Message from the Chair - Summer 2023

Dear alums and friends,

Thank you for submitting class notes for the summer travel edition of Engineered for Success. It is so much fun to share in the excitement of travels with your stories and photos. I went to Norway this summer with my family, which provided a nice respite from the Tucson heat.

Graduates Shine at Convocation

Congratulations to the 80 undergraduates and 11 graduate students who joined the ranks of CHEE alumni at the department convocation this May. More than 700 family and friends attended, cheering on students as they walked across the stage to receive their graduation plaques and alumni t-shirts and were recognized for their outstanding achievements.

Faculty Transitions

CHEE bids farewell to professor Jim Farrell and associate professor Don Gervasio. Both are retiring in August after many years of service to the department and our students.

Jim joined CHEE in 1994 and has remained a consistent and dedicated teacher and researcher, studying electrochemical water treatment and reaction and adsorption phenomena using quantum chemistry modeling. He plans to continue as a consultant for the Consortium for Potable Water Reuse.

Don has been with CHEE since 2009, working extensively with industry, securing patents and founding several start-up companies including MetOxs and Caltrode. His research focuses on electrochemical engineering including solid state anhydrous proton conductors, energy conversion reactors, metal corrosion, extraction and electrodeposition and high-temperature electrodes.

We wish Jim and Don the best as they pursue their ongoing academic and personal interests.

Welcome to Cherie De Vore and Evi Floutas

Two new assistant professors will join CHEE starting this fall semester. Cherie De Vore’s research is leading to better understanding of biogeochemical mechanisms affecting the mobilization and bioavailability of metals in soils and plants near Indigenous communities. Evi Floutas studies polymer nanocomposites with unique morphologies and properties for energy storage applications.

We are thrilled to welcome Cherie and Evi to the CHEE family.

Safe Lab for Dangerous Reactions

CHEE is launching a crowdfunding campaign to purchase equipment for a new safety lab that will better prepare students for the workforce – and save lives.

With your support, the department will install a bomb calorimeter/reactor. This instrument measures the heat combustion of a sample in an oxygen-rich environment.

Students will test different chemicals and observe pressure and temperature changes.

They’ll see runaway reactions in action.

They’ll understand the causes, see the dangers first-hand, and learn how to prevent them in a safe and controlled setting.