ration technologies and surfactant sys-
and collaborates with academia and industry. tems related to mineral processing,
He is involved in sum-frequency generation vi- environmental applications, and the
brational spectroscopy (SFS) studies of interfaces; semiconductor industry.
second harmonic generation (SHG) studies of sur- He obtained his M.S. degree in
factant adsorption; FTIR studies of water structure Chemical Technology and Engineering
in salt solutions, flotation systems, Langmuir- in 1994, and in 1999 he received a
Blodgett films, and self-assembled films; and syn- Ph.D. in Chemical Technology at the
thesis of nanoparticles in reverse micelles. Technical University of Gdansk, in col-
Dr. Nikolov has a Ph.D. degree in Physics from laboration with our department, for his
Zhorro Nikolov
Sofia University, Bulgaria. From 1982 to 2000 he dissertation on interaction forces be- Jakub Nalaskowski
Research Assoc. Prof. (Continued on page 3) Research Asst. Prof.
2
List of Faculty
tween hydrophobic surfaces in a particle separation system.
Dr. Wlodzimierz W. Zmierczak joined the
The faculty now totals twenty-nine, with seven academic, seven
department this year as a Research Associ-
research, ten adjunct, and five emeritus appointments.
ate Professor and will be performing research
D. Jack Adams Douglas Halbe Anh.Nguyen@
in energy-transfer-related catalytic processes.
Adjunct Professor Adjunct Professor newcastle.edu.au
His research interests embrace lignin con- J. Gerald Byrne Ferron A. Olson
801/582-3655
version into biogasoline, application of super- Professor Emeritus dnhalbe@aol.com Professor Emeritus
acid catalysts to produce high-performance jgbyrne@mines.utah.edu Susan L. Halgedahl C. H. Pitt
rocket/jet propellants, electrocatalytic splitting Adjunct Associate Prof.
William D. Callister Professor Emeritus
R. K. Rajamani
Adjunct Professor 801/585-3963
of water, use of synthesis gas to produce
bill.callister@m.cc.utah.edu shalg@mines.utah.edu Professor
synthetic fuels, and development of catalytic
John A. Herbst
Ravi Chandran 801/581-3107
gas-sparged cyclone reactors. Wlodzimierz rajamani@mines.utah.edu
Professor Research Professor
Zmierczak
He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from 719/386-0268 Colorado Terry Ring
801/581-7197
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Po- Research Assoc. Prof. john.herbst@metso.com
ravi@mines.utah.edu Adjunct Professor
Terry Chatwin Jan Hupka 801/581-6915
land. From 1970 to ‘96 Dr. Zmierczak taught at Adam Mickiewicz
terry.ring@m.cc.utah.edu
Adjunct Assoc. Prof. Research Professor
University and did research on catalysis and catalytic processes for
48-58-347-1791 Poland Chemical & Fuels Engg
801/581-6348
the development of hydrocarbon fuels. During sabbatical leaves, jhupka@chem.pg.gda.pl Claudio L. Schneider
terrance.chatwin@
he was involved in research projects at the U. R. Peter King
m.cc.utah.edu Research Asst. Prof.
In 1994 Dr. Zmierczak moved to the U.S. He was a Visiting As- cschneid@mines.utah.edu
Professor Emeritus
Weol D. Cho
sociate Professor and then a Research Associate Professor (1997- Hong Yong Sohn
801/585-3113
Research Assoc. Prof.
rpking@mines.utah.edu
801/581-6278 Professor
2004) in the U’s Department of Chemical and Fuels Engineering.
wdcho@mines.utah.edu Chen Luh Lin 801/581-5491
He received American citizenship in 2001. Dr. Zmierczak is an
hysohn@mines.utah.edu
Saskia Duyvesteyn Research Professor
author or co-author of over sixty publications and patents. Milton E. Wadsworth
Adjunct Asst. Prof. 801/581-5309
Visiting Professors 775/778-8762 (Nevada) Distinguished Prof.Emeritus
cllin@mines.utah.edu
saskia@mines.utah.edu mwads@mines.utah.edu
Jan D. Miller
Dr. B. K. Mishra (PhD 1991) took on the duties of teaching Dr. Ivor Thomas Prof. & Chair Rong Yu Wan
Zhigang Zak Fang
King’s courses, Mineral Processing I and II, Spring Semester 2004. 801/581-5160 Adjunct Professor
Assistant Professor
Dr. Mishra is currently a Professor at the Indian Institute of Tech- jdmiller@mines.utah.edu 303/470-3524 Colorado
801/581-8128
zfang@mines.utah.edu r.wan@worldnet.att.net
Jakub Nalaskowski
nology, Kanpur, India. He also assisted Dr. Rajamani in his gradu-
Q. Yu
Michael L. Free Research Asst. Prof.
ate class, The Discrete Element Method. Dr. Mishra brought fresh
Adjunct Associate Prof.
801/581-7460
Associate Professor
ideas to the well-established curriculum of minerals processing. kubn@mines.utah.edu 847/970-5135 (Illinois)
801/585-9798
His wife and children accompanied him. His children enjoyed the mfree@mines.utah.edu Dr. Zhorro Nikolov qyu@usgres.com
different atmosphere in the public schools here. Siva Guruswamy Wlodzimierz Zmierczak
Research Assoc. Prof.
Research Assoc. Prof.
Professor 801/581-7460
Professor Rafael Padilla (MS 1977, PhD 1984) was a Visiting
znikolov@mines.utah.edu 801/581-3060
801/581-7217
Professor here from the University of Concepcion, Chile from Sep-
sguruswa@mines.utah.edu Anh Nguyen w.zmierczak@
tember ‘03 to March ‘04. He conducted joint research on the con- Adjunct Asst. Professor m.cc.utah.edu
version of sulfur dioxide to elemental sulfur with Professor Sohn.
Department Research
Dr. Anh Nguyen, University of Newcastle, Australia, taught a
short course, “Colloidal Science of Flotation,” March–April ‘04. Funding
Dr. Tilak Raj Mankhand, from Banaras Hindu University, Vara- During recent years, research funding has been maintained at a
nasi, India, is here as a Visiting Professor, Sept.–Oct. 2004. strong level.
Faculty Honors 1993 $1,806,516 1997 $1,958,009 2001 $719,431
Dr. Ravi Chandran’s work on titanium boride materials was 1994 $2,152,553 1998 $1,524,154 2002 $1,668,319
selected as one of the three finalists for the Stoel Rives Utah Inno-
1995 $527,661 1999 $727,815 2003 $1,584,815
vative Award for 2004. He also edited a special focus issue of
1996 $1,577,976 2000 $556,807 2004 $1,918,661
JOM (May ‘04) covering in-situ titanium metal matrix composites,
editing and publishing articles contributed by leading groups.
$2.74 Million in Funding for New Research
Dr. Zak Fang was a primary organizer of a symposium on ce-
Dr. H. Y. Sohn was granted funding for six new research pro-
mented tungsten carbide during the annual International Confer-
jects this year, totalling $2.74 million.. Dr. Zak Fang will work with
ence of Powder Metallurgy. The symposium attracted participants
him on two from DOE, “Metal Hydride-based Hydrogen Storage,”
from the U.S., Europe, and Japan and other Asian countries.
$635,891, starting October 2004, and another described below.
In April of 2004, Dr. H. Y. Sohn was selected by the students for
The U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation is pro-
the Mellow Met Award for Excellence in Teaching Metallurgical
viding $80,000 for a two-year project on “New Technology for
Engineering for the second year in a row. Dr. Sohn taught MetE
Treatment of Molybdenum Sulfide Concentrates.” Dr. Sohn is col-
5750/6750 Rate Processes and MetE 7460 Advanced Fluid–Solid
laborating with K. Hakobyan of Navro LLC of Armenia.
Reaction Engineering, Spring 2003, and MetE 5710/6710 High–
Dr. Sohn and Yasser M. Z. Ahmed of Central Metallurgical
Temperature Chemical Processing and MetE 7910 Quantitative
R&D Institute of Egypt are researching “A New Process for Con-
Rate Phenomena, Fall 2003. Students gave him straight A’s in
verting SO2 to Sulfur without Generating Secondary Pollutants
three of those classes. He was praised for getting students to think
through Reactions with CaS/CaSO4 Pellets,” with $59,982 in fund-
about a situation from many angles.
ing from the U.S.-Egypt Joint Science and Technology Board/NSF.
Dr. Sohn traveled to Korea in May 2004 for research collabora-
Dr. Sohn received a $42,000 grant from The Korea Institute of
tion and technical exchange, where he presented nine lectures on
Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) to study “Math-
various subjects, including “Chemical Vapor Synthesis of Nano-
ematical Modeling of Flame Reaction Process for the Synthesis of
Sized Metallic and Composite Powders” and “Computer Modeling
Silicon Compounds from Waste Silicon Sludge.”
of Flash Smelting/Converting Processes.” He served on the Re-
The $28,000 project “Chemical Vapor Synthesis of Nano-Sized
view Panel of the NSF Small Business Programs, Advanced Mate-
Composite Powders for Hydrogen Storage,” funded by the U of U
rials, Manufacturing, and Chemical Processes (SBIR/STTR) in the
Funding Incentive Seed Grant Committee, started last November.
field of Powder Material Processing, 2004.
(Continued on page 4)
3
and other novel applications, and solid-state thermal diode
structures for hybrid thermoelectric/thermionic devices. A
patent application was filed in the area of magnetostrictive
materials.
Experimental facilities have expanded with the addition
of a clean-room facility for magnetic materials and thin-film
development work, and the high-temperature metallic sin-
gle-crystal growth facility. Thanks to the contributions of
past and current students, the magnetic materials labora-
tory now has an impressive array of facilities for process-
ing magnetic, electronic, and structure materials, materials
characterization, and device development.
Surfactant Aggregation & Corrosion Inhibition
Prof. Michael Free’s research group is investigating
Prof Raj K Rajamani with Prof. Douglas Fuerstenau at Berkeley. fundamental aspects of surfactant aggregation phenom-
ena and their connections with corrosion inhibition of steel,
(Continued from page 3) copper, and aluminum metals. The corrosion studies have led to
the development of new models to predict surfactant adsorption
U.C. Berkeley Equipment Comes To Utah phenomena and their effects on corrosion inhibition. Work is also
Many of you know Prof. Douglas Fuerstenau, now retired from being performed in metal recovery from dilute solutions by pulsed
active service at the University of California, Berkeley. His research plating on high surface area electrodes. The metal recovery work
in comminution has spanned over fifty years. His students dot the shows promise for industrial and municipal processing applications
landscape of American universities: P. Somasundaram, Columbia; in which metal removal is important. New investigations in the ar-
Richard Hogg and Subhash Chander, Penn State; John Herbst, a eas of electrodeposition morphology, improved copper extraction
Research Professor with our department; and Kal Sastry, UC technology, and metal recycling are set to begin this fall.
Berkeley, among others. Currently, Dr. Fuerstenau occupies a spa-
Nanocrystalline Cemented Tungsten
cious office in the newly renovated and earthquake-proofed Hearst
Over the past year, the Powder Metallurgy Laboratory under the
Mining Building on the Berkeley campus.
direction of Prof. Zak Fang continued to grow. The group currently
Doug has kindly offered almost all his collection of equipment to
consists of seven graduate students and two undergraduate re-
our department. Among the twenty or so items are a 20” ball mill
search assistants. Research labs and equipment are spread in four
with torque sensor, a Frantz isodynamic separator, and a single-
different buildings. All students are supported by externally funded
particle roll crusher. In addition, a massive volume of closed-size
research programs.
mineral samples will be of great value for future experiments.
Most notably, DOE has awarded Dr. Fang, in collaboration with
There is no doubt Utah will benefit a lot from this transfer, and our
Prof. Sohn, a major project to develop a novel powder synthesis
faculty thanks Prof. Fuerstenau for the generous contribution.
process, based on vapor-phase chemical reactions and ultrahigh-
In addition, the department’s high-pressure grinding roll, or
pressure rapid heating and HIPing, that promises to produce ce-
HPGR as it is commonly called, on loan to Dr. Fuerstenau for many
mented tungsten carbide with true
years, will be coming home. HPGR is set to replace crushing and
nanoscale grain size (<100 nm).
semiautogenous milling in the near future.
The consolidation process will be
As a last note, Dr. Fuerstenau mentioned with a chuckle that he
one of the first of its kind for pro-
is retaining a few items just in case he takes on one more student.
ducing bulk nanocrystalline mate-
Collaboration on Flotation of PGM A nanocrystalline tungsten
rials for industrial applications.
& Colloid Transport Processes carbide micro drill with a
The project will also study the
material’s mechanical properties. 0.25-mm diameter tip, used
Previous research programs of Prof. J. D. Miller’s continue,
for printed circuit board
including study of design and operating variables for improved One of the applications for
production.
heap leaching technology; trona flotation technology; and magnetic nanocrystalline tungsten carbide
activated carbon for gold recovery, water treatment, and treatment is micro drills used for printed circuit board production.
of gaseous effluents. Total project funding including industrial cost shares is $1.9M for
New projects include NSF- and industry-supported research on three years. Industrial partners include Idaho National Engineering
the flotation of PGM minerals, collaborating with the University of and Environment Laboratory, Kennametal, and Smith International.
Pretoria, and with industrial partners Impala Platinum, Newmont,
New State Center of Excellence
Bateman, and BOC. It involves flotation chemistry issues such as
The Utah State Center of Excellence for Titanium Boride Materi-
use of trithiocarbonate collectors and gas-phase composition.
als has been established in Dr. Ravi Chandran's group, working
A new CAST project on 3D mineral liberation analysis using
on applications of titanium boride hardening to enhance the surface
x-ray microtomography is under Dr. C. L. Lin’s supervision. This
properties of titanium and its alloys, to prevent the intrinsic contact
project will compare XMT to traditional polished-section analysis.
problems causing galling and seizure in titanium surfaces. The
A collaborative NSF research project with Dr. Bill Johnson of
center is jointly funded by the State and private industry.
Geology concerns colloid transport processes fundamentally influ-
Dr. Chandran's group has started new research to understand
encing the transport of colloids in porous media. As part of this
mechanical behavior of materials from first principles computational
project, three labs have been renovated to accommodate a new
calculations on the basis of density functional theory. Work is in
atomic force microscope, a molecular imaging Pico Plus, and a
progress to predict elastic constants of titanium borides and under-
total internal reflection fluorescent microscope to image colloidal
stand the atomic origins of high hardness and stiffness in borides.
particles at the solid/liquid interface and to measure attachment/
The group is also working with Vextec Inc., using DARPA fund-
detachment during flow.
ing, on developing models to predict fatigue life for aircraft engine
New Clean-Room Facility materials. Students use orientation imaging microscopy to under-
Prof. Sivaraman Guruswamy’s research group is developing stand the crystallographic relations involved in nucleation and
high-performance magnetostrictive alloys for sensors, actuators, propagation of fatigue cracks.
4
Alumni Activities They are enjoying life in New England. Their sons Marsh IV and
Murray have adjusted to their new schools, and son Miles is ex-
Wilbur L. Kennicott (BS ‘39) sails competitively, cruises, and
cited to start school. She is enjoying meeting people in the area
travels frequently on business to industrial centers on five conti-
through community and church service.
nents. He is a Life Fellow in the American Society of Mechanical
Paul Cook (BS ‘95) is Senior Engineer in applied research at
Engineers and in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and re-
Phelps Dodge Process Technology Center in Safford, Arizona,
ceived an ASME 75th Anniversary Medal. He retired in 1980.
where he develops improved techniques and equipment for copper
John P. Colton (BS 1963) and his wife were LDS missionaries
solvent extraction and electrowinning.
in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma from 2000 to 2003, where
Srinivas Veeramasuneni (PhD ‘97) was named Program Man-
he was mission president and was responsible for humanitarian
ager, Performance Substrates Laboratory, at U.S. Gypsum’s Liber-
and church activities. Now they take responsibility for assuring
tyville Research & Technology Center, Illinois, July 2004. He has
their kids take good care of their ten grandkids. He retired from the
been with USG since 1998. Vas was among 86 of the nation's
U.S. Army as a Colonel, from the International Atomic Energy
young engineers, performing cutting-edge engineering research
Agency, and in 2000 from the U.S. Department of State as Senior
and technical work, who were selected by the National Academy of
Scientist. He received Meritorious Awards from the State Depart-
Engineers to participate in NAE's 10th Annual Frontiers of Engi-
ment and IAEA and the Legion of Merit and others from the Army.
neering Symposium, September 2004, in Irvine, California. His
Curtis Nielson (BS ‘76) joined AMEC Energy & Mining in Phoe-
team at USG Corporation won USG's 2002 Technology Award
nix, Arizona, in February. AMEC is a global leader in the provision
(with a prize of $25,000), awarded for technologies that result in
of services and engineering solutions to the world's infrastructure,
successful new product releases or cost reductions of at least $1
manufacturing, and process industries.
million during the year. The team discovered a new additive that
G. Thomas Tripp (BS ‘77) is Technical Service Manager for
makes gypsum panels resistant to mold and mildew while main-
U.S. Magnesium. He supervises and directs process engineering,
taining the product's strength and fire-resistant qualities.
R&D, quality assurance and analytical, technical sales support, raw
Amlan Datta (PhD ‘99) is working for James Hardie R&D in
material production, and purchasing functions.
Fontana, California.
Yang-Ki Hong (PhD ‘81) is Professor and Director of the Mag-
Nakorn Srisukhumbowornchai (PhD ‘01) is a proud papa to
netic & Electronic Materials Lab in the Department of Materials
his son Panai, born in October 2003. Nakorn teaches at King
Science & Engineering at the Univ. of Idaho, Moscow.
Mongkut's Univ. of Technology, Thonburi, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Abdulhafid Ali (BS ‘87) is working in the Projects Department at
Christian Roldan (MS ‘04) is the plant metallurgist at San Mar-
the Brega Refinery, Tripoli, Libya.
tin Mine, owned by Entremares Honduras, a subsidiary of Glamis
Jose Parga (PhD ‘87) was named 2004 Distinguished Coahui-
Gold Ltd. It is an open-pit mine with a multi-lift (four lifts of eight
lan by the Coahuila (Mexico) State Counsel of Science and Tech-
meters) heap-leaching operation. The recovery of gold is made in
nology, for his important contribution in aid of science and technol-
an ADR circuit, where they get a concentrate of 70 to 80% gold.
ogy in the State of Coahuila.
The concentrate is sold to a refinery in Salt Lake.
Laurie G. Poulson (BS ‘88) works as a full-time mother. This
Let us know what’s going on in your life – fill out the alumni activity ques-
past August her family relocated to Lebanon, Maine, when her hus-
tionnaire at the back of the newsletter.
band accepted a position at Albany International Techniweave.
In Memoriam He received his B.S. in 1955 in chemistry and physics at
University College, Mandalay, Burma [Myanmar]. He did his thesis
Leon Allen Monson (BS 1946), of Payson, Utah, died Monday,
research here at the U under Dr. Wadsworth.
November 19, 2001 at the age of 76. He was born November 22,
From 1965 to ‘68 he was a Research Metallurgist, Central
1924, in Salt Lake City to James Ferdinand Monson and Ivy
Research Organization. He served the Metallurgical Engineering
Gertrude Hunsaker Monson. He married Wilma Mooring in 1946.
Department, Yangon Institute of Technology as Assistant Lecturer,
He retired in 1986 after a career as a chemist for Combined
Lecturer, and Lecturer and Head. While Head, 1978-83, he also
Metals Reduction Co.; an instructor at the University of Wisconsin;
served as Chairman of the Metals Processing Technology Group,
a special lecturer at the University of Delaware; a chief investigator
Regional Colleges Project. Other positions were Secretary to the
on an Air Force contract; and a research chemist, research
Ministry of Education Equipment Control Committee, ‘79-81; and
metallurgical engineer, senior engineer, and metallurgical
Central Committee Member, Regional Colleges Supervisory
consultant at E.I. DuPont.
Committee ‘79-84. He also served as chairman of the Myanmar
He is survived by his wife, five children, twenty grandchildren,
Standards Committee ‘94-96 and Vice-Chairman of the Human
and two great-grandchildren.
Resources Development Sector Committee. He received a
Ivan LeRoy Nichols (BS 1948) died October 17, 2004 of heart
certificate of Merit for Service.
failure. He was born in Payson, Utah, October 11, 1924, the son of
He retired March 1996 as Director-General, Department of
Clarence Ivan Nichols and Hazel Lindsey Nichols. He married
Technical, Agricultural, and Vocational Education, Ministry of
Elaine Cannon March 22, 1948.
Education, Yangon, Myanmar. As DG he was responsible for the
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He retired from
management and administration of seventy-one institutions offering
the U.S. Bureau of Mines. He was active in his church, serving a
technical and vocational courses. He continued part-time teaching
geneological mission with his wife.
of postgraduate metallurgical engineering courses at YIT and
He is survived by his six children, a niece, 22 grandchildren, and
supervision of some research projects.
seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife
He served as President of the Burma Chinlon Federation.
Elaine, his three sisters, and three infant great-grandchildren.
"Chinlone" is a Burmese cane ball game. He also enjoyed three-
Khin Maung Win (MS 1962, PhD 1965) passed away June 16,
ball billiards, boxing and tennis.
2003. He had been ailing for some time.
He is survived by his wife, Khin Than Nwe, and three children.
National & International Visitors & Speakers Dr. Robin Batterham, Rio Tinto, Melbourne, Australia, presented the 2003/04
Lewis/Jackling Distinguished Lecture, “Mining in the Future: Sustaining Humanity
Visitors to Dr. Guruswamy’s Magnetic Materials Laboratory this year included
in an Acceptable Manner,” January ‘04.
Mr. A.P. (Dave) Divecha, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock, Maryland,
Dr. Marcelo Esquivel, Centro Atómico Bariloche, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argen-
and Prof. Katherine Faber, Northwestern University, March 2004.
tina, visited for three weeks in February ‘04 and collaborated with Prof. Sohn on
Some of Dr. Miller’s visitors were Lucy Esdaile, Rio Tinto, Melbourne, Austra-
the analysis of the chlorination reactions of nuclides.
lia, Aug. ‘03; Bruce Fraser, Australian Mineral Industry Research Assn., Mel-
Dr. Hun S. Chung of Korea Institute of Geosciences & Mineral Resources,
bourne, Oct. ‘03; Jaime Sepulveda, Moly-Cop Grinding Systems, Santiago,
Daejeon, Korea visited Prof. Sohn's laboratory on March 19, 2004 to discuss
Chile, Jan. ‘04; Robert Cuttriss and Paul West-Sells, Placer Dome, Vancouver,
research collaboration between the two institutions.
B.C., Canada, July ‘04; and Hassan A. Hamza, CANMET Energy Technology
Centre – Devon, Alberta, Canada, July ‘04.
(Continued on page 6)
5
Models of Heap Leaching Processes: Challenges and Progress,” May ‘04.
(Continued from page 5)
Dee Bradshaw and Lesley Parolis, Dept of Chemical Engineering, University
Dr. Jin-Chun Kim, Nanopowder Materials Group at Korea Institute of Machin-
of Cape Town, South Africa, presented “Flotation Technology & Challenges for
ery and Materials, Changwon, visited in July ‘04 to discuss nanopowder synthesis
the PGM Industry,” February ‘04.
with Prof. Sohn's research group.
Dr. Lars-Oliver Heim, Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Ger-
Prof. Pat Taylor, Ansell Chair and Director of the Kroll Institute of Extractive
many, presented “Adhesion and Rolling Friction Forces between Micro Sized
Metallurgy, Colorado School of Mines, visited in Sept ‘04 and discussed applica-
Particles,” December ‘03.
tion of plasma reactors to metal powder synthesis with Prof. Sohn's group.
Prof. Mark Cross, University of Greenwich, UK, presented “Comprehensive
Give Us a Hand – Donations and Accreditation Questionnaire
Donations to scholarships or other department programs may Specify email or fax (local calls, to a dedicated fax line). The
be made by credit card at the secure website, www.ugive.utah.edu seminar is also posted on our website.
(designate the specific program you wish to support) or using the Send address updates to argyle@mines.utah.edu or metal-
enclosed card and U.S. business-reply envelope. lurgy@mines.utah.edu. Electronic transmission of the newsletter,
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in lieu of a paper copy, is an option; see the alumni questionnaire.
(ABET) requires us to do a questionnaire on our Bachelor’s de- The faculty and staff wish you a prosperous year and hope you
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www.mines.utah.edu/metallurgy/, or fill out the enclosed copy and Yours,
return it to us in the business-reply envelope. Ask your employer if
s/he would help us by filling out the on-line employer survey.
To receive notices for our weekly graduate seminar, contact Ravi Chandran
Kay at (801) 581-6386, fax 581-4937, or argyle@mines.utah.edu. Professor of Metallurgy
✄ ✄
Alumni Questionnaire — October 2004
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Metallurgy: G M.E. G Ph.D. Year: _______ G Winter G Summer
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Please send to Ravi Chandran, University of Utah, Department of Metallurgical Engineering,
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or fax 1 (801) 581–4937; or email ravi@mines.utah.edu.
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