Outstanding literature scholar, chemical engineer. Stevens' top graduate for 2003 does it all

At commencement this year, Stevens Institute of Technology celebrates the academic accomplishments of "First In Class" senior Paul A. Sanzone, who has distinguished himself by earning the highest grade point average in the Class of 2003. ("First In Class" is Stevens' designation for valedictorian.) These accomplishments are further accentuated by the fact that Mr. Sanzone's interests are so broad, ranging from poetry and literature to chemical engineering; and by the fact that he will be earning two degrees at once.

On Thursday, May 22, Mr. Sanzone, of Goshen, N.Y., will receive double undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering. He completed these two degrees - and an amazing 184 course credits - while remarkably maintaining the highest GPA in his class. (click here for general information on Stevens' undergraduate school and graduate school commencement ceremonies.)

The son of Frances and Anthony Sanzone of Goshen, Mr. Sanzone is a first-generation college student who has been on the Stevens Honor Roll each semester since fall 1997. He was nominated to the National Dean's List in 2001. He is the recipient of the Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer National Scholarship Award (given through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers or AIChE). He attended Chester High School in New York.

"My brother and I were the first members of our family to embark on an advanced degree," said Sanzone. "My parents, brother and friends have all been incredibly supportive throughout this whole experience and I am eternally grateful for their guidance and wisdom. I also have been blessed with amazing advisors and faculty members that have too lent their advice and wisdom and have been my guiding light throughout this stage of my life. For these people I am thankful."

While at Stevens, Sanzone served as AIChE Student Chapter President in 2002-2003, and he was the organization's Vice President in 2001-2002. In Stevens' Cooperative Education Program, he finished four co-op assignments at Warner-Lambert/Pfizer Inc. He has also been active in The Newman Association at Stevens.

During his internships and co-op assignments, he worked in Process Development in the Gastrointestinal Division. His projects for Warner-Lambert included Process Optimization and Scale-up, and Rolaids Brand Support Studies. At Pfizer his projects were Drug Taste Masking Technologies, and Novel Drug Delivery Systems.

His research interests are diverse, including Chemical Engineering Separation Technologies and Mass Transfer Operations as well as English Romanticism with an emphasis on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. For his senior design project he worked with his team on "Design Principles and Scale-up Procedures for Karr Reciprocating Plate Liquid-Liquid Extractors." He also wrote a Literature Senior Thesis on "Coleridgean Thought and Its Influence On The Oxford Movement."

Mr. Sanzone praises Stevens for affording him the opportunity "to take a wide variety of classes from engineering to poetry" and for the university's "implementation of technology into the learning environment, as seen with the networked residence halls and classrooms and the wireless network on campus."

When asked recently to describe his experience at Stevens, he wrote: "Stevens exposed me to areas I'd never thought I'd grow to have such interest in. My work in the humanities department has been extremely informative and exposed me to modes of thought that were before unrealized. My nascent interests in the field of the chemical sciences were fostered and developed through my experiences and studies at Stevens. I was also exposed to a variety of cultures and people that have made me more aware of life outside the United States and have led me to explore interests in these areas."

Following his graduation from Stevens, he will be attending the University of Delaware and entering a Ph.D. Program in Chemical Engineering.

Note to reporters: A high-resolution photo of Paul A. Sanzone is available online at the following (see top right corner): www.stevensnewsservice.com/bio_sanzone.htm.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts.  Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world.  Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.