Mid-Michigan Local Section Award Winners

Young Chemical Engineer of the Year - Megan Donaldson

Megan Donaldson is a Research Scientist in the Core R&D Engineering & Process Science Laboratory at The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan Technological University. Since joining Dow in 2008, she has become a highly regarded subject matter expert at Dow for advancements in process separations technology, having project roles with many Dow business units such as Dow AgroSciences, Dow Electronic Materials, Dow Automotive, and Dow Oil & Gas. Key technical contributions include crystallization, adsorption, and extraction technologies. She has co-authored more than 30 internal reports, eight journal articles, and three patent applications, and five conference presentations. She also leads a collaborative research project between Dow and the Georgia Institute of Technology as a Principal Investigator and serves as an on-campus Dow recruiter at Georgia Tech. She has also supported AIChE in various leadership roles over the past several years. On the technical programming side, our awardee has served as Chair and Vice Chair of Area 2C Extraction in the Separations Division (2013–2015) and is currently a Director of the Separations Division (2015–2019). She is also the Past Chair of the Women’s Initiatives Committee (Chair in 2015 and Vice Chair in 2014) and the Vice Chair of the Societal Impact Operating Council (2016, to become Chair in 2017).

Chemical Engineer of the Year - Scott Tipler

Scott Tipler joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1985 after completing a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University. Over his 30+ year career, he has served in many manufacturing and engineering roles, including Run Plant Engineer for two Dow AgroSciences Plants, Process Control Engineer supporting Dow AgroSciences, Process Engineer for Dow AgroSciences and Plastics businesses, and Manufacturing Global Process Engineering Technology Leader for the engineering polymers, films, and SARAN(TM) technology center.

Scott is recognized within the Dow Chemical Company for his in-depth knowledge in process engineering design and, in particular, the areas of process safety and pressure relief design. He has been a leader in the development and updating of a number of Dow’s Loss Prevention Principles (LPP) and serves as a leader of Dow’s Eastern Reactive Chemistry Process Hazard Assessment (RCPHA) team, a member of the Midwest RCPHA team, and a EH&S process safety auditor. Since 2007, he has served as Overpressure Protection Expertise Area Leader within the Dow Chemical Company’s Engineering Solutions organization where he leads a team of reactive and non-reactive pressure relief design subject matter experts. He has made significant contributions to this field having served as a member of the AIChE Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems (DIERS) consortium on behalf of Dow. He has also published several articles in the area of over pressure protection in Chemical Engineering Progress and AIChE’s Process Safety Progress.

Noland Poffenberger Award - Shawn Feist

Over the course of his fourteen year career at the Dow Chemical Company since graduating from the University of Minnesota, Shawn Feist has excelled, having transitioned from early career roles into his recent posts within Core R&D where he served as Senior Technical Leader and led the E&PS University Partner Initiative (UPI) and, more recently, was th R&D Director for Growth Innovation and External Technology. Shawn has served as chairman of the Mid-Michigan Local Section and was former award winner of our Young Chemical Engineer of the Year. He has also been active in AIChE at a national level, most recently serving as a chair for the Process Development Symposium.

Our section gives the Noland Poffenberger award occasionally to individuals who have shown great support of the Mid-Michigan Section by encouraging employees within the recipient's organization to participate in professional organizations such as AIChE. As a manager, Shawn is committed to ensuring his employees succeed in their careers (not just the project they are currently on). As evidenced with testimony from numerous employees, Shawn actively takes interest in his employees’ career development throughout the year, removes barriers when called, and guides people toward others in the company depending on their interests. He has also promoted chemical engineering acumen within the Dow Chemical Company. He was a key provider, developer, and instigator in the development of the Process Development short course within Dow.

Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Education Scholarship - Austen Zhu

The Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Education Scholarship awards $2000 over 4 years to an exceptional high school senior who plans to major in chemical engineering at an ABET-accredited school. The winner of the 2016 scholarship is Austen Zhu. He is graduating from H. H. Dow High School and plans to attend the University of California Berkley. He is an avid community volunteer, piano player, and soccer player where he plays on his school’s varsity soccer team as well as in the Midland and Alliance Soccer Clubs. Of special note to the scholarship committee was his work as co-captain of the A.H. Nickless Innovation Project Team. His team won the $25,000 grand prize for their school 3 years in a row. In 2014, they designed a microbial fuel cell to clean their school’s waste water system. In 2015, they designed a wearable piezoelectric device that would convert energy from jogging athletes to charge mobile devices. In 2016, they designed a reverse electrodialysis device that would produce fresh water in arid, coastal regions. Thus, we have awarded this scholarship to someone who not only shows interest in chemical engineering, but has already applied engineering concepts to solve real world problems.

Engineering Exploration Scholarship - Megan Brooks

The Engineering Exploration Scholarship awards full tuition, room and board, and a $100 travel allotment for a high school student to attend the Michigan Technological University’s Summer Youth Program. The objective of this scholarship is to foster passion and interest in STEM in the future generation of scientists and engineers. The winner of the 2016 scholarship is Megan Brooks. She is currently a sophomore at Swan Valley High School in Saginaw. She is a member of several student organizations, including Students Against Destructive Decisions, Student Government, and Model United Nations. She is also an accomplished athlete and is on her school’s varsity cross country team, varsity soccer team, and junior varsity basketball team and is also a member of the Saginaw Storm soccer team. The scholarship evaluation committee was very impressed with her essay where she described her passion for solving puzzles and her interest in the intersection between medical science and engineering. Thus, we have awarded this scholarship to her so that she can further explore this interest in the Genetic Modification and Biotechnology program at MTU.