Description:

The Department of Chemical and Biological Enginnering is delighted to host the 28th Annual Hulburt Lecture, which will be presented by ChBE advisory board member, Joan Stafslien.

Date & Time: Thursday, May 12th 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ford ITW Room (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)
*** All ChBE Faculty, Graduate Students and Staff are also invited
to lunch at Performance Hall (2122 Sheridan Road, entrance door on Haven St.) at 12:00pm

Speaker: Joan Stafslien, Former EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at CareFusion
Title: Challenge for Healthcare: Effective & Safe Medication Delivery

Abstract
In this talk, we will discuss the challenges the healthcare system faces in meeting its mission of healing the sick while at the same time “doing no harm.” In the seminal 1999 report, “To Err is Human,” the Institute of Medicine calls medical errors “the nation’s epidemic.” In particular, we will focus on the complexities of delivering medications to patients effectively and safely in the hospital setting, where patients receive the most lifesaving (and, paradoxically, the most toxic) drugs. While manufacturers excel at creating the chemical or biologic drug, 1 in 5 medical injuries is caused by a medication error. We will explore why, how and where medication errors occur in acute care hospitals. We will also explore some of the advances that have been made to ensure patients are not harmed.

Bio
Joan Stafslien has over 22 years of executive experience in the life science industry. As CareFusion’s General Counsel and corporate secretary, Ms. Stafslien led the legal team in the spin-off from Cardinal Health in 2009. From 2009-2015, she was a member of the Executive Leadership Team that successfully built CareFusion into a leading medical technology company. In 2014-15, Ms. Stafslien led the legal team in the acquisition of CareFusion by Becton, Dickinson & Company for $12.6 billion. Prior to CareFusion, Ms. Stafslien was Segment General Counsel of Cardinal Health’s medical device segment, which would become CareFusion through the spin-off, and Deputy General Counsel of Alaris Medical Systems. Prior to Alaris, Ms. Stafslien was in private practice with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Ms. Stafslien also worked for Dow Chemical Company in chemical sales and engineering. Ms. Stafslien holds a JD from University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude, and a BS (Chemical Engineering) from Northwestern University, Tau Beta Pi. She is on the advisory board of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. She also is a board member of a private k-12 college prep school and a non-profit supporting organ transplant.

Description:

ChBE's eighth seminar of the Spring Quarter will be presented by Chris Jones, detailed information is given below:

Date & Time: Thursday, May 19th 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ford ITW Room (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)

Speaker: Christopher W. Jones, Georgia Institute of Technology
Title: Amine-Modified Silicates as CO2 Sorbents and Catalysts

Abstract
Worldwide energy demand is projected to grow strongly in the coming decades, with most of the growth in developing countries. Even with unprecedented growth rates in the development of renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and bioenergy, the world will continue to rely on fossil fuels as a predominant energy source for at least the next several decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that anthropogenic CO2 has contributed measurably to climate change over the course of the last century. To this end, there is growing interest in new technologies that might allow continued use of fossil fuels without drastically increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations beyond currently projected levels. In this lecture, I will describe the design and synthesis, characterization and application of new aminosilica materials that we have developed as cornerstones of new technologies for the removal of CO2 from dilute gas streams. These chemisorbents efficiently remove CO2 from simulated flue gas streams, and the CO2 capacities are actually enhanced by the presence of water, unlike in the case of physisorbents such as zeolites. Interestingly, the heat of adsorption for these sorbents is sufficiently high that the sorbents are also capable of capturing CO2 from extremely dilute gas streams, such as the ambient air. Indeed, our oxide-supported amine adsorbents are quite efficient at the direct “air capture” of CO2 and we will describe our investigations into development of “air capture” technologies as well. Finally, the amine-modified silica materials have also been used as efficient catalysts in coupling reactions important in organic synthesis, such as aldol and nitroaldol condensations. Inspired by biological catalysts that make and break bonds using cooperative organocatalytic sites, chemocatalysts designed to promote cooperativity between amines and hydrogen bonding sites are shown to be highly effective catalysts. Kinetic evidence for cooperative catalysis will be presented.

Bio
Professor Jones is the Love Family Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the Associate Vice President for Research at Georgia Tech. Dr. Jones leads a research group that works in the broad areas of materials, catalysis and adsorption. Since joining Georgia Tech, Dr. Jones has been recognized with a number of awards for his research and teaching. The American Chemical Society recognized his catalysis research with the Ipatieff Prize in 2010, followed by the North American Catalysis Society with the Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis in 2013. Also in 2013, he was recognized by the American Society of Engineering Education for his work in CO2 capture with the Curtis McGraw Research Award. Dr. Jones is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the new journal, ACS Catalysis, which was recognized with the 2012 Prose Award as the Best New Journal in Science, Technology or Medicine, by the American Association of Publishers. As Associate Vice-President for Research, Jones is responsible for leading and managing interdisciplinary research activities across six colleges, the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and the Enterprise Innovation Institute.

Description:

Our ninth ChBE seminar of the Spring Quarter will be presented by Krista Walton, detailed information is given below:

Date & Time: Thursday, May 26th 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ford ITW Room (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)
Speaker: Krista Walton, Georgia Institute of Technology
Title: How Environmental Factors Impact Performance of MOFs in Adsorption Systems

Abstract
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are permanently porous coordination polymers that have emerged as an important new class of porous materials with the potential to make an immediate impact in adsorption separation technologies. MOFs are synthesized by a self-assembly process in which metal or metal-oxide vertices are connected by rigid or semi-rigid organic molecules. The rational synthesis approach opens up the possibility for new advances in the development of new and improved adsorbents for air purification and the removal of toxic chemicals. MOFs have shown the potential to be designed for adsorbate-specific interactions, creating effective and selective “molecular sponges”. However, the density of active sites is often low, and the commercial use of MOFs is still limited by issues with chemical stability and synthesis scale-up. This seminar will discuss our recent progress in this area and will demonstrate the applicability of MOFs for adsorption separations and catalysis.

Bio
Krista Walton was born in Florence, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Elgin. She received a BSE degree from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and PhD from Vanderbilt University, both in chemical engineering. While at UAH, Dr. Walton worked as a process engineer at Solutia, Inc., in Decatur, AL, for 2 years as part of the cooperative education program. She completed her graduate work under the direction of Prof. M. Douglas LeVan and worked with Prof. Randall Snurr during her postdoctoral studies. Dr. Walton was the Tim and Sharon Taylor Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University from 2006-2009 and then joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering in August 2009. She serves as Director in the AIChE Separations Division and Secretary/Treasurer of the International Adsorption Society.

Description:

Details TBA