Christy Wheeler West, Ph.D.

Christy Wheeler West, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering

Education

  • Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Alabama

Research

Dr. Wheeler West’s research interests center on elucidating the effects of the molecular scale environment on reactive chemical systems and employing that understanding to manipulate the behavior of those systems.

Current projects in her group include:     

  • Synthesis of efficient oxide-supported noble metal catalysts using supercritical fluid deposition    
  • Applications of novel quaternary ammonium salts for phase-transfer catalysis and metal recovery

Publications

  • Superhydrophobic Functionalization of Cotton Fabric via Reactive Dye Chemistry and a Thiol-ene Click Reaction, A. Brown, M. Bozman, T. Hickman, M.I. Hossain, T. G. Glover, K.N. West, C.W. West, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2019, 58, 50, 22534-22540.
  • A service learning project on aluminum recycling: developing professional skills in a material and energy balances course.  C.W. West. Chemical Engineering Education, Winter 2017.
  • Alumina-supported Pt-CeOx water-gas shift catalysts prepared by supercritical fluid deposition, J.W. Deal, P.T. Le, C.B. Corey; K. More; C.W. West. J. Supercritical Fluids, 2017, 119, 113-121.
  • Fusion and thermal degradation behavior of symmetric sulfur-containing quaternary ammonium bromides. T.L.Y. Huynh, K. Poiroux, R.A. O’Brien, K.N. West, J.H. Davis, Jr., and C.W. West, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2016, 120 (7), 1330–1335.
  • Impact of Sulfur Heteroatoms on the Activity of Quaternary Ammonium Salts as Phase-Transfer Catalysts for Nucleophilic Displacement Reactions. C.W. West, R.A. O’Brien, E.A. Salter, B.E. Hollingsworth, T.L. Huynh, R.E. Sweat, N.J. Griffin, A. Wierzbicki, J.H. Davis, Jr. J. Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2015, 282-288.

Courses

  • EG 101 Introduction to Engineering and Design
  • EG 270 Engineering Thermodynamics
  • ChE 203 Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes
  • ChE 372 Chemical Reactor Design
  • ChE 525 Chemical Reactor Analysis


Faculty Advisor: Chemical Engineering Honor Society