Prof. Alvin Nienow, University of
Birmingham, has been awarded the honorary degree “Doctor Honoris
Causa” by the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin,
Poland. The degree is the most prestigious academic distinction
conferred by Polish universities to distinguished academics with
significant contributions for the development of a specific
scientific field and who have fostered international collaboration
between members of the Polish university and their home institution.
Alvin’s international standing, based on significant contribution
for developing a better understanding of fluidization and fluid
mixing processes in stirred reactors and bioreactors, has been
acknowledged with this award. His extensive collaboration with
scientists from many different countries such as USA, Japan, Canada,
Czech Republic and Poland (just to mention a few) led to a
significant cross-fertilization of ideas and contributed
significantly to the development of those fields and to the research
of those involved in the work and that is also acknowledged in the
process.
The award ceremony will take place in
Szczecin, Poland on 20 May 2010. It is a very important event for
the West Pomerania University, because such degrees are awarded on
average once every two or three years. Alvin is the first Doctor
Honoris Causa for the West Pomeranian University, and that makes
this year's celebration particularly important. The University is
the leading academic technology institution in the region,
established last year through the merger of the Technical University
of Szczecin with the Academy of Agriculture in Szczecin.
February 14, 2010
We mark the sudden passing of Prof. Chad Bennington with deep
regret. He passed away suddenly on February 14th, 2010 at the age of 53.
Chad was a very active member of the mixing community and was well
known by many of you.
We will miss his technical and personal
contributions to NAMF, his ever present smile, and his ready
laughter.
He was selected to serve as Chair of Mixing XXII
(June 20-25,
2010) and will continue to noted as the co-chair of this conference
(posthumous). Suzanne Kresta
and Clara Gomez will serve as co-chairs for the final conference
preparations. Abstracts and registration information continue as
planned. There will be a
special issue of the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering
dedicated to the conference.
Chad obtained his BSc in Chemistry from the University of
British Columbia in 1979. Following graduation, he worked for two
years as a process engineer/chemist at MacMillan Bloedel's Powell
River Mill. In 1981 he returned to UBC to pursue post-graduate
studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering, completing his
MASc in 1983 and his PhD in 1988. In 1988 he joined Paprican at
the UBC Pulp and Paper Centre where he worked as a Senior Research
Engineer (with Paprican, now FPInnovations) and as an Adjunct
Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
In March 2002 he was awarded an NSERC/Paprican Chair in Chemical
Pulping Technology and in 2006 was appointed
Professor in the
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
His research group was thriving, with 14 graduate students and 3
postdoctoral fellows at the time of his death.
Chad was passionate about the out of doors, particularly the west
coast of BC, and had kayaked around a substantial portion of
Vancouver Island. His account of these trips is given at
http://faculty.chml.ubc.ca/chadb/kayaking.html along with many of his photographs.
Chad is survived by his wife, Maureen, and his two daughters, Monica
and Catherine.
May 17/2010
Run for Reg - Update
Ian
Mann ran the 21.1 km of the Vancouver Half Marathon on May 2, 2010
in 1hr 37 mins and 29s, in memory of his father and our long time
mixing colleague Reg Mann. Ian writes, "It was raining but a fun day
- and I am very happy with how it went and especially with my time!"
The donation web pages will stay open until the end of June, so
there is still time for people to donate in memory of Reg, and in
support of stroke research.
At present the UK site has collected over 1,000 pounds (plus gift
aid tax of over 200 additional pounds); the Canadian site $1,375.00
CAD, and the US site $310 US.
April 29/2010
Ian Mann (Reg Mann’s son) is running
the Vancouver half marathon for stroke research
Ian Mann (Reg's eldest son) will be
running the Vancouver Half Marathon on May 2, 2010 in Reg's memory
and raising funds for stroke research. If you would like to sponsor
Ian's run, you can do so online using the following link:
http://www.fitforheart.ca
(click on sponsor a friend, search for Ian
Mann).
- The call for proposals for the NAMF start-up
Mixing Award has been issued. Valued at $60,000, the award is to
encourage new faculty to begin research careers in areas that impact
fluid mixing technology. Proposals are due September 15, 2009.
See application details
here (PDF) >>
Submissions are invited for the student papers
competition for Mixing XXII. The authors of the top papers will be
invited to present their work in Victoria and compete for awards and
recognition. Conference travel and registration subsidies are
available for the selected students.
August 2009
Art Etchells III awarded the James
Y. Oldshue Lecture Award
The James Y. Oldshue Lecture Award was created to recognize the
remarkable contribution that Dr. James Oldshue made to both the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the
Interamerican Confederation of Chemical Engineering (IACChE).
Dr. Oldshue served as AIChE president in 1979, as treasurer of the
Institute from 1983-1989 and in numerous other capacities. Dr.
Oldshue had also a long-standing relationship with the IACChE. He
received the Victor Marquez Award from the Inter-American
Confederation of Chemical Engineering Societies in 1983 and was
elected President in 1995. He was an internationally renowned
chemical engineer and the founder of AIChE's North American Mixing
Forum (NAMF).
The award is given to an outstanding chemical engineer from the
Americas who had a remarkable and sustained contribution to the
profession. This year, the James Y. Oldshue Lecture Award is
presented to Arthur W. Etchells III who had also as James a profound
contribution in the field of mixing. This is the second time the
award is presented.
Art Etchells III (centre) is awarded the James Y. Oldshue Lecture
Award at the
8th World Congress of Chemical
Engineeringin Montreal, Canada (August 23 - 27,
2009). Jules Thibault (left) and Scott Fogler (right) join Art.
September 2009
It is with sadness that we report the loss of
two members of our mixing community in the past months.
- Dr. E. Bruce Nauman passed away May 24,
2009 after a battle with lung cancer. Bruce was a professor in the
department of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, a prolific researcher and scholar who
published more than 150 journal papers, authored five books, 16 book
chapters and more than 30 other publications. He held six patents
related to his research in chemical engineering and was the
recipient of many awards. In 1990, Bruce helped found NAMF (The
North American Mixing Forum) to bring together scientists who
specialized mixing fluids, and served as NAMF president from 1993 to
1995. Bruce is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marilyn; two
children Cindy (Paul) Baglow and Michael (Rene) Nauman, Arkansas;
six grandchildren, Melissa, Brandon, Laurie and Buddy Baglow and
Alex and Rachel Nauman. A memorial service was held on May 29, 2009
in the RPI.
- Professor Reginald Mann passed away on
Sunday, June 7th, 2009. Reg had taken ill with a serious stroke on
Friday June 5th. He fought bravely but passed away quietly in
Tameside Hospital with his wife Gill and his son Graham at his side.
Reg, who was an Emeritus Professor in Chemical Engineering at UMIST
(later the University of Manchester) is survived by his wife Gillian
Taylor, and his two sons Ian and Graham. Reg enriched the lives of
those many friends and colleagues who were lucky enough to benefit
from both his selflessness and his boundless enthusiasm. His funeral
was held at Central Methodist Church, Chapel Street, Glossop on June
15th.
September 2009
The
8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering
took place August 23-27, 2009 in Montreal, QC,
Canada. A topical conference on Mixing in Industrial Processes was held as part of the congress.
December 2008
The
13th European Conference on Mixing (promoted by
the European Federation of Chemical Engineering Working Party on
Mixing) was held in King's College London, April 14-17, 2009.Post
conference details, including he presented papers, are given on the
conference website.
110 delegates from around the world attended
ISMIP VI, held at Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, between August
17-21, 2008. The program as presented can be found
here
[PDF, 6 MB] >>
June
25, 2007
Over 125 delegates attended
Mixing XXI
in Park City, Utah, June 17 - 22,
2007. In the tradition of past Mixing conferences, the week brought
together industrial specialists, academic researchers and equipment
manufacturers for an intense period of working on mixing related issues.
Some of the keynote presentations are available from the
past conferences
page.
February, 2007
NAMF announces start-up grant to
encourage new faculty to begin research careers in areas that will
impact the general field of fluid mixing technology. Deadline for
applications is May 1, 2007.
IN MEMORIAM:
We are saddened
by the passing of Jim Oldshue, the founding president of NAMF
on January 16, 2007
at the age of 81.
Jim was instrumental in setting NAMF up as the first Forum of AIChE.
Our condolences to his
wife and family.
More >>
November 2006
NAMF
Sessions at AIChE:
We were well represented at the annual
AIChE meeting in San Francisco, including a session to honor Larry
Tavlarides on the occasion of his 65th birthday and the NAMF Award
winning presentation by Piero Armenante.
Dr. Piero Armenante,New Jersey
Institute of Technology, has been selected
the recipient of the NAMF Award. It will be
presented to him at the AIChE in San Francisco this fall.
The next Mixing Conference will take place on
June 17 - 22, 2007 at the
Yarrow Resort Hotel & Conference Center, Park City, Utah, USA. The call for papers will be issued in the fall of
2006.
Sponsored by the
North American Mixing Forum and published by John Wiley & Sons
The prize-winning
Handbook of Industrial Mixing is now into a second printing and is
receiving rave reviews from industry and academia. More
detailed information is given on the
Handbook page.
Prof. Alvin Nienow, University of
Birmingham, has been awarded the honorary degree “Doctor Honoris
Causa” by the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin,
Poland. The degree is the most prestigious academic distinction
conferred by Polish universities to distinguished academics with
significant contributions for the development of a specific
scientific field and who have fostered international collaboration
between members of the Polish university and their home institution.
Alvin’s international standing, based on significant contribution
for developing a better understanding of fluidization and fluid
mixing processes in stirred reactors and bioreactors, has been
acknowledged with this award. His extensive collaboration with
scientists from many different countries such as USA, Japan, Canada,
Czech Republic and Poland (just to mention a few) led to a
significant cross-fertilization of ideas and contributed
significantly to the development of those fields and to the research
of those involved in the work and that is also acknowledged in the
process. 
Ian
Mann ran the 21.1 km of the Vancouver Half Marathon on May 2, 2010
in 1hr 37 mins and 29s, in memory of his father and our long time
mixing colleague Reg Mann. Ian writes, "It was raining but a fun day
- and I am very happy with how it went and especially with my time!"
Art Etchells III awarded the James
Y. Oldshue Lecture Award
