Hanoz Santoke Awarded 2010 ASEI Kalpana Chawla Scholarship
American Society of Engineering of Indian Origin Award Given at Annual Convention
Hantoz Santoke, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine, has been awarded the 2010 American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) Kalpana Chawla Scholarship.
Santoke, a California native, researches pharmaceutical compounds in the environment. These compounds have been detected in both surface and ground water in places ranging from the United States to Italy to India, due to incomplete metabolization of prescription medications in the human body or discharge from industrial facilities or homes. Since conventional treatment processes are ineffective at removing these compounds from water, newer techniques known as advanced oxidation processes are being evaluated.
His research is focused on obtaining information about various pharmaceuticals that can be removed from water using advanced oxidation processes, such as the rates of degradation and the identities of the byproducts formed. When utilized by water treatment plants, advanced oxidation processes will ensure that our drinking water does not contain residues of pharmaceutical compounds, as it currently does in many parts of the county.
The ASEI Kalpana Chawla Scholarship was instituted in memory of the highly accomplished NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla. She was one of the seven distinguished astronauts who lost their lives on the Columbia Shuttle Flight STS-107. This scholarship is in recognition of her contribution in the field of aerospace engineering for the benefit of mankind. The award candidates are judged for excellence in academics, leadership, and technical expertise. This annual $2,000 scholarship is awarded to one deserving graduate student in engineering at the ASEI National Convention.
Additionally, Professor William C. Cooper, Ph.D., Associate Professor Jean-Daniel Saphores, Ph.D., both from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,and Fabian Mueller, Ph.D., from the National Fuel Cell Research Center/Advanced Power and Energy Program, each presented during the ASEI Convention. Shruthi Murali, an undergraduate student in the Samueli School, was awarded an ASEI Undergraduate Scholarship.
ASEI is a national organization of engineers and professionals in related technical fields. Their objectives are networking, career guidance, technology transfer, business guidance, and promoting India's image as well as that of its professionals. ASEI links various professionals, institutions and business organizations in promoting technical and business issues of interest to our members.
