Many undergraduates receiving bachelor's degrees across the country this
spring will not have had the distinctive experience that four of our students received.

First students to graduate under the new Distinction in the Major program, back, from left: Richard Lawson and Kurt Johanns; front, from left: Crystal Childers and Robyn Rawlings.

Four Chemical Engineering graduates — Richard Lawson, Crystal Childers, Kurt Johanns and Robyn Rawlings — accepted their degrees at spring commencement as the first graduates of their department's "Distinction in the Major" program that promises to open doors for undergraduates interested in research. They each spent their last year as undergraduates delving into research projects that promise to make a difference in the lives of others.

"This was an opportunity to challenge myself," says Childers, who is headed to work as a design engineer at the Department of Energy's Y-12 plant while pursuing online graduate classes through North Carolina State.

The brainchild of Chemical Engineering Chairperson Pedro Arce, the DITM program offers students an enhanced bachelor's degree with structured research activities requiring a written thesis and an oral defense of the project. Donald P. Visco, Jr., associate professor of Chemical Engineering and the department's undergraduate program coordinator, also played an instrumental part in the program. Administered by the Honors Program, DITM recognizes the potential for undergraduate research experience. Two of the participants, Childers and Lawson, achieved university-wide honors as in cursu honorum graduates.

The competitive selection process requires candidates to provide a recommendation letter from a faculty member and to meet grade and experience requirements, including a 3.2 GPA. Once they make the cut, students are paired with professors who mentor them through research techniques.

"The Honors Program is very pleased to support this innovative commitment to undergraduate scholarship," says Honors Director Connie Hood.

Childer's project, "I-QSAR Studies Using Signature on COX-2 Inhibitors," and Rawlings' topic, "I-QSAR Studies Using Signature on DHFR Inhibitors," allowed them to work alongside Visco.

Childers helped search for new pharmaceutical formulas for arthritis medicines with fewer side effects than Vioxx and Celebrex. Rawlings' research looked at developing new inhibitors for dihydrofolate reducatase, which is important in the treatment of pneumonia in people with compromised immune systems.

Rawlings, who will be working as a manufacturing engineer from Proctor & Gamble Co., says she is sure this program placed her at a level above other candidates interviewing for the same position.

"Proctor & Gamble made it clear it was looking for an employee who had experience above and beyond what is normally offered in an undergraduate curriculum," she says.

Lawson, who will pursue graduate studies at Georgia Tech this fall, worked with Chunsheng Wang, an assistant professor and faculty member in the Center for Manufacturing Research. Lawson worked on one of the university's primary research areas, fuel cells, in his project "Nafion-BIMEVOX Composite Membrane for Fuel Cell Applications."

Johanns, who secured a job with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, collaborated on a project with Joseph J. Biernacki, professor of Chemical Engineering, to study pore structure characterization in order to create desired properties at a larger level in "Revisiting Thermoporosimetry as a Technique for Pore Structure Characterization."

"This program definitely better prepared me for graduate school," says Lawson. I got a trial run at a mini-thesis and gained presentation experience."

Johanns agreed that the opportunity to understand the structure of how research is conducted was invaluable.

"During this year we've strengthened our skills, especially our oral presentations, and stepped beyond what we expected from this program," says Johanns.

"It is great practice for graduate school as well as a résumé enhancer for those looking at industrial positions," says Visco. "We look forward to providing the results of this pilot test to the College of Engineering for possible adoption by other departments."

Visco says he believes the DITM program will increase regional visibility for the university, encourage students, particularly transfer students, to consider TTU, and influence student placement in highly valued industrial positions as well as in top-tier graduate programs.

"This is a way for motivated and qualified students to add value to their education and experience," he says.