Previous Faculty Awards

John MacGregor

John MacGregor, a professor of chemical engineering at McMaster, has received the Dr. Guido Carlo-Stella Award from The World Batch Forum (WBF). It will be presented at the upcoming WBF 2005 North American Conference May 15-18 2005 in Atlantic City, NJ.

The Dr. Guido Carlo-Stella Award, created in 1999 in honor of its namesake, is presented every year to individuals who have demonstrated technical excellence or have mentored and inspired others in the field of automation and information integration in the manufacturing industries. Click here for full story

Robert H. Pelton

Dr. Robert H. Pelton has been named a TAPPI Fellow. This distinction will be announced officially at the Tappi Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony, February 23, 2005 in Tampa Florida.
TAPPI is the leading technical association for the worldwide pulp, paper and converting industry. TAPPI Fellowship is an honorary title bestowed upon less than one percent of TAPPI's membership, and is given to individuals who have made extraordinary technical or service contributions to the industry and/or the Association. Click here for press release

John Brash elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Professor John Brash was elected into the Royal Society of Canada, the induction ceremony will take place on Saturday November 20, 2004. Dr. Brash is a Fellow in the Academy of Science, Applied Science and Engineering Division. Fellowship in the Society is considered one of Canada's most prestigious academic accolades to which scholars and scientists aspire. Click here for more information on the Royal Society of Canada

Dr. John Vlachopoulos

John Vlachopoulos received the distinguished Achievement Award of the Extrusion Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) during the SPE's Annual Technical Meeting (ANTEC) in Chicago on May 18, 2004. A plaque and an honorarium was given in recognition of Dr. Vlachopoulos' contributions to polymer extrusion technology and to the plastics industry.

Dr. Carlos Filipe and Dr. Raja Ghosh

were among 15 promising young researchers who were awarded more than 2.4 million from the New Opportunites Fund of the Canada Foundation for Innovation Dr. Ghosh was awarded $112,981 and Dr. Filipe along with Dr. Sarah Dickson & others was awarded $487,374.
For further information

John MacGregor University Professor Title

John MacGregor has earned an outstanding scholarly reputation in the area of process and product quality monitoring, advanced process control, and polymer reaction engineering.

The professor of chemical engineering and holder of the Dofasco Chair in Automation Process was instrumental in the development of three major research centres at McMaster: the McMaster Institute for Polymer Production Technology, McMaster Advanced Control Consortium, and the Steel Research Centre. Business Week magazine cited him as one of the top five people in North America in the areaof quality improvement.

MacGregor has pioneered several innovative research fields of engineering. His work has had a profound influence on the Canadian process systems engineering and chemical engineering communities, and internationally in the general area on product and process quality improvement.

A recipient of the President's Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision, MacGregor's many other honours include the Century of Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, the W. G. Hunter Award for Quality Control, the Professional Engineers of Ontario Engineering Medal (Research and Development), the Bell Canada Forum Award. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Society. 

Announcement of Canada Research Chair for Dr. R. Pelton

McMaster University’s newest Canada Research Chairs will study advances in biotechnology to improve papermaking chemicals and mathematical logic. Dr. Robert Pelton, Professor in Chemical Engineering has been named a Canada Research Chair in Interfacial Technologies. His research involves using emerging biotechnological developments to produce new papermaking chemicals that are less harmful to the environment. Pelton’s research group is considered the world’s largest, most prolific academic research group working in the area of polymers in papermaking. 
Pelton, founding director of the McMaster Centre for Pulp and Paper Research and scientific leader of the new Canadian Network of Pulp and Paper Researchers, is a Tier 1 chairholder. His appointment is worth
$200,000 a year for seven years and is renewable. Effective April 2003.

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.

Announcement of Canada Research Chair for Dr. S. Zhu

Dr. Shiping (Stephen) Zhu, Associate Professor with a joint appointment in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, has been awarded a Canada Research Chair (CRC). The CRC program will help Canadian universities attract and retain the best research faculty. The award was announced in the first round of CRC appointments in December, 2000. Dr. Zhu is a very active researcher with responsibilities as an Associate Director of the McMaster Institute for Polymer Production Technology, an associate member of the Department of Chemistry and an active collaborator in the Brockhouse Institute of Materials Research. He has published more than 76 refereed papers, submitted 2 patent applications, and given more than 70 conference presentations and invited lectures in North America, Europe and Asia. He received an Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award in 2000. As an educator, Dr. Zhu’s teaches in both chemical engineering and materials science and engineering. He was nominated for a McMaster Student Union Teaching Excellence Award in 1999.

Dr. Zhu's research and teaching is primarily in the areas of theoretical and experimental studies of polymer science and engineering. In his CRC proposal, Dr. Zhu highlighted his research in the development of novel polymerization technologies such as atom-transfer radical polymerization for synthesizing well-defined high-performance functional polymers and polymerization using nanotube particle and membrane supported catalysts.

Links for more information: http://www.chemeng.mcmaster.ca/faculty/zhu/ and http://www.chairs.gc.ca/

Drs  Archie Hamielec, John MacGregor, Les Shemilt and Don Woods

have been given Century of Achievement Awards by the CSChE.  These awards are in connection with the "Century of Light" theme of the CSChE annual meeting in Saskatoon in 2000.      They honoured "Canadian chemical engineers who have made significant industrial or academic accomplishments  in the 20th Century".
 They were decided by a committee of peers from academia and  industry from across Canada.  Only 20 recipients were chosen from among those nominated.  

Dofasco Chair in Process Automation and Information Technology 
John MacGregor Shewhart Medal

John MacGregor was presented with the Shewhart Medal at the 52nd Annual Quality Congress of the American Society for Quality, May 4, 1998, Philadelphia. The Shewhart Medal is presented to the individual who has been deemed by the committee to have made the most outstanding contribution to the science and techniques of quality control or who has demonstrated leadership in the field of modern quality control. Citation: The Shewhart Medal for 1997 is awarded to John F. MacGregor. "For leadership in the improvement of quality through groundbreaking advances in process control involving development and application of new methodologies and for clear communication of these ideas to industrial and academic audiences through numerous publications, courses and presentations. John MacGregor also received the Bell Canada Inc. Forum Award . It was presented to him at their Annual Meeting of the Corporate-Higher Education Forum in Montreal. This award is offered to promising researchers carrying out collaborative industry-university research and development. The award is valued at $5,000.00. Congratulations John.

John MacGregor was the 1997 recipient of the Computing in Chemical Engineering Award. The award includes a plaque of recognition, as well as an award of $3000. Also, the recipient of this award is the featured speaker at the CAST Banquet at the Annual AIChE Meeting.

John MacGregor was one of twenty-five nominees for the first annual "President's Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision". John was bestowed with one of the two awards at a ceremony held at the McMaster Faculty Club. He was nominated by six of his current and former graduate students and the nomination was also supported by Phil Wood.

Dr. Bob Pelton
National Synergy R&D Partnership  Award

Good, clean research: Chemical engineering professor Dr. Bob Pelton was recently honoured with a national Synergy R&D Partnership  Award for his work with Dorset Industrial Chemicals Ltd. to create a new line of water soluble polymers that remove impurities during pulping. Pelton is director of McMaster's Centre for Pulp and Paper Research. Through the work of chemical engineering professor Dr. Bob Pelton, McMaster is one of the leading centres for pulp and paper research in Canada.

Canadians don't always realize that the country's biggest export is not fish or wheat, but newsprint, says chemical engineering professor Dr. Bob Pelton.

"People also think that the Scandinavian pulp and paper manufacturers are the environmentally friendly ones, but in fact Canada is ahead in treating effluent from pulp mills," he says.

A research scientist with the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada for seven years before coming to McMaster, Dr. Pelton is well aware of the importance of the forest products and lumber industry, and, through his research on the processes and chemistry of pulping, has helped make these processes cleaner and more efficient.

He has won a number of awards and grants for his work, and recently was recognized with a Synergy R&D Partnership Award, sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Conference Board of Canada, which honors excellence in research, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship that lead to commercial benefits to industry and rewards to the university.

The Synergy Award cited Pelton's partnership with Dorset Industrial Chemicals Ltd., of Montreal, which helped create a new line of water-soluble polymers that remove impurities during pulping. Dorset continues to support the University with a $40,000-a-year grant-in-aid, which allows the University to receive an additional $80,000 in matching government funds.

Although Dr. Pelton conducts a number of research projects in pulp and paper, including work on the de-inking process required for efficient paper recycling and on strengthening paper with chemical additives, Dorset was interested in his work on pulp-washing.

"Canada's second biggest export is kraft pulp, a dried pulp that can be 're-slushed' to make paper," explains Pelton, adding that Canada is famous for the softwood trees of northern Ontario, Quebec and B.C. Their long, thin cellulose fibres make the highest-quality paper.

"Part of the process of making the pulp is washing it. The better you can wash it, the less you have to bleach it, and the less bleach you use, the less effluent there is," says Pelton.

There are two types of pulping, mechanical and chemical; the mechanical pulp - of which Canada is a major exporter - is used to make newsprint. Ground down by machine, wood becomes fibrous enough to make paper, but grinding doesn't remove lignin, a dark substance in wood that gives newsprint its yellow tinge and makes it get more yellow with age.

In order to make finer papers, the lignin has to be either washed or bleached out, and, for environmental reasons, manufacturers have been striving to reduce bleaching and to minimize the amount of water used in washing.

"In the 'old, old days,' up until the end of the Second World War, manufacturers used huge volumes of water in the pulping process and simply dumped the effluent back into the water system," says Pelton. "Canadian mills have spent billions on waste treatment plants, on primary, secondary and tertiary waste treatment. There are a few new fully closed mills that discharge no effluent at all. In fact, cleaning up water pollution is pretty well solved."

For the Dorset project, Pelton and an 11-member research group, including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and a research engineer, developed a chemical that, when added to the water being sprayed through a moving screen of raw pulp, enhances the water's ability to remove impurities. "They're the same chemicals used in water treatment plants," says Pelton, adding, "Not all chemicals are bad!"

The discovery, he says, was not a "eureka" type of breakthrough, but he admits that until he began working on some of the pulping processes, it was unusual for someone with a chemical engineering background to get involved in pulp-washing research, which is usually done by mechanical engineers.

His expertise in this area helped the University obtain funding in 1990 from the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program to establish the McMaster Centre for Pulp and Paper Research, which, together with groups at the University of Toronto, McGill, the University of British Columbia and the University of Quebec at Trois Rivières, continues to look at ways to improve the country's largest industry.

Philip Wood - Union Carbide Award (1996)

Don Woods - Honorary Degree of Science, Queens University (1997)

Dr. John Brash - Honorary Doctorate Degree, L'Universti  de Paris Nord (1995)

Dr. Les W. Shemilt - Montreal Medal, Chemical Institute of Canada (1995)