{"233381":{"#nid":"233381","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ChBE\u2019s Eckert Graduates 100th Ph.D. Student","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn June, Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Eckert celebrated a milestone in his teaching career \u2014 he graduated his 100th Ph.D. student, Jackson Switzer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe best part of teaching has always been the students,\u201d said Eckert, who is Professor and J. Erskine Love Jr. Institute Chair in Engineering in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE). \u201cI get such a kick out of receiving emails from former students who are now professors, telling me where they are and what they are doing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd just because Eckert hit 100, doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s retiring. There are more students in the pipeline. The lab that Eckert runs with Charles Liotta, Regents Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, is currently home to about nine post doctoral students, six graduate students, and nine undergraduate students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhether it\u2019s in the lab or classroom, I try to give my students permission to be wrong \u2014 I want them to be OK with making mistakes and learning from them,\u201d Eckert said. \u201cI want to give them confidence to challenge me when they think I might be wrong.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, \u003Cem\u003EThe Whistle\u003C\/em\u003E had a chance to learn more about Eckert and his time at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat brought you to Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore Tech, I spent 24 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I worked my way up through the faculty ranks to become department head. Collaboration across departments was a big no-no at this institution, which was a problem, because I thrive on this sort of interaction. I met Charlie 30 years ago when we were both consulting for DuPont, and we felt that if we could ever collaborate, we could do a lot more. When I met Ron Rousseau, the former department chair, in the late 1980s, he asked me to come work with him and collaborate with Charlie. At the time, Tech was one of the few institutions that supported collaboration. It was like coming to heaven.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your research.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EOur group\u2019s research is focused on the interface between chemistry and chemical engineering, where our interdisciplinary investigators have unique capabilities to solve a variety of important technical and societal problems, such as environmental control and energy conservation. Examples of applications include wastewater purification and hazardous waste detoxification.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is an average day like for you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEach week, I teach a graduate-level thermodynamics course. I also spend time assisting with the logistics of an introductory class for new graduate students that I co-created with Professor Dennis Hess to prepare them for doing research. For example, we cover how to critique a paper and give a presentation. Although I\u2019m no longer taking on new Ph.D. students, I also spend time in the lab working with the students that Charlie and I currently mentor.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you think of massive open online courses (MOOCs)? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo be honest, I\u2019m too near the end of my career to invest the time in creating a MOOC and teaching it. Also, I\u2019m not sure how a chemical engineering course could effectively be taught in this format. Not only does lab work become challenging, but it\u2019s tough to do any one-on-one mentoring, which is one of the most satisfying parts of the job for me.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the biggest risk you\u2019ve ever taken, and did it pay off?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was coming to Tech. I was 50 years old and starting over in a department that didn\u2019t have the best reputation at the time. But I couldn\u2019t be happier that I did it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite spot to have lunch?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn my office with my colleagues. Everyone brings a brown bag, and we share a pot of coffee. It\u2019s one of my favorite times of the day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you do in your spare time?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI play bridge, and I like to cook. I spent some time in Paris when I was a post doctoral fellow. I picked up a few tricks while taking classes and cooking with friends. Although it\u2019s not French, I can make a mean osso buco.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI am the only child of only children. I have no siblings, no aunts and uncles, and no cousins. But my wife has a huge family. Marrying her was one of the happiest days of my life, partially because I\u2019d always wanted to be a part of a big family.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn June, Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Eckert celebrated a milestone in his teaching career \u2014 he graduated his 100th Ph.D. student, Jackson Switzer.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In June, Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Eckert celebrated a milestone in his teaching career \u2014 he graduated his 100th Ph.D. student, Jackson Switzer."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-09-03 10:52:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:49","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-09-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-09-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"233281":{"id":"233281","type":"image","title":"Charles Eckert","body":null,"created":"1449243627","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:27","changed":"1475894906","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:26","alt":"Charles Eckert","file":{"fid":"197605","name":"chuck_and_charlie.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chuck_and_charlie_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chuck_and_charlie_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2739360,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chuck_and_charlie_0.jpg?itok=duWABVTq"}}},"media_ids":["233281"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"72751","name":"Charles Eckert"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}