Professor John F. MacGregor Canadian Academy of Engineering Inductee

Dr. John F. MacGregor has been recognized for his "notable
achievements" and inducted as a member into the
Canadian Academy of Engineering. Last week at the
Academy's annual meeting. Dr. MacGregor was recognised
for his work in a number of key areas, most notably in
multivariate methods for process monitoring, analysis and
optimization, and in advanced control of polymerization processes. 
These techniques have now seen applications in hundreds of major industrial studies,
and many of them are becoming standard industrial practice(2002)

Professors John F. MacGregor and Thomas E. Marlin
SCI Canada 2002 Awards Dinner February 20, 2002

The first presentation of the Kalev Pugi award is made to Professor John F. MacGregor and Professor
Thomas E. Marlin, in recognition of their outstanding
work in bringing together the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC) as a model research and development partnership project with Canadian and international industry. MACC is an industrially oriented research centre within the Chemical Engineering Department at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, which supports the chemical process industries, as
well as other industrial sectors.

John MacGregor, B.Eng. M.Sc. Ph.D. F.A.S.A. P.Eng. is a Professor in the Department of
Chemical Engineering at McMaster University. He is holder of the Dofasco Chair in
Process Automation and Information Technology, and Associate Director of the McMaster
Institute for Polymer Production Technology. He received his B.Eng. at McMaster, his M.Sc.
at the University of Wisconsin, and his Ph.D. in 1972, also at Wisconsin. Dr. MacGregor
teaches Process Control at the University and has been a Member of MACC since it was
launched in 1988. His research interests are computer control of chemical processes,
development of polymer production technology, and statistical methods for process
monitoring and optimisation.

Thomas Marlin, B.S. M.S. Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering
at McMaster University, and Director of the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC).
He received his B.S. at the State University of New York at Buffalo, his M.S. at the University of
Dayton, and his Ph.D. in 1972 at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Marlin teaches Process
Control at Hamilton, and has been Director of MACC since it was launched in 1988. His
research interests are advanced control and optimisation in the process industries.

Under the leadership of John MacGregor and Thomas Marlin, MACC has grown since
1988 to approximately 20 companies in a variety of sectors, from North America and
Europe. The MACC industrial collaboration model is highly regarded by students, academic
staff and industrial participants alike.

Dr. Don Woods recipient of Honorary degree

Dr. Woods received an honorary doctor of science degree and
gave the convocation address Oct. 15 2001 during the opening-day
ceremony for the College of Physical and Engineering Science, the
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, the Ontario Agricultural College
and the Ontario Veterinary College. The author of six books and
hundreds of articles,book chapters and reports, Woods has taught
at McMaster since 1970, earning a provincial OCUFA teaching award
and a national 3M Fellowship. He is recognized internationally as an
academic scholar in teaching, research and administration. Most
recently, Woods has promoted problem-based learning across
many university disciplines and has been recognized with awards for engineering education
from around the world. He is a member of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian
Society of Chemical Engineering, the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and
the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Dr. John Vlachopoulos
Winner of the 2001 SPE Education Award

Brookfield, Connecticut, May 8, 2001...This year, the Society of Plastics
Engineers (SPE) is pleased in naming Dr. John Vlachopoulos, Professor,
Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada,
the recipient of the 2001 SPE EDUCATION AWARD. This award is sponsored
by the Detroit Section and the Automotive Division of SPE in honor of long-time member, Fred E. Schwab. The presentation was made by SPE's 2000-2001 President, James H.
Brackeen during the Society's 59th Annual Technical Conference (ANTEC) at the Awards
Luncheon on May 8th, held in the Dallas Convention Center, Texas.

At McMaster in 1987, Dr. Vlachopoulos created the Centre for Advanced Polymer Processing
and Design (CAPPA-D), of which he serves as director. Known among his students and
colleagues for his enthusiasm and dedication to education, he has supervised the research
work of numerous post-doctoral fellows, Ph.D. students, and master's students; and he is a
frequent lecturer (in five languages) at conferences and seminars around the world and a
consultant to the polymer industry worldwide.

Dr. Vlachopoulos is the author or co-author of some 200 articles, conference papers, and book
chapters, and with his co-workers he has created a dozen commercially available software
packages. He established Polydynamics Inc. in 1994 for software research, development, and
marketing. Dr. Vlachopoulos earned his Dipl. Ing. from the National Technical University in
Athens, Greece, and an M.S. and a D.Sc. from Washington University (St. Louis). The
Education Award is one of seven international awards presented this year by the Society. The awards
consist of a $2,500 honorarium and an acrylic plaque.

John Brash Receives University Professor Title

Chemical Engineering professor John Brash has earned an international reputation for his work in the field of biomaterials.

He is being honoured at Spring Convocation this year (2001) with the
title of University Professor, which he will hold for life. This award
is the highest honour the University bestows on its faculty. Brash
joined the University in 1972 as an associate professor in the
Departments of Chemical Engineering and Pathology & Molecular Medicine. His research
has focused on the development of novel biomaterials for use in the construction of medical
devices, as well as studies of the interactions of proteins from blood and other biological fluids
with these materials - the frontier between materials science and engineering
and the life sciences.

Brash, a member of the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, is recognized as one
of the top scientists in this field in the world.

His work is truly interdisciplinary linking chemical engineering, materials science and the
life sciences.

As well, Brash served as the chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1997
to 2000 andis a key contributor to the development of a long-term strategy to increase
the undergraduate and graduate opportunities in biotechnology. This plan is now
supported by two Canada Research Chair openings and two tenure-track appointments.

Brash's contributions have been recognized internationally with multiple awards and
accolades including the Clemson Award for Biomaterials Research in 1994 and an
honorary doctorate from Université Paris XIII in 1996.

Tom Marlin receives 2001 President's Award for Excellence in Course
or Resource Design

Tom Marlin, a professor of chemical engineering, is recognized for his 13-year development of a comprehensive set of resources -- from textbook to Web
site -- into integrated teaching resources that meet the needs of his students
and others around the world. This award specifically honours his textbook,
Process Control, Designing Process and Control Systems for Dynamic
Performance, educational software called The Software Laboratory and
Complementary Manual and a Web site called Interactive Learning Modules and Instrumentation
Notes. During the development, Marlin has continually integrated feedback from his students and
from instructors at other universities. As a result, technical content was strengthened,
presentations were clarified, software interfaces were simplified and Web formats
enriched. His nomination included several letters from colleagues noting the innovative
nature and quality of the resources. The textbook is used in half of the chemical engineering
departments in Canada, 23 universities in the U.S. and in six other countries including
Australia and England. More than 200 professors have obtained a copy of The Software
Laboratory to use with their students.

 previous faculty awards