4:50 p.m., Nov. 11, 2008----The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has named the University of Delaware's Mark Barteau and the late Arthur Metzner to its list of “100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era.”

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Barteau is the Robert L. Pigford Chair of Chemical Engineering, director of the University of Delaware Energy Institute, and senior vice provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives at UD. Metzner was H. Fletcher Brown Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the time of his death in 2006.

The list was compiled by AIChE's Centennial Celebration Committee, and the awards will be conferred at the institute's annual meeting, to be held in Philadelphia from Nov. 16-21. The meeting program includes a series of centennial-related events.

The select group, which is credited with “guiding the profession into the new century,” is divided into three categories: achievement, leadership and new frontiers. Both Barteau and Metzner were cited for their achievements.

Barteau was recognized for his work in surface science, metal and metal-oxide catalysis, surfaces and spectroscopic characterization, and computational chemistry techniques. Metzner was cited for his work in turbulent/porous media flows and mixing non-Newtonian fluids. He also was recognized for his service to AIChE.

Barteau and Metzner join an elite group on the list, which includes the inventors of portable dialysis machines and automotive catalytic converters, as well as pioneers in areas ranging from gene modification, controlled drug-release systems, and chemical separations to water resources management, air quality and climate change.

Metzner, who was honored with a memorial symposium in 2007, is remembered as a distinguished educator and researcher. A native of Alberta, Canada, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Alberta and his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the University of Delaware faculty in 1953.

Metzner's work is documented not only in some 130 research publications but also in textbooks, where his name appears on the Otto-Metzner correlation for power consumption and the White-Metzner equation. In addition to AIChE, he won awards from the Society of Rheology, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the American Chemical Society. Metzner was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979 and received UD's highest faculty honor, the Francis Alison Award, in 1981.

Barteau holds a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University. He joined the UD chemical engineering department in 1982. Barteau is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2006) and a past recipient of the Alison Award (2004). In addition, he has won a number of awards from AIChE, the Catalysis Society, and the American Chemical Society.

Barteau was actively involved in the creation of the UD Energy Institute, which was officially launched in September 2008. In addition, he served as co-chair of UD's Strategic Planning Committee, which was instrumental in developing the University's Path to Prominence™. He also served as director of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology from 1996 to 2000 and as chairperson of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 2000 to 2007.

“It is truly a credit to our chemical engineering department that two of its members have been named to this highly selective list,” Michael Chajes, dean of the UD College of Engineering, said. “Both Mark and Art have made significant contributions to modern chemical engineering, and we're very pleased that they're receiving this recognition from one of the premier societies in the field.”

Article by Diane Kukich