IACChE's James Y. Oldshue Lecture

This lecture was jointly established, in 2008, in memory of James Y. Oldshue by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Interamerican Confederation of Chemical Engineering (CIIQ/IACChE). Jim Oldshue was an important leader and supporter of the CIIQ/IACChE.  He was President of the AIChE in 1979 and President of the CIIQ/IACChE in 1995.  Jim was a recipient of the prestigious Víctor Márquez award in 1983, which is conferred by the CIIQ/IACChE. Jim was an ambassador of the profession who visited more than 100 countries.  It is envisioned that this lecture provide a global perspective of a specific contingent topic.  The Oldshue Lecture alternates between the AIChE Annual Meetings and the Interamerican Congresses, which take place every two years.

This year's distinguished lecturer is Dr. Juan Inga, Director, Inga Group. Dr. Inga will deliver his lecture at the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting.

The following is a list of past distinguished Jim Oldshue Lecture speakers:

1. Mr. Carlos Cabrera; President & CEO, UOP; AIChE Centennial and XXIII Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Philadelphia, PA, USA (2008)

2. Dr. Arthur W. Etchells III, Principal, AWE3 Enterprises; 8th World Congress and XXIV Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Montreal, QC, Canada (2009)

3. Dr. Esteban Alberto Brignole; Professor of Chemical Engineering at Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina, and Senior Researcher of the Argentina’s National Research Council of Science and Technology (CONICET); 2010 Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Salt Lake City, UT, USA (2010)

4. Dr. Eduardo Falabella Sousa-Aguiar; Senior Consultant, Leopoldo Américo Miguêz de Mello R&D Center, Adjunct Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Consultant at the International Centre for Science and High Technology; XXVI Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Montevideo, Uruguay (2012)

5. Dr. Carlos R. Apesteguía, Professor, National University of Litoral (UNL), School of Chemical Engineering (FIQ). Member of the CONICET's Research Staff, Institute of Research on Catalysis and Petrochemistry (INCAPE), Santa Fe, Argentina.  2013 Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; San Francisco, CA, USA (2013)

6. Dr. Ignacio Grossmann, Rudolph R. and Florence Dean University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University; XXVII Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Cartagena, Colombia (2014)

7. Dr. John R. Grace, Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia; 2015 Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Salt Lake City, UT, USA (2015)

8. Dr. Axel Meisen, C.M., Ph.D., P.Eng, EurIng., FCAE, FCIC, FIEI, Emeritus Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; XXVIII Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Cuzco, Perú (2016)

9. Dr. José Roberto Nunhez ,Professor of Chemical Engineering, Head of the Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP, Brazil); 2019 Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Minneapolis, MN, USA (2017)

10. Dr. Rubens Maciel Filho, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Process and coordinator of the Laboratory of Optimization, Design and Advanced Process Control (LOPCA), State University of Campinas-UNICAMP; XXIX Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering Incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference;  Toronto, ON, Canada (2018)

11. Dr. Carlos Rinaldi, Chair and Professor, University of Florida; 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Orlando, FL, USA (2019)

12. Dr. Arturo J. Hernández-Maldonado, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM); 2020 AIChE Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Virtual (2020).

13. Dr. David Suleiman, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez; 2022 AIChE Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, USA

14. Dr. Rakesh Agrawal, Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor, Purdue University; XXX Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sustainability Efforts in Existing Chemical Process Facilities

Dr. Juan Inga, Director, Inga Group

Most of the chemical industry was built 50 years ago. In the US there has not been a new large refinery built in the last 30 years. The chemical engineers that designed and built those facilities did it to meet the regulations placed at that time. Many facilities are now grandfathered in and therefore under no pressure to modify the existing facilities. Social pressure for change is being felt as the new workforce take over positions held before by Baby boomers. The generation called Gen-Z (now reaching 20) are different from previous generations since they are mostly driven by purpose instead of financial gain. Their new set of values and lifestyle are creating pressure in the chemical industry for products that have a reduced impact on the environment. This pressure will be expressed in our industry as new regulation or by consumer product selection. Should the chemical industry be proactive and work towards ways to reduce their carbon footprint and ensure a better position when this inevitable social pressure becomes the new normal. A few examples are discussed from the use of electricity to reduce fuel burning, to the reduction of flaring of associated gas.

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