Lehigh's Chemical Engineering Professor James Gilchrist is the recipient of the AIChE 2024 PSRI Fluidization and Fluid-Particle Systems Award, an award that recognizes an individual's outstanding scientific/technical research contributions with impact in the field of fluidization and fluid-particle flow systems.
"I'm honored to be recognized for our groups' contributions in a wide range of fluid-particle systems," Gilchrist said. "I have been fortunate to have outstanding group members and collaborators both in academia and industry that have driven us to look creatively at particle systems ranging from the nanoscale up to large grains."
Gilchrist's research group, The Laboratory for Particle Mixing and Segregation, located in Lehigh's Health, Science, and Technology building (HST), works on transport of particulate systems ranging from suspensions to granular flows. His work in this area started with his Ph.D. thesis investigating chaotic mixing and segregation of granular materials in drums and his group recently demonstrated how to make sand that flows uphill. Industries impacted by his work include coating technologies, optoelectronic devices, point-of-care devices, pharmaceutical processing, and energy and environmental applications. His current work on thermophoresis, the motion of nanoparticles in temperature gradients, will be studied on the International Space Station.
Professor Sankaran Sundaresan of Princeton University led the nomination effort and gathered letters of support from researchers in industry and academia. The award includes a cash prize and a plaque commemorating the achievement. Gilchrist will give an invited lecture and formally receive the award during the AIChE Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 30th.
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