SUNRISE Faculty
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Dr. Bowman received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University in 1991 and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1997. After a brief stint as a postdoctoral scholar in Environmental Engineering at Caltech, he took a teaching position at Vanderbilt University in the Chemical Engineering Department. In 2005 he joined the UND Department of Chemical Engineering where he is currently an assistant professor and serves as director of the Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering graduate programs.
Dr. Bowman is an expert in the field of atmospheric aerosols with a focus on secondary organic aerosol partitioning behavior, mathematical modeling of multicomponent aerosols, and air quality modeling of organic aerosols. He has conducted both modeling and experimental studies of secondary organic aerosol formation. He is currently investigating the atmospheric transformations of trace elements from coal combustion emissions and the influence of aerosol mixing state on semivolatile organic partitioning. Dr. Bowman is also developing an environmental science computer game to help middle school students learn the process of scientific problem solving.
frank.bowman@und.edu
701.777.4245
Department of Chemistry
North Dakota State University
Uwe Burghaus was born in West-Berlin, Germany where he attended the Free University in Berlin. There, he earned a bachelor's and master's degree in physics shortly followed by a doctorate from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. Uwe's dissertation focused on physical chemistry and particular surface science (heterogeneous catalysis). After several postdoctoral positions in Italy and the U.S., he returned to Germany and became a lecturer in the Chemistry Department at Ruhr-University and earned tenure. Uwe later accepted a position in the Chemistry Department at NDSU as an assistant professor. He’s published more than 70 peer-refereed papers and is strongly involved in teaching outreach projects such as the Native American NATURE program. In 2008, he won an NSF-CAREER grant and is also the PI of a Department of Energy grant. These projects focus on nanotechnology applied to surface science problems.
Uwe’s SUNRISE research focuses on the catalytic properties of particulate matter model systems, such as graphite and alkaline earth oxide single crystals. This includes kinetics experiments, as well as molecular beam scattering.
Uwe.burghaus@ndsu.edu
701.231.9742
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
Jerome Delhommelle received his bachelor's degree and his doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Paris XI-Orsay. After various academic appointments in France, Australia and in the U.S., he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Dakota in the Fall of 2008 as an assistant professor in the Physical Chemistry division. Dr. Delhommelle has authored and co-authored more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He also serves as the U.S. regional editor of the journal Molecular Simulation.
Dr. Delhommelle's research is in the field of computational chemistry. His research group works on developing molecular models and molecular simulation methods to understand and predict the behavior of nonequilibrium systems. Recent research topics studied in his group include the molecular simulation of the nucleation and growth of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles, which are of key interest in catalysis and other energy-related applications.
jdelhommelle@chem.und.edu
701.777.2495
Department of Law
University of North Dakota
Professor Fershee writes and lectures in the areas of energy and business law. Before joining the UND School of Law faculty, he served as a visiting professor at Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law. In addition, he practiced law in New York and Washington, D.C., where he advised energy clients on regulatory, litigation and transactional issues. Professor Fershee received his J.D. magna cum laude from Tulane Law School and has a B.A. from Michigan State University.
Professor Fershee’s research focuses primarily on U.S. energy policy, particularly renewable energy and climate change issues. Recent publications include an analysis of state and regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a review of U.S. policy to promote energy infrastructure investment, and the likely impact of a national renewable portfolio standard. Current research projects will consider renewable energy incentives in the electricity industry and U.S. energy policy related to ethanol and biofuels, including both corn-based and next-generation biofuels.
jfershee@law.und.edu
Department of Chemistry
North Dakota State University
As a California native, John Hershberger remained in his home state to attend the University of California at Santa Barbara. After earning an undergraduate degree in chemistry there, he enrolled and completed a Ph.D. at Yale University. He then joined Dr. George Flynn’s research group at Columbia University as a postdoctoral associate. In 1989, Dr. Hershberger was appointed as assistant professor in the NDSU Chemistry Department and earned full professorship in 2005. His positions at NDSU include department chair, associate chair, interim chair and currently the chair of the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has been funded by the Department of Energy since 1993.
Dr. Hershberger research interests are in the kinetics and dynamics of gas phase reactions, with an emphasis on the studies of the detailed mechanisms of combustion chemistry. In addition, laser photolysis and laser-based detection of small molecules by infrared absorption and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy are areas of interest.
john.hershberger@ndsu.edu
701.231.8225
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
Dr. Hoffmann received his baccalaureate from Northwestern University, with a double major in Astronomy and Chemistry in 1980. He went on to the University of California, Berkeley, to study Theoretical Physical Chemistry and received his Ph.D. in 1984. After being a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago for one year and a postdoctoral research associate and faculty intern at the University of Utah for two years, he joined the Chemistry Department at the University of North Dakota in 1988. Dr. Hoffmann has been chair of the Chemistry Department since 2003, and was named a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in 2006. Mark is the coauthor on more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been an invited speaker at numerous international conferences. He is the coauthor of a book on electronic structure theory that was first published in 2002. He has served as PI on the previous NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement grant to SUNRISE and serves as PI on the current grant.
Dr. Hoffmann's principal areas of research interest and expertise include the development and application of new theoretical and computational methods for molecular electronic structure, and the application of these to elucidating the potential energy surfaces of molecules in their ground and excited electronic states. Recognized contributions have been made on methods based on hybrid variational-perturbational frameworks, such as quasidegenerate or multireference perturbation theories. Algorithms that take into account high performance computer architectures have received special attention in recent years. A variety of types of concrete systems have been studied, with particular attention on chemical reactions in which nonadiabatic couplings of surfaces are major effects, including metal-containing molecules, catalysts, and combustion reactions. Recent progress has been made on extending quantum chemical approaches to the understanding of molecules in intense laser fields.
mhoffmann@chem.und.edu
701.777.2742
Department of Biology
Mayville State University
Khwaja Hossain, a Bangladesh native, received his bachelor's and master's in Agricultural Sciences. He is a commonwealth scholar and completed his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from University of Wales, U.K. in 1995. He worked as a rice breeder and a faculty member in one of the Agricultural Universities in Bangladesh for several years. After successfully completing his research appointment in Chiba University, Japan, he came to NDSU in 2000 to work on wheat genomics. Dr. Hossain is a biology faculty at Mayville State University and is involved in teaching and research in different aspects of genomics. He has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, 30 abstracts, reports and other publications.
Dr. Hossain is working to develop soybean feedstock with high oleic acid content with higher amount of 16-carbon long saturated fatty acid. Fatty acids are the major component of oil and its compositions varies greatly. Soybean feedstocks with high oleic and 16-carbon-long fatty acid content are expected to increase the yield of aromatic-based chemicals and polymers during cracking.
K_Hossain@mayvillestate.edu
701.788.4728
Department of Plant Sciences
North Dakota State University
Dr. Johnson is a production agronomist with a research emphasis regarding improvement of best management practices for sunflower, alternative, and new crops. In the case of new crops best management practices are typically limited or may not exist due to the newness of the crop. Dr. Johnson's research with traditional crops and new crops for the region provides the opportunity to evaluate crop management and environment as they relate to agronomic performance. Dr. Johnson teaches an undergraduate crop production class and advises both undergraduate and graduate students in crop production.
Approximately 12 oilseed crops are grown in North Dakota and the surrounding region providing feedstock for edible, industrial, personal hygiene, spice, and biofuel applications. Dr. Johnson's research with oilseed crops provides an opportunity to demonstrate the impact production practices have on crop performance and identify environments and practices that optimize production. Identifying environments and agronomic practices that optimize production of oilseed crops for an intended end use is of high research interest since crop management may differ depending on environment and end use.
burton.johnson@ndsu.edu
701.231.8895
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Dr. Kozliak earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Chemistry at Moscow State University in 1983 and then a doctorate in Physical Chemistry at the same college in 1987. After spending four years at the Institute of Biochemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he moved to the U.S. to work as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Dr. Kozliak joined the UND Chemistry Department as an assistant professor in 1995 and was later promoted to a professor. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor in the Chemical Engineering Department. Dr. Kozliak has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, several patents, book chapters, and other publications.
His research studies the application of experimental analytical, thermodynamic and kinetic methods to determine the mechanisms of complex processes. Dr. Koziliak’s research group analyzes chemical transport, kinetics, and catalysis along with collaborative interdisciplinary research on the interface of academic and applied chemistry including chemical, physical, and engineering approaches.
jkozliak@chem.und.edu
701.777.2145
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
Dr. Kubatova received her master’s and doctoral degrees in analytical chemistry at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. After completing graduate school, she accepted postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Antwerp in Belgium and at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota. In 2003, she transferred to a research scientist position at the EERC and later joined the Chemistry Department at UND. Dr. Kabatova now serves as an assistant professor and has authored more than 28 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Her research areas include the characterization of biofuels and characterization of biologically active compounds isolated from plants. The characterization of biofuels is a quite complex task for which ASTM methods are usually employed. However, ASTM methods were mainly designed for petroleum fuels and do not address specific properties and compositional differences of biofuels. Dr. Kubatova research group is currently developing detailed methods for characterization of biofuels generated within the SUNRISE group. Further information about her research group can be found at http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/chromatography/index.html.
akubatova@chem.und.edu
701.777.0348
Department of Earth Systems Science and Policy
University of North Dakota
Soizik Laguette earned a doctorate in Agricultural Engineering at the ENGREF – a French Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering in Paris, France. Dr. Laguette has been at UND since 1999, and was a founding member of the Earth System Science and Policy program where she currently serves as an assistant professor and Chair of the Department. Dr. Laguette's research interests involve the use of switchgrass as a bioenergy crop in the Northern Great Plains and the adoption of switchgrass into the traditional cropping system; the rapid integration of remote sensing data into in-field management decisions and the use of satellite data in crop modeling. She also helps end-users integrate remote sensing data and technology as a tool in land management practices. This research is conducted through two main aims: 1) by characterizing switchgrass spectral signature throughout a cultural cycle; and 2) by analyzing switchgrass seasonal patterns in relation with low satellite time series and correlating switchgrass agronomic parameters with collected remote sensed information.
Laguette@aero.und.edu
701.777.2532
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
University of North Dakota
Steven A. Light (B.A. Yale; Ph.D. Northwestern) is an associate professor of Political Science and Public Administration and co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota. He teaches in the areas of American government, constitutional law, civil rights and civil liberties, and race politics. He has published widely on Indian gaming, as well as affirmative action, environmental policy, and voting rights. Light is the co-author of three books: Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise, Indian Gaming Law and Policy, and Indian Gaming Law: Cases and Materials, and currently is writing "The Law is Good: The Voting Rights Act, Redistricting, and Black Regime Politics". He has twice testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. and was featured on C-SPAN's Book TV. As one of the nation's foremost experts on Indian gaming, Light is quoted regularly in the national media, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, and San Diego Union-Tribune.
Light's specialty fields within SUNRISE focus on the interface of public and private sectors through public law and public policy, policy analysis, and policy implementation. Relevant issues include fostering understanding of policy issues for a sustainable economy, such as exploration of the social, political, and economic consequences of society's transition from an oil-based economy to one that is substantially supported by sustainable sources. Light's relevant expertise includes public administration and regulatory policymaking; socioeconomic impact analysis; impact of judicial decisions on public policy; federal, state, local, and tribal intergovernmental relations; and pedagogy in relation to underrepresented/underserved groups.
steven_light@und.nodak.edu
701.777.3549
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Dr. Mann is a professor and chair of the Chemical Engineering Department. He earned a Ph.D. in Energy Engineering and has more than 25 years of experience in energy related research. Dr. Mann is the recipient of the 2006 Thomas J. Clifford Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Research - the highest honor offered by UND to recognize academic research accomplishments. He is also the recipient of the 2003 Olson Professorship, which recognizes the outstanding teacher and researcher within the UND School of Engineering and Mines. Under his leadership, the Department of Chemical Engineering was awarded two of UND’s highest departmental honors: the 2007 UND Departmental Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2005 UND Departmental Award for Excellence in Research. He has authored or coauthored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and 200 publications in total. Dr. Mann currently holds three patents advancing the use of clean coal technology.
Dr. Mann's principal areas of interest and expertise include performance issues in advanced energy systems firing coal and biomass; renewable and sustainable energy systems with a focus on integration of fuel cells with renewable resources through electrolysis; production of fuel and specialty chemicals from crop oils; and development of energy strategies coupling thermodynamics with political, social, and economic factors.
mikemann@mail.und.edu
701.777.4244
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Darrin Muggli received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1992. After working for Koch Engineering, Inc. in Wichita, Kan., he attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed a Ph.D. in 1998. Dr. Muggli remained at the University of Colorado as a postdoctoral researcher for eight months before joining the UND Chemical Engineering Department as a faculty member in 1999. Currently serving UND as an associate professor, Dr. Muggli has authored 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and is named on five patents.
Dr. Muggli's research interests are primarily in heterogeneous catalysis. He is working on developing novel catalysts to increase the cracking process efficiency by improving reaction rate and adjusting selectivity to maximize production of value-added products. He is also working in the area of environmental remediation using photocatalytic oxidation on TiO2 nanotubes. He makes extensive use of statistical design of experiments and high-throughput experimentation in his catalyst development activities. Dr. Muggli is also an expert in transient reaction techniques to determine reaction pathways and identify active catalyst sites. His laboratory is equipped with DRIFTS, several gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, XRD, transient and temperature-programmed reaction systems, as well as high-throughput reaction systems.
darrinmuggli@mail.und.edu
701.777.2337
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
After completing his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at McGill University (Montréal ) in 1985, Dr. Pierce studied Electroanalytical Chemistry at the University of Vermont until earning his Ph. D. in 1991. While his dissertation work at Vermont centered on the use of ultramicroelectrode (UME) techniques to study of complex redox reactions, Dr. Pierce expanded his repertoire of UME methods over the next year as a post-doctorial fellow with Professor Allen J. Bard at the University of Texas at Austin. Following a short research exchange at the Technical University in Budapest, Dr. Pierce joined UND’s Department of Chemistry in 1992 and currently serves as full professor. While at UND, Dr. Pierce has authored more than 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, four patent applications and more than 50 national or regional research presentations.
Dr. Pierce contributes a broad expertise in electrochemical and analytical science to the SUNRISE effort. His work is currently focused on the development of ultrasensitive analytical methods to determine trace elements in coal and other environmental samples, the development of new nanomaterials for analysis and fuel-cell catalysis, and the modification of traditional atomic spectroscopy to study release of trace elements during coal combustion.
dpierce@chem.und.edu
701.777.2942
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Hossein Salehfar received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. After graduating from Texas A&M University, he joined the Electrical Engineering Department at Clarkson University in New York as an assistant professor. Since 1995 he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, where he is now a full Professor, Department Vice-Chair, and the Director of Engineering Ph.D. Programs. Dr. Salehfar has worked as a consultant for the New York Power Pool in New York, electric utilities and coal industries in the State of North Dakota, and the North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC). Dr. Salehfar has active and externally funded multidisciplinary research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and others. Some of the projects that he has worked on include alternative and renewable energy systems, fuel cell and electrolysis technologies, power electronics, electric drives, neuro-fuzzy intelligent systems, electric power and energy systems, power systems reliability, engineering systems reliability, power systems production costing, energy and load management, and energy efficiency.
He has supervised several Ph.D. and master’s level graduate students and has published his research work extensively in various journals, conferences, and books. Dr. Salehfar is an active reviewer of proposals and manuscripts for the NSF, journals of the Power and Energy Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and various other international journals, conferences, and publications. He is a professional member of the UND Campus Representative to the American Society for Engineering Education.
hsalehfar@und.edu
701.777.4432
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
An Arizona native, Dr. Seames received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1979. After a 16-year industrial career as a process engineer, engineering supervisor, and project manager, Wayne returned to Arizona and earned his doctorate in Chemical Engineering in July, 2000. He later joined the UND Chemical Engineering Department where he currently serves as a professor and director of SUNRISE. In addition, he is the state's Department of Energy EPSCoR program director. Wayne is named on six submitted UND patent applications including as the principal inventor of UND's biojet fuel technology - one of the university's first commercially licensed technologies by the Office of Research. He has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 120 reports and other publications.
wayneseames@mail.und.edu
701.777.2958
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
Dr. Irina Smoliakova received a Diploma degree from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia in 1983 and a doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry from the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Science in 1989. Two years later she joined Professor Caple’s research group at the University of Minnesota, Duluth as a postdoctoral fellow. In 1995, Dr. Smoliakova became a faculty member at the University of North Dakota where she is presently a Professor of Chemistry. She has co-authored 46 peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter. Her research interests include stereoselective organic and organometallic synthesis, stereochemistry and organic spectroscopy.
Members of Dr. Smoliakova's research group carry out transformations of organic compounds and perform spectroscopic identification of obtained substances using the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Infrared Spectroscopy.
ismoliakova@chem.und.edu
701.777.3942
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of North Dakota
Dr. Tande is a native of Stanley, N.D. and received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1998. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 2002 while conducting research in the field of polymer rheology and thermodynamics. After working four years in the plastics and composites industry as a product developer and production manager, Brian joined the Chemical Engineering Department as an assistant professor in 2006.
Dr. Tande's research is in polymers and composites, with specific interests in biobased materials and polymeric membranes. In conjunction with the biojet fuel program, Dr. Tande is working to develop the processes to convert biofuel byproducts into valuable chemicals and polymers. The emphasis of this work is in creating biobased versions of commonly used petroleum-based materials, such as polystyrene, polyurethane, and polyvinyl esters. In a separate project, Dr. Tande is developing novel polymer membranes for use in gas separations, reverse osmosis, and carbon capture.
briantande@mail.und.edu
701.777.3797
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
North Dakota State University
Dr. Ulven received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at North Dakota State University and has been involved in polymer matrix composites (PMCs) research for various commercial and defense applications for the past eight years. He has co-authored 16 journal articles, four U.S. Department of Defense technical reports, one book chapter, and more than 40 conference papers related to PMCs. His most recent research interests include: biobased PMCs, recycling of PMCs, advanced thermoplastic PMCs, and fire and impact damage in PMCs.
Dr. Ulven investigated the use of flax fibers as reinforcement in PMC materials to replace fiberglass in windmill blade technology via a DoE Seed project with SUNRISE. The findings of this study proved that flax fiber has the potential to replace traditional fiberglass by utilizing specific surface treatments which promote flax fiber-to-matrix wet-out and adhesion without damaging the flax fiber integrity. His next project is with the SUNRISE Bioproducts Center of Excellence (CoE) which involves the utilization of short cellulose fibers (SCFs) from various agricultural waste byproducts to reinforce plastics.
chad.ulven@ndsu.edu
701.231.5641
Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials
North Dakota State University
Dean Webster is a professor in the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at North Dakota State University (NDSU). He received a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering Science, both from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining NDSU in 2001, he worked for Sherwin-Williams at their Central Research Laboratories in Chicago and at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tenn. His current research interests include the design of high performance polymer and coating systems, use of high throughput methods in the development of new materials, low surface energy coatings, radiation curable polymer systems for microelectronics, and the use of natural products in materials.
Dean.Webster@ndsu.edu
701.231.8709
Department of Chemistry
University of North Dakota
Dr. Zhao received her both bachelor's and doctoral degrees in Analytical Chemistry at Jilin University, China. She came to the United States in 2001 as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Florida. In the Fall 2004, she joined the UND Chemistry Department as an assistant professor. Dr. Zhao has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, six book chapters, and 110 presentations in the field of nanotechnology, chemical and biochemical sensors.
Dr. Zhao's research area is in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Her primary focus is the development and application of silica-based nanomaterials. In SUNRISE, Dr. Zhao's emphasis is to design and synthesize silica-based nanocatalysts and various chemical and biochemical sensors.
jzhao@chem.und.edu
701.777.3610
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Copyright SUNRISE 2008. All rights reserved.