FRANCIS
JONES, Ph.D., P. E.
UC Foundation Professor
Chemical Engineering
437 EMCS, Department 2502
(423) 425-4366
EXPERIENCE:
UC Foundation
Professor of Chemical Engineering 7/07
–
Teaching Duties: air pollution control, water pollution control, environmental engineering for environmental scientists, chemical and environmental engineering laboratory, unit operations, fluid mechanics laboratory, chemical/environmental process principles, heat transfer, and control systems laboratory.
Research Interests:
1) Fluid Mechanics. Sampling suspensions in laminar flow, slip flow, free molecular flow.
2) Membrane separations with environmental applications. (Solid and Liquid membranes).
3) Manufacture of SiO2 microspheres by an emulsion liquid membrane reactor.
4) Chemical Process Miniaturization. Study of micron-scale chemical process devices including reactors, heat exchangers, and separators along with process control. The goal is to put a self-contained chemical process plant on a microchip. These devices are fabricated using the techniques developed by the microelectronics industry. Electronic and fluidic circuits are on the same platform (“chip”). Biological micro scale reactors are fabricated using PDMS and attaching enzymes to the reactor channel walls as catalysts.
5) Biomaterials. Incorporating enzymes into plastics (especially PDMS) to create catalytically active biomaterials. Using these materials in batch reactors and micro scale continuous flow reactors.
6) Biomicroreactor Simulation. Numerical simulation of biomicroreactors including fluid mechanics and Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Emphasis on the effects of design and operational changes on conversion. The ultimate goal is to optimize the internal design features (packing) for any job/enzyme.
7) Nanotechnology, enzyme immobilization, and biomicroreactors. The use of layer-by-layer nano self-assembly to immobilize enzymes on the walls of micro channels.
8) Micromixing. The effect of design changes on mixing and conversion in microchannels.
9) Alternative Fuels. The production of biodiesel fuel in a micro scale system.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
UC Foundation Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering 7/06 – 7/07
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering 7/00 – 7/06
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering 9/93-6/00
Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering 1/92 - 5/93
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Summer 92, 93
Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemical Engineering 9/86 - 9/91
EDUCATION: (All degrees in Chemical Engineering)
Ph.D.
M.S.
Minor in Biochemical Engineering.
B.S.E.
P.E. REGISTRATION:
Registered Professional Engineer in the
State of
MEDIA REPORTS CONCERNING MY RESEARCH:
AWARDS:
GRANT FUNDING:
· CEACSE. “Simulation of Biodiesel Production by Microreaction Systems.” PI. July 2007 – July 2008. Amount awarded = $25,000.
· Faculty Research Grant for Spring 2005. Title: “Simulation Study of the Effect of Flow Patterns on Conversion in a Microbioreactor.” Amount awarded = $2,650.
·
Access granted to
PROFESSIONAL
PRESENTATIONS:
1)
Robert Bailey, Frank Jones, Stephanie Wilson, Stephen Ryan, and James Hiestand,
“The Effects of Packing Patterns on Mixing and Heterogeneous Catalysis in
Microchannels,” ASME Fluids Engineering Conference, July 29-August 2, 2007,
2) Nesli Alp, Frank
Jones, Rob Bailey, and Jim Hiestand, “Conversion Rate
Optimization in Biomicroreactors Using the Taguchi Method,” Institute of Industrial Engineers Annual
Conference, May 2007, Nashville, TN.
3) Stephanie Wilson and Frank Jones, “The Effects of
Micromixing on heterogeneous Catalysis in Microbioreactor Channels,” ASEE
Southeastern Section Conference,
4) Stephanie Wilson
and Frank Jones, “The Effects of Micromixing on Heterogeneous Catalysis in
Microbioreactor Channels,” AIChE Annual Meeting,
5)
Frank Jones, Robert Bailey, Stephanie Wilson, and James Hiestand, “The Effects
of Engineering Design on Heterogeneous Catalysis in Microchannels.” 28th Symposium on Biotechnology
for Fuels and Chemicals,
6)
Nesli Alp, Frank Jones, Rob Bailey, and Jim Hiestand “The Use of Taguchi
Statistical Methods to Optimize the Design of Biomicroreactors.”
7) Invited Lecture: I was invited to speak to the
8)
Frank Jones, Chris Martin, Robert Bailey, and James Hiestand, “The Effect of
Varying Structured Catalyst Packing on Conversion in Microchannel-based
Bioreactors.” 27th
Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Denver, CO,
May 2005.
9)
Jen Wen, James Palmer, Bill Elmore, and Frank Jones, “Enzyme Immobilization
onto Polydimethylsiloxane using Layer-by-layer Self-assembly Techniques.” 27th Symposium on Biotechnology
for Fuels and Chemicals, Denver, CO, May 2005.
10) Frank Jones,
Bill Elmore, Jim Palmer, and Rob Bailey, “The Effect of Enzyme Attachment
Method on Biomicroreactor Design and Operation.” 26th Symposium on
Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals,
11) Robert Bailey,
Frank Jones, Ben Fisher and Bill Elmore, “Immobilized Enzymatic Microbioreactor
Design Enhancement using Computational Simulation.” 26th Symposium
on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals,
12) Frank Jones,
Scott Forrest, Jim Palmer, Zonghuan Lu, John Elmore, and Bill Elmore,
“Immobilized Enzyme Studies in a Micro-Scale Bioreactor.” 25th
Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Breckenridge, CO, May 2003.
13) Rob Bailey and
Frank Jones, “Optimization of an Immobilized Enzymatic Microbioreactor via
Numerical Simulation.” 25th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and
Chemicals, Breckenridge, CO, May 2003.
14) Frank Jones and Rob Bailey, “Simulation and
Experimentation in Microbioreactor Design: Incorporation into Engineering
Education.” ASEE Southeastern Section Annual Conference,
15) Zonghuan Lu, Bill Elmore, Francis Jones, Rui Jiang, “Micro-scale Biochemical Reactor Studies Using Immobilized Enzymes in Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS),” 2002 Louisiana EPSCoR Conference, Baton Rouge, LA, April 10-11, 2002.
16) Bill Elmore, Zonghuan Lu, Rui Jiang, and Francis Jones, “A Novel Micro Scale Enzyme Reactor for Environmental Applications.” 24th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Gatlinburg, TN, April 29-30, 2002.
17) Robert Bailey, Prakash Damshala, Bill Elmore, and Francis Jones, “Numerical Simulation of an Immobilized Enzyme Microbioreactor,” 24th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Gatlinburg, TN, April 29-30, 2002.
18) Bill Elmore, Zonghuan Lu, Rui Jiang, Andrea Forrest, and Francis Jones, “Heterogeneous Catalysis in a Micro Scale Packed Bed Reactor Fabricated From a Biologically Active Plastic,” SPIE Symposium on Micromachining and Microfabrication, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology VII, San Francisco, CA, October 2001.
19) Bill Elmore, Jim Palmer, Zonghuan Lu, Rui Jiang, and Francis Jones, “Development of a Micro Scale Biochemical Reactor Fabricated form a Biologically Active Plastic,” TexMEMS Conference, Dallas, TX, June 2001.
20) Francis Jones, Zonghuan Lu, and Bill Elmore, “The Development of a Novel Micro-Scale System as an Immobilized Enzyme Bioreactor.” 23rd Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Breckenridge, CO, May 2001.
21) Cynthia Dickey, Bill Elmore, and Francis Jones, “Enzyme Catalyzed Biochemical Production in a PDMS Microreactor,” SPIE Symposium on Micromachining and Microfabrication, Micro Fluidic Devices and Systems Section, Santa Clara, CA, September 2000.
22) Francis Jones, Ron Besser, Bill Elmore, Ji Fang, and Tianhong Cui, “An Experimental System for the Study of Gas-solid Heterogeneous Catalysis in Microreactors,” SPIE Symposium on Micromachining and Microfabrication, Micro Fluidic Devices and Systems Section,” Santa Clara, CA, September 2000.
23) Cindy Furlong, Bill Elmore, and Frank Jones, “Immobilized Enzyme Activity in a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Micro-scale Bioreactor,” 1st Annual Louisiana Microsystems Conference, Ruston, LA, April 2000.
24) Francis Jones and Deng Qing, “A Fundamental Study of Gas-Solid Heterogeneous Catalysis in Microreactors,” AIChE Spring Conference (IMRET IV), Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
25) Ai-Ping Zheng, Francis Jones, and Ji Fang, “Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexane to Benzene in a Membrane Microreactor,” AIChE Spring Conference (IMRET IV), Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
26) Cynthia Dickey Furlong, Bill Elmore, and Francis Jones, “Pharmaceutical Production Using PDMS Microreactors,” AIChE Spring Conference (IMRET IV), Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
27) Francis Jones, Anand Kuppusamy, and Ai-Ping Zheng, “Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexane to Benzene in Microreactors and Membrane Microreactors,” SPIE Symposium on Micromachining and Microfabrication, Micro Fluidic Devices and Systems Section, Santa Clara, CA, September 1999.
28) Jones, F. J., R. T. Thompson, and George Grozdits, “Behavior of Small Oak Specimens in Vacuum Under Microwave field,” Annual Meeting of the Forest Products Society, June 1999.
29) Jones, F. J., R. T. Thompson, and G. A. Grozdits, “Veneer Dryers as Water Separators, Chemical Engineering Concepts and Design,” 1998 Annual Meeting of the Forest Products Society, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, June 1998.
30) Trivedi, P., G. Sathanandam, F. J. Jones, and B. B. Elmore, “Biological Conversion of Carbon Monoxide to Useful Fuels and Chemicals,” Nineteenth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Colorado Springs, May 1997.
31) Annamalai, K., and F. J. Jones, “Microreactor Design and Simulation in the Slip-Flow Regime”, A.C.S., I&EC Division, Computers in Engineering Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, May 1997.
32) Chakravarthy, S. V., and F. J. Jones, “Design Simulation of Membrane Microreactors and Microseparators”, presented to A.C.S., I&EC Division, Computers in Engineering Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, May 1997.
33) Heller, E., and F. J. Jones, “Design of a Microreactor,” AIChE Annual Meeting, Chicago, November 1996.
34) Pandya, N., F. J. Jones, C. Sheppard, “Financial and Technical Feasibility of Separating NMOC’s from Landfill Gas Using Membranes,” American Chemical Society, I&EC Division (Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management VIII), Birmingham, September 1996.
35) Pandya, N., and F. J. Jones, ”Removal of Non-methane Organic Compounds from Landfill Gas Using Gas Separation Membranes,” AIChE Spring Meeting, New Orleans, February 1996.
36) Flake, J., F. J. Jones, and H. K. Huckabay, “Membrane Separation of Non-Methane Organic Compounds from Landfill Gas,” American Chemical Society, I&EC Division (Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management VII), Atlanta, September 1995.
37) Huckabay, H. K., S. A. Behbahani, B. B. Elmore, F. J. Jones, C. M. Sheppard, R. H. Thompson, “Combining Engineering Science and Design,” American Society for Engineering Education, Gulf Southwestern Section, 1995 Annual Conference, Beaumont, Texas.
38) Jones, F. J., and Weinberger C. B., “Sampling of Viscous Suspensions of Neutrally Buoyant Spheres in Laminar Flow Through Tubes,” AIChE Annual Meeting, Miami, November 1992.
39) Jones, F. J., and Weinberger, C. B., “Sampling of Viscous Suspensions of Neutrally Buoyant Spheres in Laminar Flow Through Tubes,” AIChE Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, November 1991.
PUBLICATIONS:
1) (Submitted) Jie
Wen, Bill Elmore, and Frank Jones, “Enzyme Immobilization using Layer-by-Layer
Self-Assembly in PDMS Biomicroreactors.” Submitted to Biotechnology and
Bioengineering.
2) (Accepted) Robert
Bailey, Frank Jones, Stephanie Wilson, Stephen Ryan, and James Hiestand, “The
Effects of Packing Patterns on Mixing and Heterogeneous Catalysis in
Microchannels,” 2007 ASME Fluids Engineering Conference Symposium Series,
July 29-August 2, 2007, San Diego, CA.
3) Frank Jones, Rob Bailey, Stephanie Wilson, and Jim Hiestand, “The Effects of Engineering Design on Heterogeneous Biocatalysis in Microchannels.” Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vol. 136-140, 115-129 (2007).
4) Stephanie Wilson and Frank Jones, “A Study of the Effects of Various Flow Obstructions on Heterogeneous Catalysis and Micromixing in Biocatalytic Microchannels,” Analytical Sciences Digital Library, eUndergraduate Research Online Journal, March 2007. http://www.asdlib.org/eUGHUploads/45_eUGH_publication.pdf?PHPSESSID=63458ea223f63d9a15ee548ed6a3a01a.
5) Alp, Neslihan; Jones, Frank; Bailey, Rob; and Hiestand,
Jim; “Use of Taguchi Methods to Optimize the Design of Biomicroreactors,”
Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) Annual Conference Proceedings, pp.
108-113, May 20-24, 2006, Orlando, FL.
6) Rob Bailey, Frank Jones, Ben Fisher, and
Bill Elmore “Immobilized Enzymatic Microbioreactor Design Enhancement using
Computational Simulation.” Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology,
Vols. 121-124, 639-652 (2005).
7) Frank Jones, Scott Forrest, Jim Palmer,
Zonghuan Lu, John Elmore, and Bill Elmore, “Immobilized Enzyme Studies in a
Micro-Scale Bioreactor.” Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology,
Vols. 113-116, pp. 261-272 (2004).
8) Frank Jones and Rob Bailey, “Simulation and Experimentation in Microbioreactor Design: Incorporation into Engineering Education.” Peer reviewed paper for ASEE Southeastern Section Annual Conference, Macon, GA, April 6-8, 2003.
9) Francis Jones, Zonghuan Lu, Bill B. Elmore, “The Development of a Novel Micro-Scale System as an Immobilized Enzyme Bioreactor,” Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vols. 98-100, pp. 627-640 (2002).
10) Bill Elmore, Zonghuan Lu, Rui Jiang, Andrea Forrest, and Francis Jones, “Heterogeneous Catalysis in a Micro Scale Packed Bed Reactor Fabricated From a Biologically Active Plastic,” Proceedings of SPIE, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology VII, Volume 4557, pp. 360-370, San Francisco, CA, October 2001.
11) Jones, F. J., and B. B. Elmore,”Incorporating Chemical
Process Miniaturization into the Chemical Engineering Curriculum at Louisiana
Tech University,” Chemical Engineering Education, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 316-325 (2000).
12) Cynthia Dickey, Bill Elmore, and Francis Jones, “Enzyme Catalyzed Biochemical Production in a PDMS Microreactor,” Proceedings of SPIE, Microfluidic Devices and Systems III, Vol. 4177, pp. 56-64, Santa Clara, CA, September 2000.
13) Francis Jones, Ron Besser, Bill Elmore, Ji Fang, and Tianhong Cui, “An Experimental System for the Study of Gas-solid Heterogeneous Catalysis in Microreactors,” Proceedings of SPIE, Microfluidic Devices and Systems III, Vol. 4177, pp. 124-131, Santa Clara, CA, September 2000.
14) Cindy Furlong, Bill Elmore, and Frank Jones, “Immobilized Enzyme Activity in a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Micro-scale Bioreactor,” Proceedings of the 1st Annual Louisiana Microsystems Conference, Ruston, LA, April 2000.
15) Francis Jones, Deng Qing, Ji Fang, and Tianhong Cui, “A Fundamental Study of Gas-Solid Heterogeneous Catalysis in Microreactors,” Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Microreaction Technology (IMRET IV), pp. 400-409, Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
16) Ai-Ping Zheng, Francis Jones, Ji Fang, and Tianhong Cui, “Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexane to Benzene in a Membrane Microreactor,” Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Microreaction Technology (IMRET IV), pp. 284-292, Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
17) Cynthia Dickey Furlong, Bill Elmore, and Francis Jones, “Pharmaceutical Production Using PDMS Microreactors,” Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Microreaction Technology (IMRET IV), pp. 293-300, Atlanta, GA, March 2000.
18) Jones, F. J., A. Kuppusamy, and A. Zheng, “Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexane to Benzene in Microreactors and Membrane Microreactors,” Proceedings of SPIE, Microfluidic Devices and Systems II, Volume 3877, Vol. 3877, pp. 160-168, Santa Clara, CA, September 1999.
19) Devulapalli, R., and F. J. Jones, “Development of an Emulsion Liquid Membrane Process to Remove Aniline from Aqueous Solutions,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, B70, pp.157-170 (1999).
20) Jones, F. J., and Weinberger, C. B., “Screening Effects When Sampling Suspensions in Laminar Flow through Pores,” AIChE Journal, Vol. 43, No. 10, 2405 (1997).
21) Annamalai, K., and F. J. Jones, “Microreactor Design and Simulation in the Slip-Flow Regime,” Computers in Engineering Symposium Series, A.C.S., I&EC Division, pp. 49-53, May 1997.
22) Chakravarthy, S. V., and F. J. Jones, “Design and Simulation of Membrane Microreactors and Microseparators,” Computers in Engineering Symposium Series, A.C.S., I&EC Division, pp.54-58, May 1997.
23) Pandya, N., F. J. Jones, and C. Sheppard, “Financial and Technical Feasibility of Separating NMOC’s from Landfill Gas Using Membranes,” Symposium Series, ACS, I&EC Division, Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management VIII, pp. 549-552, Birmingham, September 1996.
24) Flake, J., F. J. Jones, and H. K. Huckabay, “Membrane Separation of Non-Methane Organic Compounds from Landfill Gas,” Symposium Series, ACS, I&EC Division, Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management VII, pp. 848-851, Atlanta, September 1995.
25) Huckabay, H. K., S. A. Behbahani, B. B. Elmore, F. J.
Jones, C. M. Sheppard, and R. H. Thompson, “Combining Engineering Science and
Design,” Conference Proceeding of the
ASEE, Gulf Southwestern Section, 1995.
SUPERVISOR (COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN) FOR THE FOLLOWING M.S. THESES:
Ramanamurthy Devulapalli, “Removal of Aniline from Aqueous Solutions Using Emulsion Liquid Membranes.” Completed August 1994.
John Flake, “A Membrane Separation Process for the Removal of Non-Methane Organic Compounds from Landfill Gas.” Completed August 1994.
Nikhil Pandya, “Design of a Device that Measures Permeabilities of Gases Through Membranes.” Completed May 1996.
Eric Heller, “Design of a Microreactor.” Completed August 1996.
Yunlong Wang, “Manufacturing SiO2 Microspheres Using and Emulsion Liquid Membrane Reactor.” Completed November 1996.
Kuttayan Annamalai, “Microreactor Design and Simulation in the Slip-Flow Regime.” Completed August 1997.
Sundar V. Chakravarthy, “Design and Simulation of Membrane Microreactors.” Completed May 1998.
Ashish Joshi, “Fabrication of a Miniaturized Chemical Process.” Completed August 1998.
Ai-Ping Zheng, “Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexane to Benzene in a Membrane Microreactor.” Completed February 2000.
Deng Qing, “Design, Fabrication, and Simulation of Microreactor Devices for the Louisiana Tech University Universal Testing System.” Completed November 2000.
Jiang Rui, “Immobilization of Enzymes on Polydimethylsiloxane.” Completed December 2002.
CO-SUPERVISOR FOR THE FOLLOWING Ph.D. DISSERTATION:
Cynthia Dickey, co-chair with Bill Elmore, “The Design, Modeling, Fabrication, and Testing of an Immobilized Enzyme Microreactor.” Completed May 2000.
SUPERVISOR FOR THE FOLLOWING M.S. PRACTICUM PROJECTS:
Bill Richardson, “How to Conduct a Safety Engineering Review.” Completed May 1996.
Ammar Alkhawaldeh, “Design and Simulation of a Microreactor Cooling System.” Completed November 1997.
SUPERVISOR FOR THE
FOLLOWING HONORS THESIS:
Stephanie Wilson, “A Study of the Effects of Various Flow Obstructions
on Heterogeneous Catalysis and Micromixing in Biocatalytic Microchannels.”
Completed December 2006. Won student research awards at the AIChE Annual
Meeting in San Francisco (2006) and ASEE SE regional in Louisville (2007).
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE:
I have been a Peer Reviewer for the following professional journals:
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS:
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
American Chemical Society (ACS).
Sigma Xi.
Phi Lambda Upsilon (an honorary chemical society).
American Society for
Engineering Education (ASEE).
Council on
Undergraduate Research (CUR).
UTC SERVICE: (presently a member or chair of the following
departmental, college, and university level committees)
1) Chair of ABET
Accreditation Committee for Chemical Engineering (Department)
Purpose: To obtain initial accreditation Chemical Engineering Program.
2) ABET Accreditation Committee for ENGR. (College)
Purpose: To prepare ENGR for next ABET visit.
3) Engineering Petitions Committee. (College)
Purpose: Serving as Chemical and Environmental Engineering representative on college petitions committee.
4) Faculty Research Committee. (University)
Purpose: To distribute university research funds to faculty and students.