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
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