Hello, my name is Paul Blowers and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In these pages, you will find some of my research results and the direction my research is going. You will also see some of the information I've organized for students over the last few years along with some other teaching initiatives. I believe in preserving the environment to the largest degree possible through our everyday and extraordinary actions. For more about recycling in Tucson and in general, click here.
My research interests involve theoretical and experimental chemical kinetics. If you'd like to know more about my research you can see some results of ab initio calculations here. More information about research will be added soon
I have been working for several years now on a web-based teaching initiative to introduce non-chemical engineers to chemical engineering concepts. The way this is being done is by discussing cooking and how most of the things that happen in the kitchen are based on chemical engineering concepts. I have worked on this project with undergraduate students who earned technical credits for creating additional webpages which are linked to this one.
Since my recent move to Tucson, my wife and I have started a restaurant list of places to eat here. Not too many restaurants on the list yet, but that will come with time.
I was invited to give a talk to the Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society here at the University ofArizona last semester about graduate school. I chose to focus on the Why's and How's getting into a school where you can succeed and be happy. Keep in mind that this is one professor's perspective and other input should be sought before any major decisions are made!
Several other people I knew were looking for academic positions at chemical engineering schools during the last year. Some of us put together a useful packet of information that we wished we would have had when we started looking. The information covers the timelines you need to be aware of, the expectations of schools as you look, and other thoughts on the usefulness of doing a postdoc. I hope the information is helpful.
During every semester I have been in involved with undergraduate students, I have presented a workshop on creating well planned and good looking resumes. I have posted the notes here on the web as well.