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by Gordon Ellis -
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AIChE’s 2024 Institute and Board of Directors’ Awards were presented on October 27, during the Honors Ceremony at the Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. These are AIChE’s most prestigious awards, honoring eminent chemical engineers for career accomplishments, service to society, and service to the Institute.
Representing AIChE’s Awards Committee, Nigel Reuel presented 12 Institute Awards. Current AIChE President Alan Nelson presented the Board of Directors’ Awards. He noted that AIChE would also celebrate other distinguished contributors through its division, forum, and committee awards. See detailed profiles of all award winners honored at the Annual Meeting.
Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering
The Founders Award is presented to engineers who have had a profound impact on the way chemical engineering is practiced, and whose achievements have advanced the profession in any of its aspects. This year’s Founders Award recipient is Dr. Gintaras “Rex” V. Reklaitis, the Gedge Distinguished Professor at Purdue University.
For his outstanding contributions to the chemical engineering profession through service, research, and education.
The F.J. and Dorothy Van Antwerpen Award for Service to the Institute
The F. J. and Dorothy Van Antwerpen Award, sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company, is presented to a member of AIChE who has made outstanding contributions to the chemical engineering profession through service to the Institute, in both the professional and technical areas of Institute activities. This year’s award went to S. Shariq Yosufzai, retired Vice President of Global Diversity at Chevron; retired Chairman of the Board of Aqua Metals; and retired Chairman of Accordant Advisors.
For his outstanding leadership and service to AIChE and the AIChE Foundation, and for creating a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive profession.
Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award
The Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer is given to a woman member of AIChE who has made significant contributions to chemical engineering research or practice. The candidate’s contributions may include a component of service, mentorship or leadership in raising the visibility of women in chemical engineering.
The award is sponsored by Pfizer. The 2024 Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award recipient was Dr. Umit S. Ozkan, Distinguished University Professor and College of Engineering Distinguished Professor at The Ohio State University.
For bridging heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis; for being an outstanding teacher and mentor; and for blazing trails in every aspect of her professional life.
The Allan P. Colburn Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the Institute
Sponsored by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, The Allan P. Colburn Award is the second-oldest award of AIChE and was established in 1945. It is given to encourage excellence in publications by a younger member of the Institute. This year’s award went to Dr. Ying Diao, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University Scholar, and Dow Chemical Company Faculty Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For fusing molecular assembly with surface science to reveal unconventional mechanisms of surface-induced nucleation, and for creating innovative, scalable printing methods for nanomaterials manufacturing.
Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research
Sponsored by the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation and the Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity, The Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in fundamental or applied chemical engineering research. This year’s recipient is Dr. Athanassios Z. Panagiotopoulos, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University.
For novel approaches and transformative insights into the thermodynamics, structure, and dynamics in complex mixtures, especially electrolyte solutions, colloidal crystals, and intrinsically disordered proteins.
The Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology
The Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology Award was established in 1993 and recognizes sustained excellence in contributing to the advancement of technology in the production, distribution, and application of industrial gases. This year’s recipient is Dr. Krista S. Walton, Professor and Robert “Bud” Moeller Faculty Fellow in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
For groundbreaking research on the understanding and control of hydrolytic and chemical stability of metal-organic frameworks, and for its transformative impact on industrial gas separations.
The R. H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company, The R. H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering recognizes significant and new contributions to chemical reaction engineering. This year’s recipient is Dr. Fabio H. Ribeiro, the W. Nicholas and Elizabeth H. Delgass Distinguished Professor in Chemical Engineering at Purdue University.
For pioneering designs and applications of chemical reactors and operando characterization tools to precisely describe kinetics and mechanisms of catalysts for energy conversion and pollution abatement.
The Energy and Sustainability Award
Sponsored by Air Products, The Energy and Sustainability Award recognizes accomplishments in energy savings, improved sustainability of chemical processes, or development of innovative technologies for efficient energy generation. This year’s recipient is Dr. Aqil Jamal, Chief Technologist in the Carbon Management Research Division of Saudi Aramco’s Research and Development Center.
For his contributions to industrial-academia partnership and technical research in the field of carbon capture and conversion to sustainable fuels and chemicals.
The Industrial Progress Award
The Industrial Progress Award recognizes significant contributions to industrial practice by an individual working in industries served by chemical engineers. The selection of this early-career award is based on the impact of the contributions, the magnitude of the challenges involved, and innovation and creativity.
This year’s Industrial Progress Award is presented to Dr. Megan E. Donaldson, Principal Research Scientist in the Core R&D Engineering and Process Science Laboratory at Dow.
For innovation in advanced separation technology for sustainable chemical processing, and for driving culture change around inclusion and diversity in the profession.
Industrial Research and Development Award
The Industrial Research and Development Award recognizes individuals or teams working in the industries served by chemical engineers, for innovation that has resulted in the successful commercial development of new products and/or new processes for making useful products. This year’s award recipient is Dr. Christopher Burcham, Executive Director of the Synthetic Molecule Design and Development Department at Eli Lilly & Company.
In recognition of his contributions to the fields of crystallization, particle engineering, and process control strategies; and for bringing new therapies to market.
The Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress in Chemical Engineering
The Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress in Chemical Engineering is endowed by the AIChE Foundation and recognizes outstanding progress in chemical engineering by an AIChE member during his or her early career. This year’s honoree is Dr. Ali Khademhosseini, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Director at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation.
For application of chemical engineering principles in the development and use of micro/nano engineered biomaterials in regenerative medicine, medical devices, and organs-on-a-chip systems.
The Award for Service to Society
The Award for Service to Society recognizes outstanding contributions by a chemical engineer to community service and to the solution of socially oriented problems. The awardee’s contributions emphasize a concern for the common good, willingness to give time and comfort, and the ability to draw together varied resources to solve problems.
The 2024 award is presented to Dr. De-Wei Yin, Research Engineer in the Core R&D Engineering and Process Sciences Division at The Dow Chemical Company.
For exemplary service to society through his leadership and championing of diversity groups within AIChE, and for leading student outreach for STEM within his local community.
The Warren K. Lewis Award
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company, The Warren K. Lewis Award recognizes distinguished and continuing contributions to chemical engineering education. This year’s winner is Dr. James B. Rawlings, the Mellichamp Process Control Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
For groundbreaking research in the theory and application of model predictive control, and for leadership in education through landmark textbooks and industrial short courses.
The William H. Walker Award
Sponsored by John Wiley & Sons, The William H. Walker Award recognizes excellence in contributions to chemical engineering literature. This year the Walker Award winner is Dr. Venkat Venkatasubramanian, the Samuel Ruben–Peter G. Viele Professor of Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University.
For pioneering contributions in developing hybrid artificial intelligence modeling frameworks for process fault diagnosis, supervisory control, process safety, and the inverse design of materials.
Alan Nelson concluded the ceremony with congratulations to the recipients and encouragement for new nominations for next year. Feel free to congratulate our recipients in the comments section below or on Twitter using #AIChEAnnual.
See this series for more detailed profiles of all awards presented at the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting.