CBE students win top prizes at AIChE Annual Meeting Poster Competitions
Three CBE students, graduate fellow Donald Belcher and undergraduate researchers Benjamin Rudzinski and Michael Petrecca, returned from the AIChE Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh with more than good memories -- they each won first prize in AIChE's Divisional Student Poster Competitions.
Donald Belcher's poster, "Mixtures of tense and relaxed state polymerized human hemoglobin regulate oxygen affinity and tissue construct oxygenation," won first prize in the AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical & Bioengineering Division (Division 15) Poster Competition.
Don's research under Professor Andre Palmer focused on the development of hemoglobin oxygen carriers (HBOCs) and artificial red blood cell substitutes influenced for a variety of applications. One such application is the oxygenation of bio-artificial liver assist devices. In these devices, the oxygen tension sensed by cultured liver cells has an effect on cell function, which dictates the extent and duration of replicated liver functions. Replicating the oxygen zonation observed in the liver sinusoid is needed for bio-artificial liver design. Don uses computational and experimental methods to evaluate how mixtures of low and high affinity polymerized hemoglobins regulate the functionality of these bio-artificial liver devices.
Don's study concludes: “Molar mixtures of the low and high affinity polymerized hemoglobins can yield HBOC solutions with tunable oxygen affinities. Additionally, oxygen transport simulations performed in these studies suggest that mixtures of polymerized hemoglobins with tense-state molar fractions greater than 50% are best suited for bio-artificial liver oxygenation.”
Last year, Don's work on using red blood cell substitutes to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapeutics earned him a two-year Pelotonia Graduate Research Fellowship. After he completes his graduate research, Don plans to enter academia to teach and investigate tissue-engineered and computational disease models for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of novel biologically-derived pharmaceuticals.
Benjamin Rudzinski, a third-year chemical engineering major who is minoring in Applied Mathmatics, took first place in the AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division Poster Competition. His research focuses on the use of a modified synthesis methodology to produce bulk amounts of materials known as Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Catalysts (TMDCs). TMDCs are ultra-thin semiconducting materials that can be optimized for use in a wide range of applications such as solar cells, LEDs, fuel cells, and photocatalytic devices. While there are currently methods for synthesizing small quantities of TMDCs, this methodology is the first cost- and time-efficient means of producing large amounts of these materials in a way that is easily scaled to industrial settings.
Ben has worked in Professor Umit Ozkan's catalysis and reaction engineering laboratory since the first semester of his Freshman year and further developed his research focus while on an NSF REU research program last summer at the University of South Florida, where he worked with CBE PhD alumnus John Kuhn, '07.
"I'm grateful to Dr. Kuhn and Dr. Humberto Rodriguez-Gutierrez of USF's physics department for granting me access not only to their labs, but to an amazing group of graduate students who helped me at every turn," Ben said regarding his work at USF. "Without the long nights and many weeks of hard work they helped me with, I can certainly say that my project would not have been anywhere as successful."
"All of the successes and progress that I have made in my research have grown out of the continued efforts of Dr. Ozkan and her graduate students," Ben said. "I am truly grateful to get to be part of such a treasured and successful group of researchers at Ohio State."
This is Rudzinski's second award this year -- he also won second prize in last spring's College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Forum in the Engineering-Chemical and Environmental category.
Ben, who was a Resident Advisor for a floor of 63 students in Ohio State's largest freshman residence hall and who has also served as a Wonders of Our World Science Outreach Mentor, is currently a Tread Development Intern at Cooper Tire & Rubber. After he completes his undergraduate studies at Ohio State, Ben plans to continue his education by completing a doctorate in chemical engineering.
Michael Petrecca, who currently serves as the internal vice president of Ohio State's student AIChE chapter, earned first place in the AIChE Fuels, Petrochemical and Energy Division Poster Competition, as well as the AIChE division-wide Harry West Award.
Mike's winning poster describes process simulation for hydrogen using ammonia and chemical looping, an area that he has been working on for the past two years in Professor L.-S. Fan's laboratory. "This pathway is unique in comparison to traditional hydrogen production methods," Mike said, "because it produces no carbon-containing greenhouse gasses."
Poster scores were based on three factors: the breadth of the research done; how well the poster was presented; and how well the presenter answered questions. Petrecca scored the highest in his division.
Petrecca also won the Honeywell UOP-sponsored Harry West Award, which selects just three students out of all AIChE division competition winners.
Naturally, Petrecca is pleased that his efforts have earned recognition, but he is quick to include others in the win, as well.
"Research is always a group effort that requires a strong and diverse team, and I was lucky enough to have one of the best," Mike said about receiving the awards. "It would not have been possible without collaborating with other undergraduate researchers in the lab, past and present, including Kate Clelland (a previous poster award winner), Tyler Christeson, and Melanie Gross; the mentorship of Drs. Mandar Kathe and Andrew Tong; and the technology developed by Professor Fan."
Currently a 5th year student in chemical engineering with an economics minor, Mike plans to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering. His objective is to work in the research and development of new technologies to meet growing global energy needs.