Alumni honored for academic excellence, career achievement
Two Ohio State chemical engineering alumni are among 21 recipients honored with The Ohio State University College of Engineering's 2020 Excellence in Engineering and Architecture Alumni Awards.
The annual awards honor exceptional alumni from across the College of Engineering who have achieved extraordinary achievements or service since graduating from The Ohio State University.
Dean David B. Williams and award recipients celebrated virtually, and an in-person celebration of the 2020 winners will be held in 2021, once it is safe to gather in person.
“We are delighted to honor these alumni who better their communities and our world through their extraordinary professional achievements, innovation and service,” said Dean David B. Williams, the Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean’s Chair. “They represent the best and brightest graduates from across the College of Engineering and inspire us all.”
Distinguished Alumni Award for Academic Excellence
Renowned for her kinetic modeling expertise, Linda Broadbelt (BS ’89, chemical engineering) is the Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and associate dean for engineering research at Northwestern University. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow for both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and AIChE; the holder of AIChE's R.H. Wilhem Award and the American Chemical Society's E.V. Murphree Award; and a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar.
Broadbelt is particularly noted for the development of automated mechanism generation techniques in kinetics modeling, and methods for specification of rate coefficients. She applies her computational expertise to topical areas as diverse as catalysis, metabolic networks, silicon nanoparticle production, atmospheric chemistry, synthesis of antibiotics, hydrocarbon conversion, degradation kinetics, and biological pathway identification. Much of her work has been adopted by industry.
Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement
William J. Dawson (BS ’81, chemical engineering) spent his 38-year career conceiving, developing and improving processes and products designed for the clean use of energy. In 1994, he co-founded Nexceris LLC, an engineering and product launch company based in central Ohio whose vision is to create a better world through energy innovations. The company develops innovative sensor, power generation and catalyst solutions. As CEO, Dawson oversaw Nexceris’ successful commercialization of over 100 products globally in the fuel cell, battery and catalyst markets, and its growth to over 40 employees.
A list of all winners is available through the link. Congratulations to all alumni!
