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Grad school dean honored with Sigma Xi/ Dion D. Raftopoulos Award |
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Deanna Woolf |
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May 15, 2006 |
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Dr. Martin Abraham, dean of the UT Graduate School and professor of chemical and environmental engineering, is the recipient of the 2006 Sigma Xi/Dion D. Raftopoulos Award for Outstanding Research.
Abraham was presented with the award and a $1,500 check at the Sigma Xi Annual Banquet April 22.
"I'm thrilled to have received the award. It's quite an honor. I very much appreciate the recognition by my colleagues in Sigma Xi," Abraham said. "People recognize the faculty member, but the real contributors are the students you work with. I believe an award like this is a compliment to the entire research group."
According to Dr. Karen Bjorkman, UT professor of astronomy and chair of the award committee, the honor has been given every year since 1978 by members of the UT chapter of Sigma Xi, a scientific research society, and is named after the son of Dr. Demetrios Raftopoulos, UT professor emeritus of bioengineering. "We had a really strong pool of applicants this year, she said. "Dr. Abraham deserves it for his outstanding work."
Abraham's research involves minimizing the effects of chemical processes on the environment. His group, which includes six graduate students, is working toward the production of hydrogen for use with fuel cells. The team members are developing sulfur-tolerant catalysts to be used to convert liquid fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, into hydrogen. They also are working with companies to convert ethanol from food-processing waste into hydrogen.
Abraham is the lead investigator for the UT portion of the Wright Fuel Cell Group and is active in the American Chemical Society's Committee on Environment Improvement. He has more than 60 refereed publications.
Dr. Arunan Nadarajah, UT professor of chemical and environmental engineering, shared why he nominated Abraham for the award. "The primary motivation is he does excellent research, but I'm not sure many people know that. The reason being everyone relates to him mostly as the graduate dean. When you say 'Dr. Abraham,' the first thing that comes to mind is the guy who runs the graduate operations at UT," he said. "He's in my department, so I know the impact his research has on my department. I think this was a good opportunity to let everyone know the work he's doing."
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