Faculty and Staff

Dr. Jan Miller received a fair amount of recognition in 2007. In April he was presented an Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, and received an Honorary Professor Appointment, Central South University, Changsha, P.R. China, September. He gave the Lindsay Lecture, Chemical Engineering Department, Texas A & M University, and received the Certificate of Merit Award from the Mine Managers Association, Republic of South Africa, for his paper, “Trithiocarbonates for the Flotation of PGM Sulphides,” with C.F. Vos and J.C. Davidtz.

The 2007 Mellow Met Award for Excellence in Teaching Metallurgical Engineering went to Dr. Ravi Chandran. Ravi taught MetE 3530 and MetE 5450 during spring and fall semesters.

In September 2007, Mrs. Karen Haynes, our Office Support Coordinator, had her 20th employment anniversary with the U. Dr. Siva Guruswamy’s 20th anniversary was also in 2007.

Students

Graduate

Nishant Tikekar (PhD 2007) received the Graduate Seminar Award for Best Student Presentation. Nishant scored 93.8% for his seminar, "Novel Double-Layer Titanium Boride (TiB2 + TiB) Coatings on Ti-6Al-4V and CP-Ti Substrates," presented October 11, 2006. Listeners said, "Good knowledge on the math. Answered queries confidently. Good results that match well with theory," "Very nice and well-prepared presentation," and "Majestic command of subject." Nishant was Dr. Chandran’s student. His Ph.D. dissertation received its final approval November 2007. Originally from Mumbai, India, he received his B.E. in Metallurgical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur, India, and an M.S. in Material Science & Engineering from the U.

Aphichart Rodchanarowan received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards for both the department and the college. He is a Ph.D. candidate working with Dr. Free. Aphi is originally from Thailand. He received his M.S. from the U’s Department of Chemistry and his B.S. from Syracuse University in New York.

Undergraduate

Adam McGrath was awarded a renewable $5,000 FeMET Scholarship from the American Iron and Steel Institute. This includes the opportunity for a paid summer internship at a steel-producing facility.

The Oblad Silver Medal for Excellence in Metallurgical Engineering and the Outstanding Senior Student Award went to Zane Wyatt (BS 2007). Zane worked for Dr. Ravi Chandran as an undergraduate research assistant, doing work on building a ballistic test system for armor.

Last year he was Outstanding Junior. His scholarships include the Catherine Singer, the George & Trudy Healy, the Cooper-Hansen, the Dean's, and Honors at Entrance. Zane ranked #1 in his class at Castleford High School in Idaho.

After graduation he moved to Annapolis, Maryland, where he has been awarded a fellowship with the National Defense Science and Engineering Laboratories at the Office of Naval Research, to pursue an MS in Engineering Management and a PhD in Public Policy at the University of Maryland.

Zane is an avid mountain biker and snowboarder. With a mean elevation of 350 ft above sea level, his new location may not afford many opportunities for either.

A g.p.a. of 4.0 brought James Paramore the Outstanding Junior Student Award. James travels to elementary schools putting on experiments showing phase changes, materials properties, and so on. His previous awards include Outstanding Freshman and Outstanding Sophomore. His scholarships include the Franklin & Elizabeth Alex, the Departmental, the Rio Tinto, the Oblad Energy, the Cooper-Hansen, and the 2006 ASM Materials Education Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship. James previously attended Salt Lake Community College.

Tyler Helsten received the Outstanding Sophomore Student Award with 3.8 g.p.a. His scholarships include the Kennecott, the Phelps Dodge, the Top 10%, and the Departmental. He is from Woods Cross.

Our Outstanding Freshman Student was Brett Randall. Brett's g.p.a. was 3.89. His scholarships include the Catherine Singer and Honors at Entrance. He attended Viewmont High and is originally from Centerville.