Purdue honors 2006 outstanding chemical engineering alumni

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University's School of Chemical Engineering will honor three alumni with its 2006 Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award today (Thursday, Oct. 26) during an event at the Lafayette Country Club.

"Just 114 alumni of our more than 9,000 graduates have received this award," said Arvind Varma, the R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor and head of the School of Chemical Engineering. "These alumni have proven themselves to be leaders in their fields and each have had a tremendous impact on society through their work."

This year's award recipients are:

* Michael Ladisch of West Lafayette, Ind., who received master's and doctorate degrees from Purdue in 1974 and 1977, respectively. He earned a bachelor's degree from Drexel University. He is director of Purdue's Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering and a distinguished professor of agricultural and biological engineering. He has a joint appointment in biomedical engineering and courtesy appointment in food science. Ladisch is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. His research focus is in bioprocess engineering as it applies to bioproducts, biorecovery and bionanotechnology used in products such as ethanol and other biofuels.

* James Rust of Edina, Minn., who received bachelor's and doctorate degrees from Purdue in 1958 and 1965, respectively. He earned his master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his career, he served on the faculty for the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Nuclear Engineering and for the University of Virginia. He is involved with energy and educating the public on energy problems, in particular nuclear energy. He served as the Georgia site coordinator for the Department of Energy's Citizen's Workshop Program in the state. He authored "Nuclear Power Plant Engineering" in 1979. The text was used in 18 university campuses in the United States.

* James Stake of Minneapolis, who received a bachelor's degree from Purdue in 1974. He earned a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He is executive vice president, enterprise services, for 3M Corp. He previously served as executive vice president for the display and graphics business for 3M. He has held leadership responsibilities in three of 3M's six divisions, which are located in South America, Europe and the United States. The divisions are surgical products, industrial tape and specialties, and packaging systems.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu

Source: Arvind Varma, (765) 494-4075, avarma@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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