ChemE alumnae honored by AIChE

October 12, 2020

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Professor Karen Gleason (MIT) and Sarika Goel (Honeywell UOP) have been recently awarded honors from AIChE. 

Karen Gleason (Ph.D. ’87, ChemE) invited as the 2019 John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecturer

Karen Gleason, MIT

Karen Gleason, the Alexander and I. Michael Kasser Professor of Chemical Engineering and Associated Provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was named the John M. Prausnitz AIChE Institute Lecture for 2019.

The Executive Board of the Program Committee annually invites a distinguished member of AIChE to present a comprehensive authoritative review of the chemical engineering science in his or her field of specialization.

The endowed lecture was established to honor Dr. John M. Prausnitz of the University of California, Berkeley's for his exceptional impact on the profession, society, and generations of chemical engineering students.

Professor Gleason’s current research focuses on studies of the chemical vapor deposition of polymeric thin films, and their applications in sensors, biotechnology, microelectronics/ organic electronics, microfluidics, MEMS, composites, and membranes. The lab is currently researching functional polymers, conducting polymers, dielectric polymers, hydrogels, and composite organic/inorganic structures deposited using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) and/or oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD) 

AIChE 35 under 35 award goes to Sarika Goel (Ph.D. ’15, ChemE) 

Sarika Goel, Honeywell UOP

Sarika Goel has been honored as an AIChE 35 under 35 for 2020. Sarika is a Senior Advanced R&D Scientist at Honeywell UOP in the Hydroprocessing group where she is inventing, developing and commercializing next-generation catalysts for Hydrocracking Technology.

Prior to this role, she worked in Exploratory Research at UOP on the next-generation reforming catalyst development, scale-up and commercialization, as well as breakthrough reforming process development for applications in Refining and Petrochemical complex.

Sarika received her Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi in India and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 2015 under the guidance of Professor Enrique Iglesia.

She has received several awards for her work including the IPMI Metalor Technologies Award for outstanding work in Precious Metals Research as well as the Heinz Heinemann Award for excellent graduate research in Catalysis.

About the AIChE 35 Under 35 Award

The AIChE 35 Under 35 Award honors engineers under the age of 35 who have made significant contributions to the Institute and to the chemical engineering profession. The AIChE 35 Under 35 Award was founded to recognize young chemical engineers who have achieved greatness in their fields. The winners are a group of driven, engaged, and socially active professionals, representing the breadth and diversity that chemical engineering exemplifies.

Award winners were selected for their achievements in one of seven categories: bioengineering, chemicals and materials, education, energy and environment, innovation and entrepreneurship, leadership, and safety.