American Institute of Chemical Engineers - Northern California Section

The AIChE NorCal Awards for Excellence program offers peer recognition of superior performance in the field of chemical engineering in northern California.

2001/2002 AWARD WINNERS

Professional Achievement: Dr. C. Judson King, Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs, University of California Systemwide, Oakland, California.
Dr. C. Judson King is a Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of California System since 1995. He currently oversees and coordinates academic planning and policy development for the UC system. He constantly interacts with the Regents of UC and various aspects of the state of CA government on academic matters. He oversees development of admissions policies to adapt to the post-Proposition 209 world. Among his recent responsibilities was the initial academic planning for the new Merced campus and the development of UC's greatly expanded programs of outreach to K-12 schools and students ($175 million of new annual state funding since 1998). Dr. King is the second man in charge of the UC System, i.e. Acting President in the absence of the President.

Dr. King received a Bachelor (B.E.) in Chemical Engineering in 1956 from Yale University and a Doctorate degree (Sc.D.) also in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Chemical Engineering in 1958. He has then progressed to become the Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Dean of School of Chemistry, and the Provost of Professional Schools and Colleges for four colleges including Engineering and Chemistry and nine schools including Law and Business schools at UC Berkeley. He has also been very much involved with AIChE as the Technical Committee Chair for the 1979 National AIChE Meeting in San Francisco. He was also the AIChE liason for the NORCAL section.

Dr. King has over 215 publications as journal articles or chapters in books, has 12 U.S. patents, and is the author of highly popular textbook "Separation Processes" 2^nd. Edition, and "Freeze Drying of Foods", CRC Press. He has received several honors including the Commencement Address at University of California, Berkeley ñ College of Chemistry, 2001; Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for Distinguished Service to Industry, Commerce or Education, 1998; American Chemical Society Award in Separations Science and Technology, 1996; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of science and technology, 1996; and also Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1983, to name a few. He has consulted with major organizations such as the Proctor and Gamble Company, American Cyanamid Company, Air Products and Chemicals, and Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation, and ALZA Corporation.
Academic Teaching: Dr. David Schaffer, Chemical Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Schaffer is an Assistant Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of California, Berkeley. He received a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1998. He is recognized for his excellence in teaching and he is also involved with a fascinating research area at the forefront of modern biology. He has received several awards including National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2001, the Biomedical Engineering Society Rita Shaffer Young Investigator Award in 2000, and U.C. Berkeley Regentsí Junior Faculty Award in 1999.

In his letter of recommendation, Dr. Prausnitz indicates that Davidís scores from student teacher evaluations are consistently high, significantly above the department average. Everyone in Berkeleyís Chemical Engineering Department student and faculty know that David is one of our very best teachers. He maintains high standards with his superior intellect and smiling friendly personality." Dr. Prausnitz identifies him as " one of the very best young professors I have seen in Gilman Hall" and " a bright young star in the Berkeley Chemical Engineering Department". "When graduate students select their thesis advisor, and when undergraduates choose a research laboratory for an undergraduate research experience, for many, David is inevitably the first choice." Senior colleagues in Berkeley's Chemical Engineering department join Dr. Prausnitz in recommending Dr. Schaffer for the NORCAL Academic Teaching Award.
Industrial Research: Dr. Tom Karis, IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California
Dr. Tom Karis is a Research Staff Member at the IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Union College in 1976, MS in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1979, and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. He has been with IBM Almaden Research Center since 1982. His research interests are lubricant rheology, chemistry, and magnetic recording tribology.

Tom has been an outstanding researcher and has won several recent IBM Awards including the 1992 IBM Research Division Awards for contribution in tribochemistry and also the 1992 Award for contribution to the Rewritable Data Cartridge Product and the 1997 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for development of an Ultra Stable Grease. He has 88 publications and seven patents.

Tom has been involved with the Northern California Section of AIChE for more than 10 years, became the AIChE NorCal Section Chair in 1998 and he is the current Editor in Chief of the NORCAL Electronic Flowsheet. He is an Associate Editor for Tribology Transactions, and is a member of several professional societies including STLE, IEEE, Sigma Xi, AAAS, ACS, Rheology, and AIChE.
Process Engineering: Mr. Greg Bohlmann, Process Economics Program (PEP), SRI Consulting.
Mr. Greg Bohlmann is currently the Assistant Director for Process Economics Program (PEP) at SRI Consulting. Greg specializes in technoeconomic process evaluation, market research, and competitor analysis for the chemical and polymer industries. He is recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of biodegradable polymers and was an invited speaker at the Biodegradable Plastics Conference in Frankfurt, Germany in 1999 and 2001. His 13 years of experience with SRIC span a broad range of process economic studies and during that time he has authored 15 PEP reports.

Greg holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina. He is a registered professional engineer and a member of AIChE and the Bio/Environmental Polymer Society. One of the distinctive keys to his success has been the ability to clearly initiate, describe, and communicate innovative concepts to his peers ñ starting with first principles, identifying key mechanisms involved in process and product concepts, and correctly describing the preferred process design architecture required for successful and economic commercial deployment. His work has been recognized internally by SRI International through a company sponsored Professional Excellence Award, and by promotion to Assistant Director of the Process Economics Program in November 2000.