Dr. Rutherford Aris was the second recipient in 1998. Dr. Aris is Regents' Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota.  Dr. Aris was born and educated in England.  His early training was in mathematics, and his early employment was with I.C.I., where he encountered several problems (e.g. diffusion with reaction in catalyst pellets of arbitrary shape, venturi scrubber performance) that are the domain of chemical engineering.  In 1955 he began a research fellowship in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. This eventually became a faculty appointment and an association that has continued, in a brilliant manner, to this day.  Dr. Aris received a Ph.D. in 1964 in Mathematics and Chemical Engineering from the University of London.  His dissertation became his first published book, The Optimal Design of Chemical Reactors, in 1961.  His primary activity has been in the area of mathematical modeling, where he has brought to bear his remarkable skills, his expository virtuosity and his collegial generosity.  The result has been an unparalleled body of work in such areas as fluid mechanics, separations and, of course, reaction engineering.  Dr. Aris has been the author of 16 books,  and author or co-author of more than 300 technical papers.  We all continue to be taught by this great man.

The 1998 award was presented to Dr. Aris at ISCRE 15 at Newport Beach, California. 

This page updated May 28, 2004