Chemical Engineering December 2012 - 20

2012 CHEMINNOVATIONS AWARDS
Newsfront
chemical intermediates, ethylene
and propylene
* The first high-conversion Uniflex
Heavy Oil conversion process (CE,
March 2012, p. 12), which was licensed
in the Middle East and will
allow valuable ultra-low sulfur diesel
to be produced from the bottom
of the barrel with less coke byproduct
and better utilization of crude
oil, Bricker says
* Technology for conversion of biomass
to jet fuel and diesel fuel, significantly
lowering the carbon dioxide
footprint for these key fuels (CE,
May 2010, p. 11)
Gautam began his career with Union
Carbide in 1978, which became part of
a joint venture with UOP in 1988. He
holds a B.S.Ch.E from the Indian institute
of Technology and an M.S.Ch.E.
from Drexel University. He also holds a
Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the
University of Pennsylvania and an MBA
from the University of Chicago. He is a
Fellow of AIChE and served in key roles
in program development in its Computing
and Systems Technology Division.
Honoree: Dianne Dorland
Dianne Dorland is currently professor
emeritus in the Chemical Engineering
Dept. at Rowan University. She was the
first woman elected president of AIChE
(elected in 2003) and is the first woman
recognized as a winner of this award.
Dorland is recognized for using her
process engineering experiences at
Union Carbide and the U.S. Dept. of
Energy's Morgantown Energy and
Technology Center in W. Va. to bring
hands-on and interactive approaches
into the engineering curriculum. She
was dean of engineering from July
2000 to August 2010 and has been
a professor of chemical engineering
since September 2010.
Dorland served as president of AIChE
during a period of economic decline. According
to Doug Kreibel, 2011 Delaware
Valley Engineer of the Year, Dorland initiated
several policies to reorganize and
restructure the organization and bring
it back to financial stability.
As dean of engineering, Dorland
strengthened and brought continuous
improvement to the internationally
recognized Rowan Engineering
Clinic Program. According to Z. Otero
T
he annual ChemInnovations Awards are a cooperative effort between Chemical Engineering
and the ChemInnovations Advisory Committee. An industry-wide call for
nominations is issued early in an award year and announced in Chemical Engineering.
Once the nomination period has closed, award nominations go through two rounds
of judging. First, the ChemInnovations Advisory Committee will review nominations and
rate each based on specific and measurable criteria. After receiving ratings, the editors
of Chemical Engineering complete the second and final round of judging.
Safety Investment Award. Braskem S.A. (Sao Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com) won
the Safety Investment Award for its work in developing a method for providing actionable
measurements of toxic fugitive emissions. The Braskem approach, which goes
beyond regulatory safety requirements, combined a mass spectrometer and a total hydrocarbons
detector to monitor very low levels of target compounds and the total concentration
of organic materials at 90 different locations. The system allows fast location
of toxic emissions and results in a more leak-tight plant.
Community Service Award. The Community Service Award was given to LyondellBasell
(Houston; www.lyondellbasell.com) for its Global Care Day, a volunteer activity that
executed 70 single-day projects in local communities. The projects are focused on education,
environmental conservation and community prosperity.
Innovative Energy Use Award. For its energy-saving technology for turbo-charging
air-oxidation processes, Perstorp AB (Perstorp, Sweden; www.perstorpformox.com),
formerly known as Formox AB won the Innovative Energy Use Award.
Plant Manager of the Year Award. The Plant Manager of the Year award went to Chris
Witte, head of the BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) facility in Freeport,
Tex. for his proactive management approach and inspirational attitude.
Education Outreach Award. The Education Outreach Award was awarded to UOP for
its program to foster mathematics and science education in the Chicago metropolitan
area and around the state of Illinois. Highlights of the diverse program include the " You
Be the Chemist Challenge, " an innovative educational competition for students in grades
five through eight, revolving around chemistry concepts, laboratory safety and scientific
discoveries.
Early Adopter Award. The Early Adopter Award was awarded to Dow Chemical, for its
use of ab initio modeling in engineering design. The Dow-developed mechanistic kinetic
model of chlorination and cracking chemistry associated with allyl chloride production
was used in the design and optimization of a novel allyl chloride reactor.
Unit Operations Award. The Unit Operations Award was presented to Jerry R. Johanson, a
pioneer in the solids processing field whose work has help prevent solids flow problems.
Best Plant Improvement Award. The Best Plant Improvement award went to Houston
Community College's Suhas Divekar, who invented a new process dynamics systemidentification
algorithm for industrial applications.
❑
Scott Jenkins
Gephardt, who submitted a nomination
on behalf of the AIChE Delaware
Valley section, Dorland has been instrumental
in the use of students'
learning styles data to enhance student
learning. She is also credited for
encouraging professors to become student-centered
in their teaching and
research. Meanwhile, she was responsible
for the development and establishment
of workshops and programs
to attract middle- and high-school students
to engineering, including the Attracting
Women to Engineering Summer
Program, Engineering Clinics for
Teachers and Project Lead the Way.
Dorland's technical achievements,
her inspiring attitude and clear understanding
of what is important in technical
and professional excellence make her
a deserving candidate for this award.
Honoree: Fabio Bravo
Fabio Bravo works for The Dow Chemical
Co. as the process engineering
technical manager for the Sadara proj18
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM DECEMBER 2012
ect, which is the largest petrochemical
project in history. Sadara is a grassroots
project to simultaneously build
26 chemical plants in Jubail (Saudi
Arabia) as a joint venture between
Dow and Saudi Aramco.
Bravo's chemical engineering career
has focused mainly on process
design for projects and mega projects
around the world. He participated in
all the phases, from conceptual design
to startup, of the Optimal Mega project
in Kerteh (Malaysia), and he lived
in Malaysia for about three years
for the detailed design, construction
and startup of the project. Bravo also
worked in the conceptual design and
front-end engineering and design
(FEED) for the Direct TMS project in
Termoli (Italy), which received this
magazine's prestigious 35th Kirkpatrick
Award.
Bravo is very passionate about
chemical engineering, especially about
plant design, and he is well known in
the industry and in the process engi

http://www.braskem.com http://www.lyondellbasell.com http://www.perstorpformox.com http://www.basf.com http://WWW.CHE.COM

Chemical Engineering December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering December 2012