Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer

Award Administrator

Awards Committee

This Institute Award is presented to a woman member of AIChE who has made significant contributions to chemical engineering research or practice - in academic, industrial, or government settings - over the course of her career. The candidate’s contributions may include a component of service, mentorship or leadership in raising the visibility of women engineers and paving the way for other women to have a greater impact in chemical engineering.

The award honors the memory of Dr. Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau; the first woman to earn a PhD in chemical engineering from MIT, the first woman member of AIChE, the first female AIChE Fellow, and the first woman to receive AIChE’s Founders Award. Dr. Rousseau contributed Pfizer’s effort to scale-up and design the first deep-tank penicillin fermentation commercial plant; the novel technology enabling mass production of the "miracle drug" that saved many lives during World War II. Penicillin was a turning point in human history, as the first real defense against bacterial infection.

Nominations: General award provisions, a description of the nomination packet, and a link to the nomination platform can be found at https://www.aiche.org/community/awards/awards-provisions-eligibility.