Class Notes: CBE

As of March 2022, all alumni updates should be submitted to Cornellians, the new digital-first publication dedicated to informing, entertaining, and connecting the Big Red community around the globe. Submit your news via the online news form and look for your update in an upcoming edition of Class Notes!

Degree Year
  • 2007

Jennifer Cipolla

Degree(s):

  • BS

Currently the site leader for GE's new Center for Additive Technology Advancement, located in Pittsburgh, PA.

Degree Year
  • 1976

John T. Thompson

Degree(s):

  • BS

John T. Thompson '76, CEO/President, First Electric Supply will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in mentoring from Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization, College Mentors for Kids at the 2016 inspire awards.

The Inspire Awards, hosted by the College Mentors for Kids, recognizes top mentors in the workplace and in the community. 

Thompson credits the mentors and advocates in his life who gave him educational guidance and helped him to apply to college for his success. Knowing the value of those mentors made him want to give back to his adopted city of Indianapolis. Thompson shared, "The mentoring that I received from a child to an adult has been tremendously impactful on my life and that of my family so it is imperative that I mentor others. For several years, I'd visit a local tea shop from 10am-2pm and meet with any entrepreneur that walked in."

Dennis Trinkle, College Mentors for Kids, CEO, shared, "John is richly deserving of the Lifetime Achievement Award. He represents what the Inspire Awards and College Mentors are all about, a commitment to community service, to mentoring, and to lifting up those who most need positive role models. Countless youth, civic leaders, and business leaders have benefited from John's commitment to their success and his caring heart."

Degree Year
  • 2008

photo of Rami Madadin

Rami Madadin

Degree(s):

  • MEng

Rami Madadin, a 2004 graduate of chemical engineering, is the recipient of the department's 2014 Early Career Alumni Recognition Award.

The award is designed to honor an outstanding Penn State chemical engineering alumna or alumnus who graduated within the past 10 years and who, at the outset of his or her career, serves as an exemplary role model for current chemical engineering students.

Madadin will receive his award during a reception Oct. 28 on the bridge between the Chemistry and Life Sciences Buildings.

He joined the Arabian Petrochemical Co., an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), in 2011 as a senior production engineer.

Madadin developed a suite of reactor capacity utilization tools for all of SABIC's polyethylene reactors across the globe, which helped to achieve the highest polyethylene production record at the plant. In recognition of these accomplishments, he was promoted to the youngest department senior manager at the company.

Prior to joining the Arabian Petrochemical Co., Madadin worked for Saudi Aramco and Procter & Gamble (P&G).

At P&G, he was involved with the company's global plants in China, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Egypt. Madadin helped establish and implement P&G's dry laundry agglomeration unit and received P&G's Golden and Platinum Awards for his efforts.

In 2008, Madadin earned a master of engineering degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University.

The following year he helped establish the Saudi Arabian chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association in Dhahran. Madadin continues to be an active participant in the organization.

He also serves on the advisory board for the Jubail Technical Institute, providing advice and perspective on the school's engineering curricula and programs.

http://news.psu.edu/story/331561/2014/10/23/academics/department-chemical-engineering-honors-madadin-early-career-award

Degree Year
  • 1994

photo of Kathleen Vaeth

Kathleen Vaeth

Degree(s):

  • BS

Kathleen Vaeth earned her B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University in 1994, where she was a Kodak Fellow, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a Hertz Fellow. She is currently the vice president of engineering at MicroGen Systems, Inc., a tech startup company based in Rochester, New York, focused on developing Micro Electrical Mechanical (MEMS)-based piezoelectric energy harvesting technology. Prior to joining MicroGen Systems, Vaeth spent 12 years at Eastman Kodak as senior research scientist in the Kodak Research Labs, where she worked in the areas of MEMS microfluids, organic electronics, controlled release chemistry in thin films, barrier coatings for flexible subtrates, vapor deposited polymers, and piezoelectric materials and actuators. She also served as the director for future technologies for the Functional Printing Business Unit. Vaeth's research interests spans the design, fabrication, and characterization of devices, relating their performance to the materials used in their construction. She has 20 publications and 16 issues U.S. patents.

"During my senior year, I performed research in Prof. T. Michael Duncan's lab on supported catalysts for gas phase reactions. The experience helped reaffirm my strong interest in research, as well as my decision to attend graduate school and pursue my Ph.D. in chemical engineering. The project also gave me valuable experience in defining research problems and performing independent work in a university lab, which helped prepare me for my thesis work at MIT.
What separates chemical engineering from other types of training si the ability to combine chemistry, physics, biology, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and unit operations at a systems level to solve complex problems. This broad training enables chemical engineers to have an impact in a wide variety of fields, and indeed, in my own career I have worked on technologies ranging from OLED displays, photothermographic X-ray film, inkjet printing, flexible barrier films, sterilization of food and medical instruments, and energy harvesting." 

Degree Year
  • 1985

Margaret Wilde Frey

Margaret Wilde Frey

Degree(s):

  • BS

After earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in '85, Margaret Wilde Frey followed a winding career path through an M.S. in Fiber Science from the Cornell College of Human Ecology, a stint in the personal care industry, a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University, and more work in polymer extrusion for industrial applications, before returning to Cornell. She is currently associate professor and director of graduate studies in Fiber Science and Apparel Design in the College of Human Ecology. Frey teaches courses in fiber and textile science and conducts research leveraging functional nanofibers for pathogen detection, signaling, and environmental remediation applications. She lives in Ithaca with her husband, son, and dogs.

"I first discovered polymers in Prof. Rodriguez's course. We ran experiments in the basement of Olin Hall and somehow mine would always go a bit haywire. I remember emulsion polymerization beads the size of large pearls. Nonetheless, I was hooked and have continued to focus on polymer processing ever since.
Completing the chemical engineering degree was the hardest thing I have ever done. Compared to that, earning a Ph.D. and promotion to tenure were a walk in the park. The problem-solving methods, rigorous fundamentals, and endless workload have all contributed to my ability to dive into new projects and manage multiple priorities."