New faculty advisor but same student focus in chemical engineering

For the first time in more than 20 years, a new faculty member will advise the Department of Chemical Engineering’s flagship student organization.

Associate Professor Stephen Martin has stepped forward to replace Y.A. Liu, longtime faculty advisor for the Virginia Tech chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). 

Generations of graduates have been mentored by Liu, an Alumni Distinguished Professor, in class or in AIChE. But come fall semester, Liu has said he will step down.

“Often my happiest moments every week are receiving letters, emails, and phone calls from former students,” he said. “Their continuing cheering and encouragement, together with the strong support I receive from the university administration, is the most significant factor in all I have achieved in my career at Virginia Tech since 1982. I continue to be a most blessed and fortunate person.”

Martin will step into this important role and carry it forward into the future. AIChE is the largest chemical engineering student organization at Virginia Tech. It sponsors professional development, social events, peer mentoring and tutoring, and competition teams. The organization “strives to aid chemical engineers in accomplishing their career goals, and to make college an edifying and entertaining experience for ChemEs,” according to its website.

While it’s led by students, AIChE is guided by a faculty advisor.

“The goal for AIChE is to be an organization that welcomes students into the major and supports them throughout their whole time here at Virginia Tech — and help them successfully get a job,” Martin said. “But it’s a student organization, which means that it should be run by the students. The students get to make the decisions. As faculty advisor, my role is to create continuity as student leaders graduate and new students rotate in.”

Martin inherits an organization with a solid foundation. Under Liu’s guidance, Virginia Tech has won AIChE’s Outstanding Student Chapter Award five times since 2014. Liu also won the Outstanding Student Chapter Advisor Award in 2021, selected from faculty advisors to 380 student chapters across 54 countries.

Martin has prepared himself for the new job. For eight years, he has advised the tournament-winning Chem-E-Car team — a student-led competition team affiliated with AIChE. Andy Athawale, former team leader, praised Martin’s support for students.

“Dr. Martin has helped the team consistently reach the international competition,” Athawale said. “He attends the weekly meetings where we go over the goals for that week and often provides feedback, advice, and updates to keep us on track.”

During this year’s AIChE regional conference hosted by Virginia Tech and chemical engineering for the first time in more than two decades, Martin coordinated logistics and materials for 19 Chem-E-Car teams from across the region to compete, according to Athawale. Martin also helped streamline the proceedings.

And he’s involved in the organization outside the university, giving him a broader perspective.

“Dr. Martin is a member of the AIChE Student Chapters Committee, which oversees activities of all student chapters. I believe this role, combined with his years of experience with AIChE, has aligned him for success as the Virginia Tech chapter faculty advisor,” Athawale said.

Martin’s dedication to students is ingrained in every aspect of his career at the university. He has received multiple teaching awards, including the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has been chosen by student vote to receive the Chemical Engineering Best Professor Award on multiple occasions. He was named the W.S. “Pete” White Chair for Innovation in Engineering Education in 2022, and was awarded the College of Engineering Sporn Award for excellence in undergraduate instruction by the Student Engineers’ Council in 2023. In addition, he has received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service.

“Dr. Martin already has a huge amount of experience working with undergraduates including teaching the first chemical engineering course, Mass and Energy Balances; leading independent study students through Unit Operations Lab repairs and upkeep; having undergraduate research assistants every semester; and advising the Chem-E-Car team,” student Brandon Tapia said. “His dedication to undergraduate students’ learning has been exemplified in the numerous awards he has received related to his instruction.”

The summer Unit Operations Laboratory is a five-credit, five-week hands-on intensive course required for the bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Students are assigned to a team, which must plan, design, execute, and report on eight different experiments. It’s considered a rite of passage and a formative professional development experience that many alumni say did much to prepare them for the work world.

While research is a major focus for all faculty, including in Martin’s own membranes and separations lab, he said teaching and mentorship are primary.

“I've always felt strongly about the role of teaching and the undergraduate experience as part of the university as a teaching institution,” he said. “Research is important, and  some of the research that we do is transformative, or goes on to be patented and licensed, and can have a big impact on society,” he said. “But year after year, it’s the students who are graduating with Virginia Tech degrees that are going out and having a direct impact on companies and communities and impacting the economy and society at large. Those students are the ‘product’ of their teachers.”