2019 Neal R. Amundson Award Recipient

In 1996, the ISCRE, Inc. Board of Directors established the Neal R. Amundson Award for Excellence in Chemical Reaction Engineering. This award recognizes pioneers in the field of Chemical Reaction Engineering who have exerted a major influence on the theory and/or practice of the field, through originality, creativity, and novelty of concept or application.

The award is made every three years at an ISCRE or NASCRE meeting, and consists of a plaque and a check in the amount of $5000. The Amundson Award is generously supported by a grant from the ExxonMobil Corporation.

The ISCRE Board is pleased to announce that Professor W. Harmon Ray of the University of Wisconsin has been selected as the winner of the Amundson award, from a pool of 10 outstanding candidates.

Prof. Ray was nominated “For pioneering contributions to reaction engineering, specifically the development of polymer reaction engineering fundamentals and methods." As aptly put in the nomination, Professor Ray has defined the field of polymer reaction engineering. It translates fundamental discoveries in polymer chemistry, fluid flow, mass and heat transfer into reaction units for producing polymers of critical importance to our daily life and the worldwide economy. The numbers and functionalities of polymers have expanded dramatically over the past three decades. We are now able to produce polymers with high degree of control of the basic molecular repeat units to realize specific characteristics, such as high strength and low weight. These polymers are made in complex reaction units working at high temperature and pressures. The design and control of these reactors is critical to realizing today’s tailored polymers. Our understanding of fundamental chemical processes underlying these complex systems and our ability to produce useful products are in large measure due to the work of Harmon and his students.

View past Amundson Award recipients.