Dr. Julie Carrier, professor of biological engineering, has taught at the University of Arkansas since 2000, following her time at the University of Saskatchewan.
Education
Carrier earned a bachelor’s of science in agricultural engineering; a master’s of science and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from McGill University in Quebec, Canada.
“I was interested in systems, and I liked the thoroughness of engineering,” she said.
Like many students, Carrier explored a few areas of study before settling on the best fit. She began as an engineering major, switched to landscape architecture, but returned to engineering swiftly, valuing the black-and-white results, the concrete data of it.
No matter what, “I made sure always to do the best at whatever I was doing,” she said, to ensure that she would have more opportunities.
Carrier pursued research interests in biochemistry, a great background for biological engineering.
“In the early 1980s, it was really novel to double engineering with biochemistry work…but I enjoyed it, so I did it.”
It wasn’t until later that she came to the world of biological engineering, when doing doctoral work on fermentation and plant tissue culture while interfacing with biologists and engineers.
A Transformation
The dynamic of earning an engineering education significantly improved since Carrier’s college years in the early 80s. That female students were a rarity of engineering programs was a gross understatement. In a 180 member class, Carrier was one of only two female students.
“It was a different time for women engineers back then. It was not a traditional path for a woman’s education,” she said.
As the campus coordinator for the Society of Women Engineers, Carrier has had the privilege of creating a comfortable learning atmosphere, which has brought many women into successful careers.
“It’s important for girls to be in this field of sustainability and engineering. They have a lot to contribute and it’s a great job for a female,” she said.
Sustainability research has expanded significantly giving her a unique perspective, having seen earlier proposed solutions to environmental conflicts.
“One of my professors said the solution to pollution is dilution. Just add more water to it, and the pollution will go away,” she said, in a manner of disbelief.
“Now, we have more (environmental) problems than ever. There are many more people on earth, so there is a tighter use of land, a competition for resources, globalization, and we have to make the most out of what we have. These are complex problems.”
Problems, she says, that biological engineers are working to find solutions for.
Influential engineer
Carrier was strongly influenced by her grandpa. “He was a mechanical engineer at a textile mill,” she said. “He designed a lot and impacted the company so much at that when he retired, they had to hire three engineers to replace him.”
In addition to being an exemplar engineer, Carrier’s grandfather “made me pass my dynamics course,” she said, chuckling.
University of Arkansas experience
Carrier, like Marty Matlock, Lalit Verma and Scott Osborn who followed later, came to the University of Arkansas upon the promise of a true biological engineering program, which was under the supervision of Dr. Carl Griffis and Dr. Walker at the time.
After the hurdle of moving a family of five from Canada to America, Carrier became a valued researcher and integral part of the innovative biological engineering department.
Research
Carrier works with Charles “Chuck” West, professor of environmental sciences and Ed Clausen, professor of chemical engineering.
“In our labs, we take plants and release their sugars, which are then used to produce biofuels and other bioproducts,” she said. “We try to release the sugars as delicately as possible so that inhibitors to other steps of the process are not created.”
Off the Clock
When Carrier is not working at the biological and agricultural labs, teaching, or advising students, she likes to walk her dogs, spend time with her family and go skiing as often as possible.
“I love to spend time with my family,” she said. “I also love to ski. I grew up in Canada and was a ski racer from the age of 12-19. I ski as often as I can, which is difficult to do when you’re living in Arkansas.”
Friday, August 5, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Meet the Professor: Dr. Jamie Hestekin
Jamie Hestekin, professor of chemical engineering, began teaching at the University of Arkansas in August of 2006.
Education
An interest in the environmental matters steered Hestekin to the world of engineering.
“Back then, the issue was greenhouse gases…and I wanted to make a difference in the world,” so engineering was the best channel for that career path, he said. “Since then, much of my research has been environment related.”
Influential researcher
Hestekin’s first impression of a successful engineer was a family friend.
“My dad’s business partner was a civil engineer that was bright and personable,” he said, which sparked his interest in the topic.
Hestekin earned his bachelor’s of science in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in Duluth and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky.
“My PhD advisor was a major influence. He was very good to students, students came first all the time.”
Now that he’s the professor, Hestekin tries to emulate his advisor’s teaching style.
“I like it better when my students are recognized, more than when I’m recognized,” he said.
University of Arkansas experience
“When we came to visit, we liked it,” he said. “They were doing lots of things here.
“The Honors College was doing a great job of getting undergraduates in the lab. And we thought, ‘that’s where it’s at.’”
In college, Hestekin gained perspective on national scientific research standards and found the University of Arkansas a respectable competitor.
“The students here are good, they are driven,” Hestekin said. So far, he has enjoyed his time as teacher, especially because he agrees with the philosophy: “Teach First.” He is an active researcher, but manages the balance as a teacher that truly cares about the quality of education and quality of life that his students have.
At the University of Arkansas, “our department provides practical knowledge, great problem solving skills and our project building—I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
“The building of projects is challenging, and we do it well.”
Research
Jamie Hestekin’s research has gained a unique amount of attention in 2011, when he and an undergraduate team of chemical engineering researchers began converting algae to butanol and won the PBS Planet Forward competition “Innovator of the Year.” From June 2011-June 2012, PBS will track the progress of his research through the creation of videos and other web content available to the public.
“The experience with PBS Planet Forward has brought some interesting connections,” Hestekin said. “We get people that want to make butanol in their backyard, without using our equipment.”
Instead of seeming frustrated by this, he welcomes the challenge, because the nature of a research team is to solve complex problems.
The nationally-publicized project has brought an almost unwanted amount of attention upon Hestekin.
“We tried to get the group to pass as the Innovator of the Year, but they said the innovator must be a single person,” he said.
But overall the publicity has been good, bringing them in touch with more potential undergraduate researchers, and generating a publication of the social media impact on the research project, based on the massive response in the contest.
“Before (Planet Forward), if you googled my name, maybe 10 hits about research would pop up. Now, it’s 500-600, or more,” Hestekin said.
The next step in his research is to streamline the cost of the more expensive parts for the butanol conversion. “We want to get it competitive in the process. The idea is to get the cost reduced to the same as ethanol and replace ethanol within ten years.”
Off the clock
In his free time, Hestekin takes care of his two-year-old daughter, plays tennis with his students, travels extensively and plays the piano.
“I enjoy playing piano, and thought of making a career of it once,” he said. “My daughter likes to play the piano when I’m playing. She (dictates) the songs that I play, because she has her favorites.”
Jamie and his wife Christa, who is also a chemical engineering professor at the University of Arkansas, like to hang out with students. They play tennis with them, travel together and host parties for them.
PBS Planet Forward campaign keeps him travelling, but that hasn’t slowed the frequency of other trips.
“We love to travel. The last non-Planet Forward trip we took was to Europe, in Venice and Barcelona,” he said. “I do a lot of traveling for Planet Forward, and the last trips we took with students were to Hawaii and Singapore.”
For more information about Hestekin’s research, follow the University of Arkansas College of Engineering on Facebook or planetforward.org, for regular links to research videos on the algae-to-butanol project, like these:
http://planetforward.org/productions/innovator-update-jamie-hestekin/
http://planetforward.org/members/jhestekin/profile/
http://planetforward.org/productions/innovator-jamie-hestekin/
Links to his publications can be found on his research website, http://comp.uark.edu/~jhesteki
Education
An interest in the environmental matters steered Hestekin to the world of engineering.
“Back then, the issue was greenhouse gases…and I wanted to make a difference in the world,” so engineering was the best channel for that career path, he said. “Since then, much of my research has been environment related.”
Influential researcher
Hestekin’s first impression of a successful engineer was a family friend.
“My dad’s business partner was a civil engineer that was bright and personable,” he said, which sparked his interest in the topic.
Hestekin earned his bachelor’s of science in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in Duluth and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky.
“My PhD advisor was a major influence. He was very good to students, students came first all the time.”
Now that he’s the professor, Hestekin tries to emulate his advisor’s teaching style.
“I like it better when my students are recognized, more than when I’m recognized,” he said.
University of Arkansas experience
“When we came to visit, we liked it,” he said. “They were doing lots of things here.
“The Honors College was doing a great job of getting undergraduates in the lab. And we thought, ‘that’s where it’s at.’”
In college, Hestekin gained perspective on national scientific research standards and found the University of Arkansas a respectable competitor.
“The students here are good, they are driven,” Hestekin said. So far, he has enjoyed his time as teacher, especially because he agrees with the philosophy: “Teach First.” He is an active researcher, but manages the balance as a teacher that truly cares about the quality of education and quality of life that his students have.
At the University of Arkansas, “our department provides practical knowledge, great problem solving skills and our project building—I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
“The building of projects is challenging, and we do it well.”
Research
Jamie Hestekin’s research has gained a unique amount of attention in 2011, when he and an undergraduate team of chemical engineering researchers began converting algae to butanol and won the PBS Planet Forward competition “Innovator of the Year.” From June 2011-June 2012, PBS will track the progress of his research through the creation of videos and other web content available to the public.
“The experience with PBS Planet Forward has brought some interesting connections,” Hestekin said. “We get people that want to make butanol in their backyard, without using our equipment.”
Instead of seeming frustrated by this, he welcomes the challenge, because the nature of a research team is to solve complex problems.
The nationally-publicized project has brought an almost unwanted amount of attention upon Hestekin.
“We tried to get the group to pass as the Innovator of the Year, but they said the innovator must be a single person,” he said.
But overall the publicity has been good, bringing them in touch with more potential undergraduate researchers, and generating a publication of the social media impact on the research project, based on the massive response in the contest.
“Before (Planet Forward), if you googled my name, maybe 10 hits about research would pop up. Now, it’s 500-600, or more,” Hestekin said.
The next step in his research is to streamline the cost of the more expensive parts for the butanol conversion. “We want to get it competitive in the process. The idea is to get the cost reduced to the same as ethanol and replace ethanol within ten years.”
Off the clock
In his free time, Hestekin takes care of his two-year-old daughter, plays tennis with his students, travels extensively and plays the piano.
“I enjoy playing piano, and thought of making a career of it once,” he said. “My daughter likes to play the piano when I’m playing. She (dictates) the songs that I play, because she has her favorites.”
Jamie and his wife Christa, who is also a chemical engineering professor at the University of Arkansas, like to hang out with students. They play tennis with them, travel together and host parties for them.
PBS Planet Forward campaign keeps him travelling, but that hasn’t slowed the frequency of other trips.
“We love to travel. The last non-Planet Forward trip we took was to Europe, in Venice and Barcelona,” he said. “I do a lot of traveling for Planet Forward, and the last trips we took with students were to Hawaii and Singapore.”
For more information about Hestekin’s research, follow the University of Arkansas College of Engineering on Facebook or planetforward.org, for regular links to research videos on the algae-to-butanol project, like these:
http://planetforward.org/productions/innovator-update-jamie-hestekin/
http://planetforward.org/members/jhestekin/profile/
http://planetforward.org/productions/innovator-jamie-hestekin/
Links to his publications can be found on his research website, http://comp.uark.edu/~jhesteki
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