2011-2012 Section Officers

Rich Helling has spent 24 years in manufacturing, process R&D, and EH&S leadership positions at The Dow Chemical Company. Currently he is Associate Director for Environmental Health & Safety at Dow, focusing on Life Cycle Assessment for Dow products. Prior to this, Rich served as Senior Technical Manager of the Process Development and Analysis Group within the Process Chemistry & Development Department. 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. Rich has a B.S. in engineering from Harvey Mudd College and M.S. and Sc.D. degrees in chemical engineering from MIT.

Shawn Feist moved to Midland and joined The Dow Chemical Company in 2002. Currently he is Manager of the Process Development & Analysis Group in Dow's Engineering & Process Sciences Laboratory. Before beginning his current position, Shawn was involved in new business development and financial modeling for the Dow Water & Process Solutions Business, and before that he was a member of the Process Separations Group within Dow's Engineering Sciences Laboratory. Shawn is well known for project management and financial analysis, process R&D including modeling of chemical kinetics and liquid-liquid phase separation, and the development of new processes utilizing pressure swing adsorption and process-scale chromatography. Shawn has a B.S. in chemical engineering with honors from the University of Minnesota.

Tim Frank has spent 27 years in process R&D at The Dow Chemical Company. Currently he is a Dow Fellow and Associate R&D Director in the Engineering & Process Sciences Laboratory. 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 to update the bylaws, promote the awards program, streamline the election process, increase the frequency of newsletter and web-based communications to members, and prepare a full schedule of regular meetings for members. In 2010, he was elected a Fellow of AIChE. 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.

Bruce Holden has spent 35 years in process R&D, process engineering, and environmental services at The Dow Chemical Company. Currently he is Principal Research Scientist in the Process Separations Group of Dow’s Engineering & Process Sciences Laboratory. He is the recipient of the 2008 Doug Leng Award for excellence in engineering research at Dow and a co-author of Section 15 on liquid-liquid extraction in the new 8^th edition of Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook. Bruce was appointed Acting Secretary by the Executive Committee in February of 2010 to fill a vacancy, and he was subsequently elected Secretary in 2010 and 2011. Bruce serves the Section with a focus on timely communications and detailed record keeping. Bruce has B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemical engineering from Clarkson University.

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. Eric was elected Treasurer of the Section in 2010 and 2011. He 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 held in Detroit in 2011. Eric serves the Section by providing timely and detailed financial reports. Eric has a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue University.

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 34 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 awarded the 2009 North American Mixing Forum award for excellence and sustained contributions to mixing research and practice, and in 2010 he was elected a Fellow of AIChE. Victor 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.

Paul Kehl moved to Mid-Michigan in 2001 where he performed technical service and development focusing on silicones. He is now involved in manufacturing at Dow Corning where he is well-known for his technical expertise. As Director of the Section, Paul participates as a member of the Executive Committee in conducting the business of the Section. He is particularly interested in encouraging Dow Corning employees to participate in the local section, and in pursuing efforts to grow and sustain the scholarship fund. Paul has a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

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 is particularly interested in promoting the Section’s scholarship programs and other community outreach activities and supporting efforts to make Section activities 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.