Recognition for a distinguished career

Stanley I. Sandler, Henry Belin du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering, has received the 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Founder's Award--one of a string of recent honors.

The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in chemical engineering, is presented to an AIChE member who has had an important impact on the field and whose achievements, either specific or general, have advanced the profession in any of its aspects.

"This is a very important award that represents a lifetime of contributions to chemical engineering," Eric Kaler, dean of the College of Engineering and Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering, says. "Stan has had a wonderful career at Delaware, and his scholarship and leadership are respected by everyone. His focus on excellent teaching and research has really been an inspiration to me personally and should be a model for all of us."

Sandler is the latest in a long line of Founder's Award winners with UD connections, including former faculty members Eli Ruckenstein and James Wei, professor emeritus Arthur B. Metzner and the late Robert L. Pigford.

Sandler says he attributes his selection to the opportunity he has had to work in a strong UD chemical engineering department and to the fact that he has been active in research, teaching and AIChE activities for many years.

"The University of Delaware has a history of having one of the best chemical engineering departments in the country," he says. "I've had a long research career, a long teaching career and have long been active in the institute, most recently as the editor of the AIChE Journal. In addition, I have served on the National Research Council committees on the destruction of chemical weapons. In some sense, this is a longevity award and recognizes all contributions to the profession. That is part of what makes it so special."

Sandler says he was especially gratified to learn that the effort to have him receive the Founder's Award was spearheaded by former students. That kind of support is indicative of the positive atmosphere that exists between students and faculty in the College's chemical engineering department, which is consistently ranked among the finest in the nation, he notes.

"One of the very nice things in our department is that it is very supportive," Sandler says. "People work together well and provide one another encouragement."

He adds that, early in his career, he was fortunate to work with many of the former UD faculty members who were previous Founder's Award winners. "They set standards of performance that I have tried to emulate," he says.

Earlier this year, international recognition came to Sandler with his election as a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in Great Britain. That honor means he is a chartered engineer (the equivalent of a registered engineer in the United States) throughout the European community.

In addition, he was appointed an Honorary Professorial Fellow from now until 2009 at the University of Melbourne, where he was on sabbatical last year as Miegunyah Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He has several research projects under way at the University of Melbourne and will spend part of each year in Australia.

In late December, he will receive an award from the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Looking at his career, Sandler cites several highlights, including his textbook Chemical and Engineering Thermodynamics, the fourth edition of which is in the works.

"I never would have thought that I would write a textbook," he says, noting that inspiration came from departmental colleagues who also were
writing texts.

There are about 55,000 chemical engineers in the United States, and Sandler's textbook has sold more than 35,000 copies worldwide. "So I feel I have had a real impact on the profession in educating its practitioners," he says.

A second highlight is a conference he organized in 1977 that brought chemical engineers from academia together with those in industry. "The meeting was an enormous success," he says, and it was repeated three years later in Berlin. Now, the conference alternates every three years between sites in the United States and Europe.

Another career highlight--this one unanticipated, he says--has been his work on chemical weapons disposal as a member of National Research Council committees. "This has been one of the more interesting diversions in my career," Sandler says. "It was not something I had planned on or initially something I knew about."

Now, after five years, he is considered an expert in the field and works on projects to reduce the number of weapons of mass destruction in the United States.

Despite his travels and international honors, Sandler says his heart is very attached to UD. "This has been a good place to work," he says. "Certainly, this department and this College provide a very good environment. We get very good students and have an excellent physical facility to work in. There is a spirit of collegiality such that I have always enjoyed being here."

He also retains a great enthusiasm for the field of chemical engineering and has far surpassed what he says were the modest expectations he had when he started his career. "Lots of things have happened that I would never have anticipated. Much of it has been almost serendipitous, not things I had planned," he says. "A large collection of opportunities arose, and I didn't say no when opportunity knocked. And, most of them worked out
very well."

--Neil Thomas, AS '76