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2010-2011 Section Officers

Chair – Tim Frank

Tim Frank has spent 26 years in process R&D at The Dow Chemical Company. Currently he is a Dow Fellow and Senior Technical Manager of the Process Separations Group in the Engineering Sciences Laboratory at Dow. Tim is also the editor and co-author of Section 15 on liquid-liquid extraction in the new 8th edition of Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook. Since joining the Executive Committee in 2009, Tim has worked with others in the Section to update the bylaws, help restart the awards program, and streamline the election process. As Chair of the Section, Tim is focusing efforts on a number of initiatives including: 1) increasing the frequency of newsletter and web-based communications to members (with Joe Anderson, Webmaster); 2) preparing a full schedule of regular meetings for members (with Rose Peterson, Program Chair); 3) revitalizing the Section’s continuing education offerings for members (with Katie Nies, Continuing Education and School Donations Chair); and 4) increasing fund raising efforts to grow and sustain the Section’s scholarship fund. Tim has a B.S. degree from Montana State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado.

Chair-Elect – Rich Helling

Rich Helling has spent 23 years in manufacturing and process R&D positions at The Dow Chemical Company. Currently, he is the Senior Technical Manager of the Process Development and Analysis Group within the Process Chemistry & Development Department at Dow. Before joining Dow, Rich served as a Station Director of the David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice at MIT. Rich is well known for his expertise in process R&D including distillation and reactor design. He has also led the development of methods to measure sustainability and environmental footprint, and has published a number of Dow reports and external articles on life cycle assessment. As Chair-Elect Rich works with the Executive Committee to help conduct the business of the Section. He also works with the various Committee Chairs to help organize and promote the Section's activities including programming for local section meetings, member recognition, the scholarship program, continuing education offerings, and fund-raising activities. Rich has a B.S. in engineering from Harvey Mudd College and M.S. and Sc.D. degrees in chemical engineering from MIT.

Secretary – Bruce Holden

Bruce Holden has spent 33 years in process R&D, process engineering, and environmental services at The Dow Chemical Company. He is currently a Principal Research Scientist in the Process Separations Group of Dow’s Engineering Sciences Laboratory, and is a recipient of the 2008 Doug Leng Award for excellence in engineering research at Dow. Bruce is also a co-author of Section 15 on liquid-liquid extraction in the new 8^th edition of Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook. Bruce serves the Section with a focus on timely communications and detailed record keeping. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemical engineering from Clarkson University.

Treasurer – Eric Stangland

Eric Stangland is a Senior Research Scientist in the Chemical Sciences, Applied Materials & Catalysis Laboratory of The Dow Chemical Company, having joined the company in 2000. He has previously served the Section as Membership Chair, Webmaster, and Editor of the newsletter. Eric also serves as a Director for the Michigan Catalysis Society and is a Technical Program Chair for the 22^nd North American Catalysis Society meeting to be held in Detroit in 2011. As Treasurer of the Section, Eric handles the accounts and maintains the financial records. Eric has a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue University.

Director – Victor Atiemo-Obeng

Victor Atiemo-Obeng is a long-standing member of the Mid-Michigan Section, having served as Chair of the Section in 1991-1992. Victor has spent 32 years in process R&D and process engineering at The Dow Chemical Company, where he currently is a Dow Fellow in the Process Chemistry & Development Department. Victor is also an editor of the Handbook of Industrial Mixing (Wiley, 2004). In recognition of his expertise in mixing technology, Victor was recently awarded the 2009 North American Mixing Forum award for excellence and sustained contributions to mixing research and practice. As a Director of the Section, Victor works with the Executive Committee on all aspects of governance. He is particularly interested in encouraging Dow employees to participate in the local section, and in supporting new continuing education offerings and fund-raising efforts for the scholarship program. Victor has a B.ChE. degree from The Catholic University of America and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Director – Paul Kehl

Director – Norm Lake

Norm Lake has been an active member of the Mid-Michigan Section for many years, serving three terms as treasurer, eleven years as chair of the MTU Summer Youth Program scholarship committee, and more recently as Director of the Section and member of our scholarship committees. His career spans more than 28 years at Dow Corning in TS&D, process R&D, and as the Process Engineering representative on several Personal Care and Urethane Foam commercialization teams. More recently, he spent 5 years at Dow as a Process Engineering contractor working on a variety of Production and FM&E projects. Recognitions include an IR-100 award, 11 Dow Corning technical excellence awards, the AIChE Service to Society award, and the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver award. Norm continues his active support of the Section as a voting member of the Executive Committee.  He encourages continuation of our scholarship programs and other community outreach activities and supports efforts to make our Section relevant to chemical engineering professionals in Mid-Michigan. Norm has a BSE degree in engineering unified science and an MSE in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.