Dr. Alla Kostyukova and bioengineering major, Kang Pan, working in the lab
PULLMAN, Wash. – Thirty-four Washington State University students landed 30 awards following a day of competition at the March 29 Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA). Among those receiving the highest honors was Kang Pan, a senior in bioengineering from Pasco, WA. Pan’s advisor is Dr. Alla Kostyukova.
Nearly 150 students shared the results of their research, scholarship and creative activities via 10 oral and 117 poster presentations in eight categories. Participants in the second annual university-wide SURCA represented dozens of majors and specializations across six of WSU’s nine degree-granting colleges.
Senior Kang Pan with her advisor, Dr. Alla Kostyukova
“All of the presentations were excellent this year, and the breadth of research the students are conducting is vast, so selecting the best of the best to receive awards was not an easy task,” said Shelley Pressley, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, a program in the University College at WSU and host of SURCA.
Yong Wang, Voiland Distinguished Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
According to the RSC website, those who are named fellows are recognized for making outstanding contributions in the advancement or application of chemical science or to the chemical science profession. The Royal Society of Chemistry is the largest chemical sciences organization in Europe, with more than 47,000 members.
With WSU since 2009, Wang, who holds a joint position at Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, is an internationally known researcher in energy and renewable fuels whose work has had a significant impact on improving energy efficiency in the chemical and fuels industries.
A WSU alumnus (MS, ‘92, PhD. ‘93, Chem E.), Wang’s work spans fundamental to applied research in catalysis and reaction engineering to improve the conversion of biomass and hydrocarbons to fuels and chemicals. Improving the efficiency of catalysts, which are used in many industries to chemically transform and create products and fuel, is important to increasing supplies, reducing costs and improving environmental impacts of petroleum-based and alternative fuels.
Wang is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). The Chinese Institute of Engineers named him the 2006 Asian American Engineer of the Year. He is the recipient of three prestigious R&D 100 awards (1997, 1999 and 2008), which annually recognize the 100 most significant and innovative new technologies that have been introduced in the marketplace. He is also a recipient of the Presidential Green Chemistry Award and twice was named Pacific Northwest National Laboratories Inventor of the Year.
He has more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, more than 100 invited presentations, more than 85 issued US patents, and six edited books and topic journals issued on novel materials and reaction engineering for fossil and biomass conversions.
Chemical engineering graduate student Zizwe Chase has won a William R. Wiley Research Award at the William R. Wiley Graduate Research Exposition. Chase’s advisor is Dr. Yong Wang. His presentation was entitled, “Composition and Structure of Supported Palladium Catalysts during Hydrogenation of Phenol in Water.” His research is part of the overall focus of aqueous phase lignocellulosic based biomass conversion to fuel.
(l to r) Dr. Alla Kostyukova works with graduate student, Mert ColpanThe Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering has become eligible for participation in Achievement Rewards for College Sciences (ARCS) Foundation fellowship program, a nationally acclaimed fellowship program.
ARCS Foundation, founded in 1958, aims to address the growing need for US scientists and engineers by offering doctoral fellowships to students pursuing science, engineering and medical research. By becoming eligible for this program, the Voiland School becomes more competitive in being able to recruit top graduate students.
“WSU Chemical Engineering program was selected in recognition of the high quality Ph.D. education conducted by the faculty of the Voiland School, and their ability to attract and educate the best students from around the nation,” said James Petersen, the director of the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.
During the past five years, the Voiland School has seen dramatic growth in its program with increases in its number of graduate students and in research support. Focused research areas in the school include chemical and biological catalysis for clean energy, protein engineering, and engineering education.
The school has also seen an 18-point increase in the US News and World Report’s Best Engineering Schools ranking. Additionally, WSU’s School of Chemical Engineering recently received a top 10 ranking from Shaw Lesser of Sustainable World Capital. The list included MIT, UC Berkeley and at number 10, WSU.
Nancy Magnuson, the interim vice president of research and dean of the graduate school, attributes the program’s growth to a recent change in leadership and the generous donation from alumni Gene and Linda Voiland.
“As a result, sponsored research funding and PhD student numbers are dramatically rising and the chemical engineering program is gaining in prominence,” wrote Magnuson in a cover letter for the proposal submitted to the foundation.
Other WSU graduate programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine and CAHNRS are also eligible for Seattle Chapter, ARCS fellowships.
“We are pleased to be counted among WSU’s most highly recognized graduate programs,” Petersen said.
by Alyssa Patrick, College of Engineering and Architecture intern
When Adan Medina discovered he’d been selected for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Summer Research Program (MSRP), he was ecstatic.
“I was in the lab when the program director called to say I was accepted. Let’s just say you could hear my excitement throughout the halls,” said Medina, a chemical engineering student in his final year.
This summer, Medina and 38 other students from various STEM majors around the country took part in this highly competitive undergraduate opportunity. Its goal is to prepare participants for graduate school through a focus on research. Medina said the three main pillars of the program were preparing for graduate school applications, networking, and conducting research with MIT professors.
The students all worked in research laboratories related to their fields and received a weekly stipend. Medina worked in the well-known Wittrup Lab that specializes in protein engineering, specifically focusing on anti-cancer drugs.
In particular, Medina focused on a different method of creating antibody-like reagents, or substances that help to bring about chemical reactions, for research. The goal of the project is to equip laboratories with efficient, low-cost methods to make antibodies. At the end of the 9-week program, all of the students presented posters about their research.
“I had to start my experiments over 3 or 4 times, which was stressful since I wanted to have data to show at the poster session. Not a second was ever lost, though, because each time I started over I knew a little bit more about the experiment,” Medina said.
Working in the WSU labs of Dr. Su Ha and Dr. John Alderete helped Medina gain the experience he needed to be accepted by MSRP. While his area of interest is biofuels, Medina’s passion for the research process gave him the desire to work in different fields.
“Adan is one of the most excitable, enthusiastic, dedicated undergraduates that my lab has had the pleasure to work with,” said Alderete.
As a result of MSRP, Medina is even more confident in his desire to pursue research through graduate school. He is applying to chemical engineering programs mostly on the West Coast that have strong bio-based alternative energy programs.
“This summer was my best experience by far. I am now confident in my ability to do research and in the huge difference that research can make,” Medina said.
by Alyssa Patrick, WSU College of Engineering and Architecture intern
PULLMAN, Wash. – Chemical engineering PhD student Kevin Gray is headed to Japan in November to do a fellowship at a prestigious international school.
Gray will work under Dr. Fadel Samatey, a collaborator with Gray’s advisor Dr. Alla Kostyukova, at The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University for four months. Samatey will give him training in protein crystallography and X-ray Diffraction.
“I am extremely fortunate to be working with Professor Kostyukova. She has a wide breadth of research techniques, and it is because of her connections that I even applied for this fellowship,” he said.
Currently he is preparing the Tropomodulin-2 (Tmod2) protein samples that are part of his graduate research to take with him to Japan. Tmod2 is a protein expressed in brain tissue. Altered amounts of the protein appear after strokes, after methamphetamine exposure and in Down’s Syndrome.
In addition to learning the crystallization process, he hopes to crystallize his protein samples and then gather structural data using X-ray Diffraction.
“We are currently doing fundamental science to better understand the protein,” he said. “Once we better understand it, that information may be used later down the road to suggest targeting Tmod2 regulation which could alleviate symptoms in conditions such as Down’s Syndrome,” he said. Originally from North Carolina, Gray grew up in Redmond, Wash. He earned his undergraduate degree at The Georgia Institute of Technology.
“While I am excited to continue my research and learn new techniques, I’m also looking forward to being somewhere new and meeting new people,” he said.
by Alyssa Patrick, WSU College of Engineering and Architecture intern
PULLMAN, Wash. – A WSU-Tri-Cities chemical engineering PhD student won third place in a student poster competition at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Xiaohui Ju’s research is related to biofuels. She and her advisor, Xiao Zhang, are working to understand the deconstruction of cellulose in biofuels in hopes that their findings will lead to more efficient methods of biofuel production.
Ju presented her poster, Mechanism of Nanocrystalline Cellulose Decrystallization during Enzymatic Hydrolis, at PNNL’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) annual user meeting. Her research is supported by a National Science Foundation award.
“It is a very good opportunity for a brand new student to get to work with professional scientists, and getting recognized for my work makes me feel I’m doing something important for renewable energy,” Ju said.
Opportunities such as developing and presenting that research are part of what brought Ju to WSU. Originally from China, she earned her bachelor’s there, and then came to WSU because of its prestigious chemical engineering program and involvement in biofuels.
“My advisor is very helpful in giving me instruction, and I appreciate the chance to come here where there are many opportunities for career development,” she said.
Ju hopes to finish her doctoral degree within the next couple of years, and then plans to stay in the area and continue to work in the development of biofuels. Ju sees it as a promising industry, and would like to help make it commercially viable. Zhang is confident in her ability to pursue her goals.
“She is a very intelligent and hardworking woman,” he said.
