Roper Publishes Textbook for Separations in Pharmaceuticals, Biofuels, and Alternative Energy

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D. Keith Roper, associate professor in the department of chemical engineering, recently published the third edition of Separation Process Principles: Chemical and Biochemical Operations (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2010). Roper coauthored the text with J.D. Seader (University of Utah) and Ernest J. Henley (University of Houston).

This new edition replaces a popular second edition of this textbook which sold over 3,000 copies worldwide last year.

Separation Process Principles, third edition, is the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the major separation operations in the chemical industry," reports the publisher, John Wiley Sons. "This third edition is renamed Separation Process Principles: Chemical and Biochemical Operations to reflect the inclusion of bioseparations in several chapters. Extraordinary advances that are being made in the biological fields could significantly help solve world problems in the energy, environmental and health areas. To help provide instruction in the important bioseparations area, a new author has been added for this edition," said Roper, who has extensive industrial and academic experience in bioseparations.

Roper developed processes for cell culture, fermentation, biorecovery and analysis of polysaccharide, protein, DNA and adenoviral-vectored antigens at Merck Co. (West Point, Pa.), extraction of photodynamic cancer therapeutics at Frontier Scientific Inc. (Logan, Utah), and virus binding methods for Millipore Corp (Billerica, Mass.) His contributions to the textbook review bioseparation processes from nano-molecular to kilogram production scales in areas that include thermodynamics, mass transfer, extraction, filtration, chromatography, electrophoresis, crystallization, and large scale manufacturing using good manufacturing practices.

Roper currently leads the Nano Bio Photonics Lab at the university which studies near- and far-field features of electromagnetically coupled surface waves such as plasmons and low-frequency modes like molecular vibrations and optical phonons on nanoscale structures that include metamaterials. These interactions are important in advances related to alternative energy, health, environment, and national security that include biosensing, solar energy, optoelectronics, microthermalfluidics, spectroscopy, diagnostics and therapeutics. Roper was recently invited to present his group's work at the 2011 CMOS Emerging Technologies Workshop in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, June 15-17.

Roper's research, funded by National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and numerous state and university agencies, has led to more than 31 peer-reviewed publications, 30 invited lectures, one U.S. patent, six patent applications, one viral and three bacterial vaccine products, six process documents, and more than 100 presentations and process equipment designs. His collaborative work to develop alternative energy sources from sunlight has been featured in newspapers, magazines, web pages and was recently highlighted in a National Science Foundation press release.

Roper was recently invited by the German Academic Exchange Service to visit 12 institutions in seven cities in Germany from Dec. 5 to 11. The purpose of the visit is to foster international exchanges for undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs and faculty, and to promote international collaboration in research, joint/dual degree programs, industrial internships, and proposals.