LSU Opens Dow Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory and Dow Student Leadership Incubator in Patrick F. Taylor Hall

Baton Rouge – LSU officials, together with a delegation from Dow, celebrated the grand opening of the Dow Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory and Dow Student Leadership Incubator on Friday, April 20.

The Dow Chemical Unit Operations Laboratory and Dow Student Leadership Incubator were made possible by a $2 million donation in support of the College of Engineering’s renovation and expansion of Patrick F. Taylor Hall, now one of the largest freestanding engineering academic buildings in the United States.

LSU College of Engineering Dean Judy Wornat was joined by LSU President F. King Alexander; former Executive Vice President and Provost Rick Koubek; and members of Dow, including David Mongrue, vice president of operations and Dow/LSU executive liaison; Jenny Champion, operations leader; Jeremy Jenkins, energy commercial manager, and Stacey Gautreau, US South corporate affairs.

“This is a proud moment for Dow and LSU! We’ve enjoyed a very strong partnership and excellent collaboration for more than 50 years,” said Mongrue. “You need first-class facilities to attract and retain top-tier faculty and attract and educate top-tier students. LSU produces engineers who do a tremendous job of serving our industry both locally and globally.”

The lab offers two chemical engineering courses annually and provides hands-on experiential learning. The first course, Engineering Measurements Laboratory, is offered to chemical engineering juniors and provides emphasis on experimental work in momentum, heat and mass transfer. The second course, offered to chemical engineering seniors, focuses on kinetics and reactors, unit operations and separations, and process dynamics/process control.

The incubator is a space for all engineering student organizations to work on projects, collaborate with other student organizations and a place to call “home.”

“The Dow Chemical Unit Operations Lab and Dow Student Leader Incubator are true assets for our students and college,” Wornat said. “Students are able to solve complex problems, integrate overall knowledge into experimental work, and design and conduct realistic experiments. Because of Dow, students are building upon the attributes of problem solving, team building, effective communicating and leading, which are all defined in the characteristics of the LSU Engineer.”

DowDuPont is a holding company comprised of The Dow Chemical Company and DuPont with the intent to form strong, independent, publicly traded companies in agriculture, materials science and specialty products sectors that will lead their respective industries through productive, science-based innovation to meet the needs of customers and help solve global challenges. For more information, please visit www.dow-dupont.com.