(336f) How to Transform a Field of Study and Define a Discipline

In a career spanning over five decades John Prausnitz transformed chemical engineering. Through his pioneering research efforts and visionary studies, the field of molecular thermodynamics gradually evolved into a discipline where some of the most fundamental experimental observations and theoretical constructs found an outlet in engineering practice.  Indeed, one of John’s lasting imprints on chemical engineering and on his students’ psyche has been that, to the extent possible, research should lead to solution of important problems. That evolution continues today, and builds on John Prausnitz’s text books and research monographs, his nearly 700 papers, many of them seminal, and those of hundreds of students and collaborators around the world that have been influenced by his ideas. In this presentation I will describe several recent, exciting developments in chemical engineering that can be traced back to John Prausnitz’s original contributions and those of his co-workers, and I will attempt to anticipate how those developments might shape engineering for years to come.