SAS/NASLIBS Award

This award is for the Best Paper Published in Applied Spectroscopy on Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

2021 Recipients (not awarded in 2022)

“Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis for the Classification of Spectra from Gold-Bearing Ores”, Applied Spectroscopy Volume 74 Issue 1 Page(s) 42-54

Daniel Diaz

Daniel Diaz holds a Postdoctoral position at the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona where he participates in various research efforts at the Laser-based Diagnostics Laboratory since 2020. He is a mechanical engineer from Universidad Nacional de Colombia – Sede Medellin, and obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering from the same university in 2017. Dr. Diaz did a post-doctorate between 2017 and 2020 at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida where he performed research related to laser ablation, and the analysis of solids and aerosols with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. His experience is in thermal sciences, materials engineering, laser-based diagnostic tools, and laboratory and industrial heating systems. Currently, he contributes to research projects related to the characterization of high-temperature environments in molten salt reactors and battery fires with laser-based diagnostic tools, as wells as modeling the transport and fate of gases and aerosols. Dr. Diaz teaches undergraduate heat transfer.

Alejandro Molino Ochoa 

Alejandro Molina is professor in Departamento de Procesos y Energía de la Facultad de Minas de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Medellín. He is a chemical engineer from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical and Fuel Engineering from the University of Utah in 2002. He did a post-doctorate between 2003 and 2006 at the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, California where he conducted research related to laser diagnostics, coal combustion in oxygen-enriched environments, and glass production. In 2006 he became an associate professor at the Faculty of Mines where he is currently a tenured professor. His research areas revolve around the analysis of reactive flows using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and laser diagnostics. He is a member of the Bioprocesses and Reactive Flows research group where he contributes to different fields of research that seek to improve the performance of the local industry. He has directed projects in the areas of oil exploration and refining, characterization of soils through laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, virtual laboratories for teaching chemical engineering, and CFD analysis applied to the improvement of industrial processes. Currently he is part of research projects related to the prevention of accidents due to fires and explosions and the optimization of plants to recycle spent lead-acid batteries. He is in charge of the undergraduate courses in Chemical Reaction Engineering and Introduction to Chemical Engineering. At graduate level he teaches different courses such as CFD, Process Intensification and Fire Dynamics.

David Hahn 

David W. Hahn is the Craig M. Berge Dean of the College of Engineering, and Professor and Eminent Scholar at the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona. He has more than two decades of experience in higher education and with national agencies and laboratories, and he is a champion of diversity in engineering. Dr. Hahn joined the University of Arizona after a 20-year career at the University of Florida, where he served most recently as chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Under his leadership, the university built a 4,000-square-foot student design center, his department grew to the largest on campus in terms of student enrollment, and the female student population in mechanical and aerospace engineering increased to 20%, about 50% above the national average. He was the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering 2007-2008 Teacher/Scholar of the Year and 2009-2010 Advisor/Mentor of the Year, and he received the UF Society of Women Engineers 2016-2017 Outstanding Support of Women in Engineering Award. Dr. Hahn is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Optical Society and Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Dr. Hahn began his research career as an NRC postdoctoral associate in the electro-optics branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. He then spent four years at Sandia National Laboratories, first as a postdoctoral researcher and then as a member of the technical staff. He studied mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1986 and a doctorate in 1992. In 2014 he received the Alumni Achievement Award from his home department.