Bala Subramaniam named fellow in the American Chemical Society

LAWRENCE — Bala Subramaniam, director of the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) and Dan F. Servey Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, has been named a fellow of the Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The award will be presented March 13 at the spring 2016 national ACS meeting in San Diego. A half-day symposium on “Development of Sustainable Chemical Processes” in honor of Subramaniam is being organized by R.V. Chaudhari, the KU Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

Subramaniam is being recognized for his seminal contributions to chemistry and chemical engineering. As a pioneer and a widely recognized international leader in the application of supercritical fluids and gas-expanded liquids in catalysis and reactor engineering, Subramaniam has published nearly 170 research articles, including several landmark and widely cited articles.

Over his 30 year career, Subramaniam has collaborated with more than two dozen leading chemical companies, including Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont and Procter & Gamble, just to name a few. Several of his 27 issued patents have been licensed by CEBC corporate partners.

The I&EC Division of ACS names two fellows each year—one in chemistry and one in chemical engineering. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific organization and has been advancing the chemistry enterprise for nearly 140 years.  

Under Subramaniam’s direction, the CEBC has garnered $48 million of investments since 2003 and has made significant steps toward discovering chemical manufacturing processes that will meet society’s growing needs while protecting the environment and human health.