Dr. Elsa Reichmanis, Carl Robert Anderson Chair and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been named as the 2022 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer.
Elsa Reichmanis, Lehigh University's Carl Robert Anderson Chair and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been selected by AIChE, the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, as the recipient of its 2022 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer Award.
In making its selection, the AIChE Foundation cited Reichmanis' "achievements and contributions to AIChE, to the chemical community, and in the field of electronics and photonics."
Reichmanis, an acclaimed polymer chemist, member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and AIChE Fellow, is widely regarded as a groundbreaking researcher and pioneer in the world of microlithography. Her work cuts across the fields of chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, optics, and electronics.
According to Mayuresh Kothare, Lehigh's R.L. McCann Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the AIChE Institute Lecturer Award is perhaps the highest recognition by AIChE of the long-term accomplishments of a senior chemical engineering faculty member.
"Elsa possesses innate ability to translate her never-ending quest for new knowledge into meaningful intellectual growth for students, junior researchers and faculty, and peers and colleagues alike," says Kothare. "I can think of no one more befitting than Elsa for such an honor."
"I am humbled to have been selected as this year's recipient of the 2022 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer Award," says Reichmanis. "It is an honor to be in the company of all the past awardees, all of whom have made contributions that positively impact global society through chemical engineering."
Reichmanis will give the lecture (described by AIChE as "a comprehensive authoritative review of the chemical engineering science" in the award recipient's field of specialization) during the 2022 AIChE Annual Meeting, set for November 13-18 in Phoenix.
About Elsa Reichmanis
Reichmanis joined Lehigh's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in September 2020. Previously, she served as the Pete Silas Chair in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech; she started her independent career at Bell Labs, where she was Bell Labs Fellow and Director of the Materials Research Department.
Her research spans from fundamental concept to technology development and implementation. In the field of microlithography (which is central to the manufacturing of electronic devices), her work has contributed to the development of a molecular level understanding of how chemical structure affects materials function leading to new families of lithographic materials and processes that may enable advanced VLSI (very large-scale integration) manufacturing.
Reichmanis was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995 and has participated in several National Academies Boards and Study Committees. She was an elected member of the Bureau of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC); has been active in the American Chemical Society (ACS) throughout her career, having served as 2003 President of the Society; has served the chemical engineering profession in many roles including membership on the Institute Awards sub-committee and the AIChE Board of Directors; and is an Executive Editor for the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials. She is the recipient of several awards, including the ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials (2018), the AIChE Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer (2018); the ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science (1999), the ASM Engineering Materials Achievement Award (1996), and the Society of Chemical Industry's Perkin Medal (2001).
About The Reichmanis Group
The Reichmanis Group's research interests include the chemistry, properties, and applications of materials technologies for electronic and photonic applications, with particular focus on polymeric and nanostructured materials for advanced technologies. The group is currently exploring polymeric and hybrid organic/inorganic materials chemistries for a range of device and electronic and sustainable energy applications. They also aim to identify fundamental parameters that will enable sub-nanometer scale dimensional control of organic, polymer and/or hybrid materials for applications including transistor devices, photovoltaics, and high-capacity energy storage. Visit the Reichmanis Group Web site for more information.