Curriculum Vitae

Chemical Engineering Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (2011)

  • Thesis Topic: Development of complexation-based materials for the selective adsorption of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) from water streams.
  • Thesis Advisor: Dr. Arturo J. Hernández-Maldonado
  • Relevant Advanced Courses: Structure and Rheology of Complex Fluids; Rheological Methods in Food Process Engineering; Adsorption in Nanostructured Materials, Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry

B.S. Chemical Engineering at University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (2005)

  • Environmental Engineering Certificate

Certifications

  • EWITS Program Certification, training held at UF Innovation Hub, Gainesville Fl, March 2016.
  • Quality Matter Reviewer Certification, online training April 2015.
  • Safe Food Quality Certification, training at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, April 2012.
  • X-Ray Radiation Safety Procedures, training held at University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, August 2007
  • X-Ray Diffraction Operation, training held at University of Wisconsin-Madison, June 2006.
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy, training held at University of Wisconsin-Madison, July 2006.
  • Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Plant Operator, approved course at Abbot Laboratories, May 2005.
  • Chemical Process Safety and Environmental Risk, training held at University of Delaware, June 2004.

Current Research and Scholarly Work

  • Engineering education in chemical engineering design
  • Professional Identity, retention, and persistence
  • Unconscious biases and diversity in engineering teams

Active Research Projects

  1. Chemical Engineering Design Workshops for early undergraduate students. This work explores to what extent student attitudes towards chemical engineering change if problem-solving and design skills are practiced earlier in the curriculum. The workshops invite students to engage voluntarily in online instructional videos independently and then partake in design tutorials in a collaborative setting. Each face-to-face session will require students to work on team projects using their applied knowledge to solve simulation exercises at a higher level using introductory concepts of process economics and optimization techniques to make recommendations about their work. This project requires students mentors that want to learn simulation software (Aspen Plus, HYSYS, and UNiSim). Also, to assess the overall workshop performance with the potential of presenting quantitative and qualitative results at a national conference (ASEE and AIChE).
  2. Development and Implementation of Engineering Design K-14 Outreach Activities. (Engineering Education Project) Chemical Engineering faculty, staff, and students are involved in several annual programs that reach out to K-14 students and the public to promote awareness about engineering and science as well as to encourage talented young people to consider these fields for their future careers. Participating students will have the opportunity to apply their engineering skills by creating engineering design activities that will be implemented at local schools and museums. Also, participants will learn how to assess the event with the potential of presenting quantitative and qualitative results at a national conference (ASEE and AIChE).
  3. Implicit Bias Awareness in Engineering. Do we all biases? What are the biases that we personally have or see in others around us? These were some of the intriguing questions that participants explore in these workshops. Participants learn about how their belief systems, principles and stereotypes can influence their interactions and decisions in the workplace. The workshops intend to be a call to action to be proactive and mindful of our own biases as we engage with others to build inclusivity.

Courses Taught

Spring 2018 Every semester to presentECH 4644 Process Design Total enrollment 168. Credits: 3 hours Preliminary design of convention chemical processes including process specifications, sitting and layout, equipment sizing, utility and manpower needs, safety and hazard analysis, environmental considerations and economic evaluation. Planning techniques for detailed engineering, construction, and startup.
Fall 2018 Every semester to presentECH 4604 Process Economics and Optimization Total enrollment:187 Credits: 3 hours. Course Description: Introduces the principles of process economics including specifications and costing of equipment, operations costing and economic evaluation of processes.
Spring 2018ECH 3023 Material and Energy Balances Total enrollment: 49. Credits: 4 hours. Course Description:  Formulation and solution of material and energy balances utilizing physical/chemical properties of matter as applied to analyze unit operations systems.
Fall 2017ECH 4504 Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design Total enrollment: 49. Credits: 4 hours. Course Description: Homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction kinetic modeling and data analysis. Analysis and design of ideal batch, mixed, plug and recycle reactors. Heterogeneous catalysis and reactor design.
2017-2018EGN 4930: Sales Engineer Seminar Total enrollment: 120. Credits: 2 hours. Course Description: Sales Engineering Seminar is intended for students interested in pursuing a career in sales engineering (required for students enrolled in the Sales Engineering Minor Program). Lectures and discussions on practice-oriented sales engineering topics.
2016-2017ECH 4912-4913: Integrated Product and Process Design.  Total enrollment: 130. Credits: 3 hours for Fall and 3 hours for Spring. Course Description: A two-semester-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem-solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management, and people skills.

Professional Service

  • Session Chair/co-Chair: Topics related to K-12 Session 2, 2017 American Society for Engineering Education Zone 2 Conference, San Juan, P.R., March 2-5, 2017.
  • Quality Matters Reviewer (August 2015- Present): an international organization representing broad inter-institutional collaboration and a shared understanding of online course quality. QM’s quality assurance processes have been developed to improve and certify the design of online and blended courses for academic, government and education-related organizations.
  • Chemistry Curriculum Committee (August 2014-2016): review and redesign course learning outcomes and competencies; create instructional material to share with faculty, reviewed final test study guides; preparation of final examination question banks and tests; development of online master course for all faculty.
  • Journal Reviewer (January 2013-May 2013): for the Journal of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research published by the American Chemical Society (ACS). This is journal is a weekly publication focused on industrial and academic research in the broad fields of applied chemistry and chemical engineering with special focus on fundamentals, processes, and products.

Awards/Recognition

  • Versal Pro scholarship: To create all sorts of interactive courses, quizzes, in-class assignments and projects for my students. (Started 11/30/2015- 11/30/2016
  • Sustainability Curriculum Award. Santa Fe College (April 2013- August 2013)
  • Invited as a Sloan Fellow to The Institute on Teaching and Mentoring held in Tampa, Florida (Oct 2010 and 2009)
  • NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium (PRSGC) Fellowship (Aug/2008-Jul/2009 and Aug/2005-Dec/2006)
  • Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) Scholarship (Aug/2008-Jun/2009)
  • Sloan Foundation Ph.D. Fellowship (Aug/2005-Jul/2007)
  • Emerging Business Leaders’ Summit Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (Oct/2004)

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals:

  • Rivera-Jimenez S. M., Lehner M.M., Cabrera-Lafaurie W.A., Hernández-Maldonado, A.J, The removal of naproxen, salicylic acid, clofibric acid, and carbamazepine by water phase adsorption onto inorganic-organic pillared bentonites intercalated with transition metal cations. Environmental Engineering Science. 2011, 28,(3) 171-182.
  • Rivera-Jiménez, S.M., Méndez-González, S., Hernández-Maldonado, A.J., Metal (M=Co2+, Ni2+ and Cu2+) Grafted Mesoporous SBA-15: Effect of Transition Metal Incorporation and pH Conditions on the Adsorption of Naproxen from Water. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials. 2010, 132, (3), 470-479.
  • Rivera-Jimenez, S.M., Hernandez-Maldonado, A. J., Nickel(II) grafted MCM-41: A novel sorbent for the removal of Naproxen from water. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 2008, 116, (1-3), 246-252.
  • Vijay, R.; Hendershot, R. J., Rivera-Jimenez, S. M., Rogers, W. B.; Feist, B. J., Snively, C. M., Lauterbach, J., Noble metal free NOx storage catalysts using cobalt discovered via high-throughput experimentation. Catalysis Communications 2005, 6, (2), 167-171.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings:

  • Rivera-Jiménez. S. and Stanfill, R.K., “Meeting new institutional goals by renovating a 20-year-old industry- sponsored capstone design course”, American Society for Engineering Education, Zone 2 Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 2-5, 2017.
  • Rivera-Jiménez, S., “A Case Study on Ocean Acidification”, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, Jun 11, 2014. Open access: (http://www.sesync.org/a-case-study-on-ocean-acidification-2013-19).
  • Rivera-Jiménez, S., “A Case Study on Ocean Acidification”, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, Jun 11, 2014. Open access: (http://www.sesync.org/a-case-study-on-ocean-acidification-2013-19).

Patents

  1. US 61/316,924. “Process for the removal of personal care and pharmaceutical products from water via complexation-based adsorption using transition metal based silica mesoporous materials with dense walls and large pore volume.” March 24, 2010.
  2. US 20070053818 “Nitrogen Oxides Storage Catalysts Containing Cobalt.” July 21, 2005.