Happy Holidays

 

Faculty and staff sing the Eyes of Texas at the holiday banquet
A Special Holiday Video
A song from us to you to spread a little holiday cheer—Hook ’em Horns! See pictures from the holiday banquet.

 

Top 10 Achievements from 2014
Headshot of George Georgiou

10. Celebrated prestigious faculty awards and honors
George Georgiou was named Inventor of the Year, Nicholas Peppas was elected to the National Academy of Inventors, and Tom Edgar was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. See more recent awards.

 

Logo for the Greenhouse Gas Technologies Conference

9. Led major international conferences in Austin
Gary Rochelle chaired the International Greenhouse Gas Technologies Conference, and Jim Chelikowsky headed the International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors, both events were held at the Austin Convention Center.

 

John McKetta at his 99th birthday party in a photo booth wearing a hard hat and burnt orange shirt

8. Celebrated John McKetta’s 99th birthday
This year’s annual tailgate offered the perfect time to celebrate Dr. McKetta’s 99th birthday! Tailgaters posed in a photo booth (see images), sang “Happy Birthday” and enjoyed cake. Thanks again to all who made a gift to the Challenge for McKetta in honor of this special occasion.

 

Graduate student Jenny Knipe and professor Isaac Sanchez in lab safety gear, such as lab coats and googles

7. Developed safety partnerships with industry
The department teamed up with industry partners to implement new initiatives to keep safety a daily priority, and to ensure students are prepared to succeed in the workforce. See what we’re doing to promote a safety culture.

 

Thumbnail graphic saying "The world and UT" for the study abroad program at UT Austin

6. Established groundbreaking international courses
Brian Korgel is leading a new Nanotechnology Innovation course and Jennifer Maynard will teach a new Engineering Global Health course, both in partnership with Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.

 

Headshot of Sai Gourisankar

5. Recognized top student awards
Our students won numerous highly-competitive awards this year, including Sai Gourisankar who was named a Rhodes Scholar and Cara Touretzky who was awarded a STAR Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. See more recent awards.

 

McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty standing in front of the chemical & petroleum engineering building

4. Welcomed new faculty members
The department was pleased to announce that Ben (Keith) Keitz and Nate Lynd have joined our world-class faculty. Learn more about our newest assistant professors in this Q&A. 

 

Shot of a researcher's gloved hand heating materials over a bunsen burner

3. Generated more than $20M in research funding
Our innovative work is attracting more and more funding. For example, George Georgiou received $1.7M to help the immune system fight cancer and Jim Chelikowsky was awarded $1.2M to find new magnetic materials.

 

Undergraduate students at the McKetta Picnic

2. Department ranked No. 6
Both our graduate and undergraduate programs were ranked No. 6 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. 

 

Three chemical engineering students stand in their graduation cap and gowns with the undergraduate coordinator

1. Graduated 159 chemical engineering leaders of tomorrow
We conferred 29 doctorate degrees and 130 bachelor’s degrees this year. Congratulations to the Class of 2014—we can’t wait to see how you change the world! 

 

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