Lowrie Lecture I - William Banholzer

Lowrie Lecture I - William Banholzer

All dates for this event occur in the past.

207 Koffolt Lab
140 W 19th Ave
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Possible Versus Practical:  Engineers Must Lead the Development of Practical Technologies

 

ABSTRACT

Sound engineering is needed today more than ever.  Engineering is about creation.  Engineers design things for a particular purpose that creates a benefit.  There is a strong societal desire for sources of energy and feedstocks that can support a high standard of living for all.  Thermodynamic, material and economic challenges stand in the way, yet most of the general public does not have the basic understanding of the energy flows, chemical transformations, and the scale of the systems that support our current way of life.  Engineers must be on the vanguard of separating hype from truly practical options.  Practical limitations were ignored as the development of cellulosic ethanol rode a wave of optimism and hype earlier in this decade.   It is now clear that cellulosic ethanol is not delivering on the promises made, leading the cellulosic community to move into “high value chemicals”.    This pivot fails to address the large challenges targeted by cellulosic fuels and, upon inspection, fails to create the societal value that proponents cite.  Announcements occur daily of some new energy related technology touted by the scientists that discovered as something that could possibly revolutionize energy.  Much of what is shown to be possible will never be practical.  As engineers, we must do better job explaining the difference between the subset of discoveries that offer practical solutions from those that are simply possible.  Focusing efforts on those technologies capable of yielding practical solutions to pressing issues is our responsibility.

BIO

In the fall of 2013 Banholzer joined the University of Wisconsin following a 30-year career in industrial research.  At UW Banholzer has appointments in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Chemistry Department and the Wisconsin Energy Institute.   He retired from Dow Chemical where he was an Executive Vice President leading Dow’s Venture Capital, New Business Development, Licensing activities, and served as Dow’s Chief Technology Officer. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Dow Corning Corporation, chairing the Corporate Responsibility Committee.   Banholzer also served on the Dow AgroScience’s Members Committee and the Dow Foundation Board of Directors.

In his previous position Banholzer managed a portfolio of research programs with an annual budget of $1.7B.  He set and executed the vision for science and technology at Dow.  Under his leadership the value of Dow’s innovation pipeline tripled from $10B to over $32B.  Banholzer’s efforts to accelerate Dow’s technology development were recognized by R&D Magazine, where Dow was ranked in the top ten for R&D in all industries, and a recent Booz Allen study ranked Dow’s innovation portfolio management as “Best in Class.”  Thomson Reuters recognized Dow for the second year in a row as one of the top 100 Innovators.  Banholzer received the Industrial Research Institute’s Holland Award for R&D management, the Council of Chemical Research’s Pruitt Award for his innovative approach to research collaborations, the ACS Earl B. Barnes Award, and has presented numerous invited lectures around the world.  While at Dow Banholzer initiated $250 MM university research collaboration and championed the Dow Safety Academy to help improve university safety.

Banholzer has a strong history of technical excellence and innovation, spanning his more than 30 years of industrial experience.  He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2002. In 2006 he was elected by the Academy membership to serve a 3 year term as one of 12 councilors comprising the governing body of the NAE. Banholzer currently serves on the Board on Energy and Environmental Sciences and has served on many advisory boards. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Banholzer had a 22-year career with General Electric Company (GE) prior to joining Dow.  He left GE as vice president of Global Technology at GE Advanced Materials, where he was responsible for worldwide technology and engineering.  He joined GE in 1983 as a staff chemical engineer in the company’s Corporate Research and Development Laboratory where he held several leadership positions prior to joining the Superabrasive business. Banholzer was elected a company officer and moved to GE Lighting as vice president of Global Engineering in 1997. He transferred to GE’s Advanced Materials business as the vice president of global technology in 1999.  During his GE career, Banholzer was honored with GE’s Bronze, Silver,and Gold Patent Awards; GE Superabrasives’ Leadership Award; GE Plastics’ CEO Six Sigma Award; and election to the Whitney Gallery of Technical Achievers.

Banholzer earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Marquette University and master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, holds 16 U.S. patents and has over 85 publications, which have received 2,300 citations with an H index of 27 for his work in engineering and chemistry.

 

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