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CURRICULUM VITAE
S. K. Kawatra
Chair and Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, Michigan 49931
Phone: (906) 487-2064
Fax: (906) 487-3213
email: skkawatr@mtu.edu
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CURRICULUM
VITAE 2004 (PDF)
Educational Qualifications:
M. S. Physics, University
of Poona, India, 1966
Ph. D., Metallurgical Engineering,
University of Queensland, Australia, 1975
Awards:
- Mentor Award, First
Recipient of this Award, Michigan Technological University, 2002
- Frank F. Aplan Award,
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Engineers,
NY, 2002.
- Robert H. Richards
Award, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Engineers,
NY, 2000.
- Taggart Award, Society
for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Inc., 1994
- Distinguished Member
Award, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Inc., 1992
- Michigan Association
of Governing Boards Distinguished Faculty Member Award for Extraordinary
Contribution to Michigan Higher Education, 1988
- House of Representatives,
State of Michigan, passed Resolution NO714 for Contributing to Higher
Education in State of Michigan, 1988
- Michigan Technological
University Research Award, 1987
Professional Work History:
- Michigan Technological
University, Houghton, MI, Assistant Professor from September 1977,
Associate Professor from September 1980, and Professor from September
1985 -
- Department of Mining
and Material Process Engineering, Michigan Technological University,
Houghton, MI, Professor and Chair, from August, 2000.
- Morgantown Energy Technology
Center, Morgantown, Department of Energy, from May 1984 to August
1984
- Department of Mineral
Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, from April 15, 1977,
to August 31, 1977
- Mineral Sciences Laboratories,
Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, from January
1975 to April 1977
- Julius Kruttschnitt
Mineral Research Center, University of Queensland, Australia, from
January 1971 to December 1974
- Mount Isa Mines Ltd.,
Mount Isa, Australia, from January 1973 to July 1973
- Atomic Energy Commission,
India, from March 1968 to January 1971
Membership in Professional
Organizations:
Distinguished Member, Society
for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration
Member, American Institute
of Chemical Engineers
Editorial Boards:
- Coal Preparation, Gordon
& Breach Science Publishers, 1995-1998
- International Journal
of Mineral Processing, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam
1991-1994
- Mineral Processing
and Extractive Metallurgy Review, Taylor and Francis, Philadelphia,
PA: Editor-in-Chief, 1996-
- Minerals & Metallurgical
Processing, publ. by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy &
Exploration, Inc., Editor-in-Chief, 2002-
- International Journal
of Environmental Issues in Minerals and Energy Industry, A. A. Balkema
Publishing Co., Amsterdam
Advisory Panel:
- Indigenous Space Resource
Utilization Advisory Panel, sponsored by Lunar and Planetary Institute,
Houston
University Activities:
- Established a Coal
Research Laboratory in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering.
The laboratory consists of several test rigs such as hydrocyclone,
waste stream analyzer for ash and iron ore, and column flotation
cells. These rigs are well instrumented. One article on this laboratory
written by the editors of Coal Mining and Processing appeared in
July 1982. Another article written by the editors of Design News
appeared in the January 1984 issue.
- Member of several committees
of the Department, College of Engineering, and the University, including
the University Best Researcher Award Committee, 1987-1990; Chairman,
Promotion and Tenure Committee, College of Engineering, 1989; University
Senator 1992- 1995.
Research Funding: (Single
PI, except where listed)
Total Funding: $ 4,312,255
- Development of Sensors
for On-Line Analysis of Ash in Coal Slurries-funded by EPRI ; DOE
- Process Analysis of
Comminution Circuits-Particle Size, Rheology, Temperature-funded
by USBM
- Effect of Reagent Addition
on the Response of a Fine Coal Flotation Circuit-funded by the U.
S. DOE
- Column Flotation of
Ohio Coals -funded by the State of Ohio
- Planetary Materials
and Resource Utilization -funded by the NASA ( Multiple Investigators)
- Bacterial Desulfurization
of Coal -funded by the State of Michigan ; USDOE ; MERRA
- Coal Cleaning by Heavy
Media Cyclones -funded by the USDOE/ Process Tech
- On-Line Measurement
of Viscosity and Rheology-funded by Dow Chemical Company
- Utilization of Gypsum
-funded by State of Illinois , USDOE
- Analysis of Grinding
and Flotation Circuit at Copper Range Company, White Pine, MI
- Production of Inorganic
Pellet Binders from Fly Ash, Funded by the State of Illinois, Il
Department of Natural Resources, State of Minnesota,, USDOE
- Agglomeration of Granular
and Fine Particulate Industrial Wastes, Funded by EPA,
- Froth Flotation of
Coal, Funded by National Science Foundation,
- Physical Removal of
Toxins from Contaminated Sediments, EPA,
- Separation of Flue
Gas Scrubber Sludge in to Marketable Products, US DOE,
- Coal Grinding Model
Development, Electrical Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA
- Investigation of Fly-Ash
Based Foundry Molds, NSF
- Prevention of Self
Heating of Swarf, General Motors
- Chemistry and Physics
of Taconite Agglomeration, Minnesota DNR,
- Application of Chemistry
and Physics of Taconite Agglomeration, Minnesota DNR,
- Optimization of Comminution
Circuit Throughput and Product Size Distribution by Simulation and
Control., USDOE,
- Verification of Steel
Making Slag Iron Content, USDOE, (PI Jim Hwang and Robert Greenlund),
Administrative Experience
and Philosophy:
- Initial administrative
experience -service on the Board of Directors of the Society for
Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) from 1997 to 2000, and
was Chair of the Mineral Processing Division of SME for 1997-1998.
- In 2000, established
and became the first Chair of the Department of Mining and Materials
Process Engineering at Michigan Technological University. Before
establishing this Department, sought the written opinions of personnel
working in a wide variety of industries that would be of direct
interest to the new Department. Organized a meeting with them, presented
plans, and used their input to plan a strong, practical set of goals
for the Department. Also established a highly competent and motivated
Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) to review the Department activities,
to provide ongoing guidance as to the needs of industry that the
Department needed to address, and to provide assistance in generating
funds for the Department and in placing students in the best possible
positions for beginning their careers.
Teaching Philosophy:
Teaching is the most important function of any university. In
engineering education, it is very important that students learn the
basic fundamentals of engineering thoroughly, and not simply memorize
numerous facts that they could easily look up in any technical reference.
This way, they will have the necessary background to adapt and learn
on their own in their future careers.
I also feel that it is
of great importance for students to be fully aware of how their engineering
skills will be applied on an industrial scale. I therefore take my
students on a large number of plant trips so that they can see how
theory translates into practice, and what is involved in actually
implementing a process after it has been developed in the lab. I also
hire as many undergraduate students as possible to assist graduate
students in their research, which gives the graduate students valuable
management experience while also helping the undergraduates improve
their knowledge and skills.
Perhaps most important,
I make sure that all of my students acquire good communications skills,
because even the most talented engineer is of little value to industry
if he cannot communicate his knowledge to others. In undergraduate
classes, particular emphasis is given to group projects and to both
written and oral presentations of their project results. My graduate
students give weekly presentations of their work in progress, present
technical papers at national conferences, and publish in refereed
technical journals.
Research Philosophy
and Accomplishments:
My general research philosophy is to carry out research in close
cooperation with industry, and to make sure that all of my students
start with fundamental research, and carry it all the way to implementation
in operating plants. I believe that this gives them the best possible
preparation for their future careers. For example, our project with
General Motors started with one of their plant engineers coming to
us with the problem of spontaneous combustion of their machining wastes.
They had been unable to solve this problem because they could not
reproduce the effect in the laboratory, and so could not determine
what approaches might be helpful. We first developed a sampling plan
to ensure that our laboratory samples were in fact representative
of the machining waste. Since there was no standard method available
for measuring the rate and degree of spontaneous heating, we then
devised a suitable test. Using this test, we determined which of several
candidate treatments would actually reduce the degree of self-heating.
As the final stage of the project, my student then travelled to the
GM plant for full-scale tests of the anti-heating treatments. The
most successful treatment was then adopted by GMand they used it to
solve their problem. My student was intimately involved in all stages
of this project, and gained invaluable experience in all stages of
carrying out a solution to an engineering problem. I have worked on
a wide variety of other research projects, with some of the most significant
listed below:
1. Ash Analyzer
I developed the first on-line slurry ash analyzer based on X-ray
backscatter, which has been patented and licensed to Outokumpu Oy,
Finland. The analyzer incorporates two sensors: a gamma-ray transmission
unit to measure the percent solids of the slurry, and an X-ray backscatter/
fluorescence unit to determine the ash content of the entire slurry.
The combined signal from the two sensors provides a means for determining
the ash content of the solids in the slurry.
2. On-Line Measurement
of Rheology
My research group has developed a technique for rapid on-line measurement
of the rheology of particulate processing streams. This method uses
standard, off-the-shelf transducers, which are combined with computations
using the gas law and the Hagen-Poiseuille equation to calculate
the rheological behavior of the particulate suspension over a wide
range of shear rates. Unlike existing vibrational and tube viscometers
(which operate at fixed shear rates), the stress/ strain data is
calculated directly, which allows the viscosity to be determined
at whatever shear rates are of most interest for the process.
3. Processing
of Scrubber Sludge
We have developed a technique for purifying flue-gas scrubber sludge,
to improve its marketability. A combination of water-only cycloning
and column flotation is used to remove unreacted limestone from
the sludge at a low cost, leaving material that can be used for
manufacturing gypsum products. The water-only cyclone removes the
coarse, higher-density particles (which are mainly limestone), and
the flotation column then removes the remaining fine limestone.
The horizontally-baffled flotation column used for this work was
developed by my group to reduce the amount of axial mixing in column
flotation, which results in a better separation efficiency than
is achieved with unbaffled flotation columns.
Teaching Interests:
On-Line Sensors and Process Control, Particulate Processing, Plant
Design
Consulting Activities:
Arthur D. Little Company
Norton, Hambleton, Inc.,
Ontario Research Foundation
United Nations
Professional Activities:
- Elected, Chair, Mineral
and Metallurgical Processing Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy
and Exploration, 1997-1998.
- Elected, Vice Chairman,
Mineral Processing Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration, 1996-1997.
- Elected, First Regional
Vice Chairman, Mineral Processing Division, Society for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration, 1995-1996.
- Elected, Second Regional
Vice Chairman, Mineral Processing Division, Society for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration, 1994-1995.
- Elected, Secretary-Treasurer,
Mineral and Metallurgical Processing Division, Society for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration, 1993-1994.
- Program Coordination
Committee, Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration,
1993-1995.
- Book Publishing Committee,
Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 1993-1996
- Book Publishing Committee,
Vice Chairman, 1993-1994, Chairman, 1994-95, Society for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration.
- Chairperson (1984-85)
of the Mineral Processing Division of the Upper Peninsula American
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (U. P.-AIME); Vice-Chairperson
(1985-86); Chairperson (1986-87); Board of Directors, 1986-90.
- Health and Safety Committee,
Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration: member, 1984-1986.
- Research and Development
Committee, Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration:
member, 1990-1992; chairman-elect, 1990; chairman, 1991.
- Mineral Processing
Fundamentals Committee, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration: member 1983-1991; vice-chairman, 1990; chairman 1991.
- Educational Issues
Committee, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration: member,
1991- 1994.
- Program Committee,
Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
member, 1991, Chairman-Elect 1993, Chairman 1994.
- Stefanko Award Committee,
Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 1993-1994.
- Coal Preparation Unit
Committee, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 1993-
1994.
- Regional/ Topical Meetings
Committee, Program Chairman Elect, Society for Mining, Metallurgy
and Exploration, 1993.
- Outstanding Young Engineer
Award Committee, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration,
1993-1999.
- General Committee,
Mineral & Metallurgical Processing Division, member, 1991.
- Executive Committee,
Coal Division, Society for Mining, Metallurgy &Exploration;
member, 1992.
- Organized international
symposium: "Comminution Practices," Society for Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration, Denver, 1997.
- Organized international
symposium: "High Efficiency Coal Preparation," Society
for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Denver, 1995.
- Organized international
symposium: "New Remediation Technology in the Environmental
Arena", Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Denver,
1995.
- Organized international
symposium: "Comminution, Theory and Practice," Society
for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Phoenix, 1992.
- Organized and chaired
several technical sessions for the Instrument Society of America,
Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, American Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy, and the International Mineral Processing
Congress.
- Organized international
symposium: "Biotechnology in Minerals and Metal Processing,"
Society of Mining Engineers, Los Vegas, 1989.
- Organizing and Advisory
Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Processing
and Utilization of High-Sulfur Coals and the International Symposium
Control '90, sponsored by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration.
Board of Directors:
Process Technology, Inc.,
Calumet, MI, 1986-1989
U. P. Section of the American
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1986-1990
Society for Mining, Metallurgy
and Exploration, 1997-2000.
Patents:
- On-Line Slurry Ash
Analyzer -U. S. Patent No. 4916-719, 1990. Outokumpu Oy, Finland,
has paid to license the technology, and is currently preparing to
market the units worldwide. The instrument has been tested by Outokumpu
on Russian, Chinese, and European coals with good results.
- Process for Extracting
Oxygen and Iron from Iron-Oxide-Containing Ores -U. S. Patent No.
4,997,533 March 5, 1991.
- Flotation Column with
Adjustable Supported Baffles -U. S. Patent No. 5,335,785,
August 9,1994.
- Method for Producing
Powder from Polycrystalline Inorganic Material, Patent Pending,
application serial No. 016,850, filed February 12, 1993
- Method and Apparatus
for On-Stream Measurement of Rheological Properties, application
serial No. C39,605, filed July 1994. The unit will be tested at
the Dow Chemical Company and is the first sensor which can measure
rheology of slurries containing particulate matter.
Books:
B. J. Scheiner, F. M. Doyle, and S. K. Kawatra (editors), Biotechnology
in Minerals and Metal Processing, published by the Society of Mining
Engineers, 1989, 209 pp.
S. K. Kawatra (ed.), Comminution-Theory
and Practice, published by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy &
Exploration, Inc., 1992, 693 pp.
B. J. Scheiner, T. D. Chatwin,
H. El. Shall, S. K. Kawatra and A. E. Torma (editors), Inc., New Remediation
Technology in the Environmental Arena, published by the Society for
Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration; 1995, 235pp.
S. K. Kawatra (ed.), High
Efficiency Coal Preparation, published by the Society for Mining Metallurgy
and Exploration, 1995, 449 pp.
S. K. Kawatra (ed), "Comminution
Practices", Published by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration, Littleton, CO, 1997, 352 pp.
S.
K. Kawatra and T. C. Eisele, "Coal Desulfurization", Taylor
and Francis, 2001, 360pp.
S. K. Kawatra and K. A.
Natarajan( editors), "Mineral Biotechnology", Society for
Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, , 2001, 263pp..
Publications:
Beneficiation
of Machining wastes
Presentations
and Reports:
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