MPI President, Irving Fordham was invited to participate as a panelist during a career discussion at his alma mater, Georgia Tech on Thursday, July 19, 2007. This summer program consisted of approximately twenty undergraduate students from various universities across our nation. Most of the attendees were either chemistry, physics, or engineering majors. The ten (10) week summer undergraduate research program encourage the participants to seriously consider technical graduate studies with emphasis on research studies.

A major emphasis of the program was interdisciplinary education and cultural diversity. The sponsors was a collaborative effort from Georgia Tech's schools of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and the Center on Materials and Devisces for Information Technology (CMDITR).

Remarks from the panelists demonstrated to the audience various career paths, options , and approaches toward graduate education. The panelists (in the above picture from left to right) were  Dr. Lihong D'Angelo, Dr. Jeffrey Streator, Dr. Eva Heintz,  Dr. James Wright then MPI President Irving Fordham.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Streator is currently an associate mechanical engineering professor at Georgia Tech. He performed his graduate engineering studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his baccalaureate degree at Harvard University.

Dr. Eva Heintz moved with her immediate family from Szechuan, china in 1984 when she was a very young girl. She received her Ph.D in Analytical Chemistry with major emphasis in Organic Chemistry from Georgia Tech. Dr. Heintz currently is the Microscopy Lab and the Physical & Mechanical Testing Lab Supervisor for Solvay Advanced Polymers, LLC.

Previous employers of Dr. Heintz include NanoEngineered Materials Co. in Norcross, GA and Proctor and Gamble in Cincinatti, OH. A major highlight of Dr. Heintz's comments was the need to continuously and innovatively adapt to dynamic personal and professional changes.

Dr. Lihong (Lilly) D'Angelo obtained her B>S. from Peking University and Ph.D. in Chemistry at Emory University. She has also earned an MBA from Mercer University. After graduation, Dr. D'Angelo rose through the ranks at Coco-Cola Company. Her initial position was an Associate Scientist. She steadily advanced from Principal Scientist then Manager of Functional Ingredients at Corporate Innovation/ R & D, and now Senior Innovatrion Leader.

Dr. D'Angelo is active in technical societies. During her academic and professional career, she has been the recepient of numerous awards while maintaining an extensive community service background. She has written over eleven (11) publications and earned over thirteen (13) patents. 

Dr. James Wright is a Research nd Develoment Group Leader for Georgia Pacific Chemicals in Decatur, Ga. He obtained his Ph.D in chemistry from Georgia Tech. While at Georgia Tech, he was a President's Fellow, #M Fellow, and National Science Foundation Fellow. Howard University is also his alma mater.

Between Georgia Tech and Georgia Pacific, Dr. Wright worked in computational chemistry at UCLA. He was also previously a Research Scientist for Hoechst Technical Polymers. At Hoechst he developed over thirty (30) publications.

At Georgia Pacific, some of his responsibilities include concentrating on new product development for mining, building product, agriculture, energy, and other industrial application.

Invitations were initially and graciously extended by Dr. Keith Oden, Diversity Director for Georgia Tech's Center on Materials and Devices for Information Technology Research (CMDITR). Two 10 week sessions are held during the summer. The program is held in conjunction with the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Outreach programs like this summer undergraduate research session are usually very favorable. They result in many of the attendees eventually pursuing post-graduate studies after they complete their baccalaureate education.

(Video and digital photography courtesy of Janeal and Ilyssa Fordham)