AWARDS

Fellow in AIChE

The grade of Fellow in AIChE is a special category of membership that identifies and honors that group of Senior Member chemical engineers who have made meaningful impacts to the chemical engineering profession. Fellows must have been in the chemical engineering practice for a minimum of 25 years and must have been an AIChE member for at least 10 years (3 years of which at the grade of Senior Member).  Election as a Fellow  is in recognition of professional attainment and significant accomplishment in engineering.  The number of Fellows in AIChE at any one time is limited to 5% of the total number of members. It is a great honor to be elected as Fellow in AIChE.

2008 Fellow in AIChE is Max B. Gorensek:

Dr. Max Gorensek of the Savannah River National Lab (SRNL) at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina was elected to Fellow in AIChE in the Fall of 2008.  Dr. Gorensek is an internationally recognized authority in the areas of chemical process modeling and simulation, physical property models, research and development of processes for the manufacture of hydrogen (as well as ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer), and catalyst testing.  He is highly regarded by his peers and customers across the DOE complex for his expertise in both chemical process engineering and computational modeling.  He is a corporate resource on flowsheet modeling and the development and improvement of Thermochemical processes for the production of hydrogen.  He has made a significant contribution to the Department of Energy's Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative at the national level, has influenced the direction of the program and as a result has gained national recognition.  Max has developed and continues to go after new funding for SRNL, having been instrumental in securing nearly $1.5M so far.  Equally important, he has established valuable partnerships with Clemson, the University of South Carolina (where he is a member of the graduate faculty and was recently nominated for an adjunct professor appointment), and the University of Virginia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert E. Wilson Award

The Robert E. Wilson award is the oldest award presented by a Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The award was first presented by the Nuclear Engineering Division in 1967, and is made to an individual for outstanding chemical engineering contributions and achievements in the nuclear industry.  The award promotes the objectives of the Nuclear Engineering Division of AIChE.

The award is given in memory of Dr. Robert E. Wilson, a noted chemical engineer, long time member of AIChE, board chairman of Standard Oil of Indiana, and member of the former U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Dr. Wilson was active with the AEC from its inception and many claim he was in a very real sense responsible for the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. At the time of his death in 1964, Dr. Wilson was serving as an advisor to the U.S. delegation at the Third Conference on Peaceful Uses of the Atom. With his background primarily in industry and commerce, Dr. Wilson was regarded as the "champion of industry" Commissioner. The colorful and productive life of Dr. Wilson was summarized in the September 11, 1964 issue of Time magazine which can be viewed by clicking here.

The Award consists of a certificate, a plaque, and an honorarium sponsored by the Fluor Foundation. The Award is presented annually at the AIChE National meeting.

The 2009 Robert E. Wilson award winner is Dr. Sharon M. Robinson:

Dr. Sharon Robinson has been active in AIChE leadership roles like the Research and New Technologies Committee Chair. She also has a long history of contributions in the areas of separations, chemical processing, and waste treatment technologies while  at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  She has been involved with several cross-cutting programs while at Oak Ridge involving collaborative efforts between DOE, industrial partners, funding agencies, and universities.

A luncheon will be held in Sharon's honor at the AIChE annual meeting on Tuesday, November 10, at 11:00 a.m. at the conference hotel, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. If you are planning on attending the annual meeting, please sign up for the luncheon while registering. The cost per person will be $10 which is a bargain for a good meal in Nashville.

 

The 2008 Robert E. Wilson award winner is Ralph A. Leonard:

Dr. Leonard has been a member of the Nuclear Engineering Division (NED) of AIChE since he joined Argonne National Laboratory in 1976.  He has been membership chair, director, vice chair, chair, programming chair, and nominating committee chair of NED. He has worked on various technical programs in the areas of nuclear technology and separation science.  These programs include liquid extraction, ion exchange, flowsheet development, and centrifugal contactor design for nuclear fuel reprocessing and separation of nuclear wastes; uranium dissolution for Mo-99 recovery; sodium technology for fast breeder reactors; tritium and liquid metal technology for the fusion power program; and proof-of-breeding analytical support for the light water breeder reactor.  In these various projects, he worked in the areas of material balance, chemical reaction, mass transfer, fluid flow, hydraulics, various chemical separation processes, improved methods for modeling process flowsheets, vibration analysis, equipment design, and remote maintenance.  He developed a dimensionless number for liquid-liquid dispersions, which is the basis of (1) a quantitative model for centrifugal contactors and (2) a laboratory test for evaluating solvents.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 articles and reports, most of these publications have been a result of work at Argonne.

The award will be  presented at a special luncheon during the AIChE Annual meeting on Tuesday, November 18, at the conference hotel, the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown hotel.  If you are planning to attend the annual meeting, please sign up for this special luncheon when you register for the meeting.  The cost will be $10 which is a bargain for a good meal in downtown Philadelphia.

 

The 2007 Robert E. Wilson award winner is William D. Rhodes:

The award was presented at a special luncheon during the AIChE Annual meeting on November 6, 2007 in recognition of his outstanding chemical engineering contributions to the nuclear industry spanning the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, Liquid-Metal Reactor technology development, and leadership roles at the divisional and national levels within AIChE that promoted the role of chemical engineers in addressing our nation’s energy security.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2006 Robert E. Wilson award winner is Arlin L. Olson:

The award was presented at the AIChE Annual meeting on November 14, 2006 in recognition of Mr. Olson's outstanding chemical engineering contributions to the nuclear industry in the areas of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste management, and leadership in AIChE and the Nuclear Engineering Division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application Instructions

Deadline for application of this award during any calendar year is September 1.  Nominees must be members of the of the Division and AIChE. Please send nominations to the Robert E. Wilson Award Subcommittee Chair, Paul D. d'Entremont, Savannah River National Lab, 735-A, Aiken, SC 29808.  Mr. d'Entremont's phone number is 803-725-6742 and his email is paul.dentremont@srnl.doe.gov.

Robert E. Wilson Award Winners

 

1967	Crawford H. Greenewalt	1983	Charles F. Bonilla	1999	William F. Holcomb
1968	Manson Benedict	1984	Leslie Burris	2000	Herbert S. Isbin
1969	W. Kenneth Davis	1985	James R. Merriman	2001	Glen E. Benedict
1970	Robert B. Richards	1986	Alfred Schneider	2002	Rowland E. Felt
1971	Stephen Lawroski	1987	Raymond G. Wymer	2003	Randall R. Robinson
1972	F. C. Culler Jr.	1988	Samuel J. Beard	2004	Nathan A. Chipman
1973	Lombard Squires	1989	Lawrence T. Lakey	2005	Charles W. Forsberg
1974	James A. Buckham	1990	Martin J. Steindler	2006	Arlin L. Olson
1975	Milton Levenson	1991	John A. McBride	2007	William D. (Bill) Rhodes
1976	Miles C. Leverett	1992	Finis S. Patton	2008	Ralph A. Leonard
1977	John R. Hoffman	1993	John W. Bartlett	2009	Sharon M. Robinson
1978	Edward A. Mason	1994	S. George Bankoff
1979	William P. Bebbington	1995	George R. Jasny
1980	Thomas H. Pigford	1996	Hans K. Fauske
1981	Walton A. Rodger	1997	Theo G. Theofanous
1982	Richard C. Vogel	1998	Michael J. Bell