Dr. Dixon’s current
primary research is in the area of applied alternative energy generation,
including a focus on solar PV/Thermal energy generation as well as waste heat
energy recovery. This work includes
using and developing models that can help better understand ways to make the
systems work more efficiently, as well as determining ways to best optimize the
systems based on varying energy needs and requirements. Another area of research is focused on using
natural media to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from natural and waste water
sources. The federal standard for
arsenic in drinking water was lowered from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb
in 2006. This research is attempting to
develop and commercialize a low-cost, effective solution, especially targeted
to remediation in mining waste water sources as well as rural drinking water
systems. Previous research projects have
been in the areas of polymer modifications, with a particular focus on use of
supercritical fluids as solvents or non-solvents. A part of this research studied how adjusting
the supercritical fluid properties or processing conditions may be used to
tailor the specific polymer-fluid interactions, which subsequently then allowed
for a specific polymer modification.
Past work has examined polymer dyeing, surface modification, and foaming
using supercritical CO2. Additionally,
work was focused on using high pressure CO2 or mechanical/physical/
chemical pretreatment to create certain specific changes in natural polymer
matrices. Use of twin-screw extrusion was studied for biomass pretreatment,
prior to conversion to ethanol. Other
work was centered on formation and characterization of modified tri-block
copolymer membranes for barrier materials to gaseous chemical warfare
agents. Enhanced water vapor permeation was
also a desired feature of these barrier membranes. Funding for this research has come from
sources such as, the Department of Defense (USAF and Army), the National
Science Foundation, the EPA, and industrial sponsors.
Dr. Dixon attended and
graduated from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with BS and MS
degrees in Chemical Engineering. During
his BS studies he was awarded a ROTC scholarship and after graduation spent
more than 4 years on active duty with the US Army, primarily in Germany and
CONUS, as an engineering officer. He
worked for the Dow Corning Corporation as a Development Engineer in process
engineering. After earning his PhD in
Chemical Engineering from the University of Austin in Austin, TX, he began his
academic career at SDSMT. Currently he
is a faculty member in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. Previously he has served as the department
chair, and was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant, where he taught and developed
a university level partnership with the Technische Universität Darmstadt, in
Germany. He works with SDSMT students to
setup short-term and longer study abroad opportunities, including most recently
helping senior ChE students attend an Advanced Design Project course with our
industrial chemistry partners at the TU Darmstadt. Dr. Dixon is an active member and has held
leadership roles within professional organizations such as AIChE (American
Institute of Chemical Engineers) and the ASEE (American Society for Engineering
Education). He continues to serve as an active member on the National
Chem-E-Car Competition organizing committee.
Dr. Dixon has had the opportunity to teach
nearly all of the core courses and laboratories offered within the BS ChE
curriculum as well as some of the core MS courses. Most recently he offers
courses including; equipment design and safety, equilibrium separations,
process control, capstone senior design, and a short-term study abroad capstone
senior design course. He has a passion for finding new ways to deliver
chemical engineering course material and innovative chemical engineering
laboratory experiences. His work has
examined how design and process simulation can be integrated across the
chemical engineering curriculum, with increased learning and knowledge retention.
Novel, hands-on, design-simulate-build-test laboratories were developed through
NSF and industrial funding. State-of-the-art process control and data acquisition computer systems continue
to be integrated throughout the laboratory. Currently he is an undergraduate advisor and one of two department
transfer advisors.