AIChE Establishes L.-S. Fan Award for Advancing Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering
NEW YORK, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Institute of Chemical Engineers' (AIChE) Board of Directors has announced the creation of a new Institute-level high honor. The L.-S. Fan Award for Advancing Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering will recognize significant and new contributions to fundamental practice in chemical engineering. The prize — named in honor of particle technology pioneer Liang-Shih (L.-S.) Fan, Professor at The Ohio State University — will be supported by an endowment with fundraising led by Ah-Hyung "Alissa" Park, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of the School of Engineering and Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Bing Du, the Technology Development Lead at ExxonMobil, in collaboration with the AIChE Foundation. The L.-S. Fan Award includes an invited lecture by the recipient, with the inaugural award presentation slated for the Fall 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting.
Alissa Park lauds Fan as "a seminal figure in the field of particulates and multiphase reaction engineering — a discipline whose economic and environmental impact resonates profoundly through the U.S. and world economies." Reflecting on Fan's leadership in sustainable energy research and his mentorship of future chemical engineers, Park adds "I am honored to be a part of his legacy, and excited to present this new AIChE award recognizing the importance of the fundamentals of chemical engineering."
Liang-Shih Fan is Distinguished University Professor, C. John Easton Professor of Engineering, and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He has invented processes that control sulfur, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions, and that convert carbonaceous fuels, plastic wastes, and biomass to hydrogen, chemicals, and liquid fuels. These energy conversion processes and technologies include OSCAR, CARBONOX, and redox chemical looping. He also invented and commercialized the electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) – the first 3D, real-time, non-invasive tool for industrial imaging of multiphase flow systems. He has documented his work in eight authored books, over 500 journal articles, 40 book chapters, and 90 U.S. patents.
Fan has also made a lasting impact on chemical engineering education. At The Ohio State University, he has served as the thesis advisor for 97 PhD, 50 MS, and 14 BS students, and has worked with 72 post-doctoral research associates. His authored book, "Principles of Gas-Solid Flows," has become a widely-adopted textbook, and his edited book, "The Expanding World of Chemical Engineering," has gained popularity with general audiences as an introduction to the field. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Powder Technology, and has served as a consulting editorial board member for over 20 journals including the AIChE Journal and the International Journal of Multiphase Flow.
A Fellow of AIChE, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fan is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors, among many international affiliations and honors. He earned his BS from National Taiwan University and his MS and PhD from West Virginia University, all in chemical engineering. He also earned an MS in statistics from Kansas State University.
Candidates for the L.-S. Fan Award for Advancing Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering should have a record of sustained contributions that have advanced the frontiers of chemical engineering with an emphasis on, but not limited to, particle science and technology and their related multiscale, multiphase, materials, transport, and reaction engineering fields. The particle science and technology fields are key enablers for numerous processes in multiple industries including power and energy, oil and gas industry, chemicals, biological and pharmaceutical industries as well as renewable energy and emerging industries for sustainable energy and environment. Such contributions may be characterized by important fundamental research, innovation, technological development, or the innovative application of technology.
The L.–S. Fan Award is one of AIChE's Institute Awards, which celebrate eminent chemical engineers for their career accomplishments, service to society, and impact on the profession. Candidates for these awards are nominated by the chemical engineering community, and the awards are presented each year at AIChE's Annual Meeting — the organization's largest annual conference and the foremost educational forum for chemical engineers working in research and development. Learn more at www.aiche.org/awards/institute.
About AIChEAIChE is a professional society of 60,000 chemical engineers in 110 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for information exchange on the frontiers of chemical engineering research in such areas as energy, sustainability, biological and environmental engineering, nanotechnology and chemical plant safety and security. More information about AIChE is available at www.aiche.org.
Media contact: Gordon Ellis (gorde@aiche.org)
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aiche-establishes-l-s-fan-award-for-advancing-fundamentals-of-chemical-engineering-302459550.html
SOURCE AIChE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Stock Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2030
Palantir is thriving in the world of enterprise software, and investors continue to cheer on the stock. While following the momentum can be tempting, Palantir's valuation is historically high and looks unsustainable. Rising demand for chips and AI infrastructure over the next five years bodes well for service providers such as CoreWeave. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Throughout 2025, technology stocks have been whipsawed by the latest news or rumors surrounding the economy, interest rates, and tariffs. One stock that has demonstrated a degree of immunity to these dynamics is data mining darling Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). With shares up 82% on the year, Palantir is the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 index so far this year. While this level of momentum may cause trepidation among cautious investors, more bullish analysts, such as Dan Ives, see the rise of Palantir as an unstoppable force. In fact, Ives thinks Palantir is on its way to joining the trillion-dollar club before the end of the decade. Personally, I am in a different camp. Right now, Palantir is trading at valuation multiples that are far higher than those investors witnessed in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble. In short, I think a large-scale valuation normalization is in store for Palantir. By contrast, emerging infrastructure services provider CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) looks well-positioned to dominate the next chapter of the artificial intelligence (AI) narrative. Let's explore Palantir's rise and why I think the stock is due for a pullback. From there, I'll dig into CoreWeave's underlying business and explain how I think the company could eclipse Palantir's size over the next five years. Palantir's breakout moment occurred in April 2023 when the company released a new product called the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). Palantir markets AIP to both the private and public sectors -- with the U.S. Military being one of Palantir's key partners. Unlike other data analytics platforms, AIP differentiates itself by helping large, complex businesses build ontologies. An ontology is a detailed visualization (i.e., a map) that illustrates various aspects of a business by breaking down revenue sources, cost structures, and other critical information in extreme detail. This process can help executive-level decision-makers model simulations using real-time data to assess the impact of different variables on the business. As investors can see from the figures above, Palantir's customer count is surging thanks to AIP's popularity. The subtle takeaway from the graphs above is that AIP has helped Palantir branch out beyond its heavy reliance on public sector deals, as evidenced by the faster growth rate in commercial customer counts compared to overall customer growth at the company. Given these trends, I think it is reasonable to say that software has been top of mind for AI developers over the last couple of years. Nevertheless, I believe CoreWeave's long-term prospects are more robust compared to Palantir's. CoreWeave specializes in a cloud-based infrastructure through which it rents out access to Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures to its customers. To help paint a picture of how strong demand for chip access is expected to become, consider that global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company forecasts $6.7 trillion spent on AI infrastructure by 2030. The majority of this spend is likely going to be allocated to hardware products (chips) for data centers. In my eyes, augmenting software with more AI-centric capabilities is part of the first phase of broader investment in the technology. Hence, Palantir has been a major beneficiary. But over the next several years, I think investing in AI infrastructure will become a greater focus for AI's biggest spenders -- namely, cloud hyperscaler developers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Oracle, Meta Platforms, OpenAI, and others. CoreWeave already works with many of these companies, and I expect rising infrastructure spend to serve as a bellwether for the company in the coming years. The charts below illustrate Wall Street's consensus revenue and earnings estimates for Palantir and CoreWeave over the next couple of years. Per the figures above, investors can see that CoreWeave is already on pace to generate more revenue than Palantir this year. And yet, Palantir currently boasts a market capitalization of $326 billion -- nearly fourfold that of CoreWeave. On top of that, analysts expect CoreWeave's revenue to rise by more than threefold while transitioning to profitability within two years. By contrast, Palantir's revenue and profits aren't expected to even double during this same period. While these estimates will likely change as both companies continue to form new strategic partnerships and release new products, I think, broadly speaking, the secular trends supporting the AI narrative lean more in favor of CoreWeave over the next five years. Nvidia is expected to continue releasing more GPU architectures, while cloud hyperscalers show no signs of slowing down AI capital expenditures (capex). At some point, I think the reality of Palantir's actual growth will catch up with the sober overzealous sentiment currently surrounding the company. Ultimately, I believe this will result in a sell-off by growth investors seeking more robust prospects. Although I am optimistic about CoreWeave's long-term prospects, I think the stock is overbought right now. Following its initial public offering earlier this year, shares of CoreWeave are up by nearly 300%. For now, CoreWeave is exhibiting the behavior of a meme stock. I think the prudent strategy is to begin initiating a position at a more reasonable price point. In terms of the big picture, though, CoreWeave's long-term prospects look encouraging, and I believe the company's valuation will steadily climb over the next five years at a steeper rate than Palantir's. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Stock Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2030 was originally published by The Motley Fool
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
The Key to Better Sleep Is in Your Gut, Says Gastroenterologist
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Around 25 million U.S. adults suffer from insomnia. At the same time, more than 3.9 million Americans are taking probiotics, usually for gut health, according to the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). And gut health could be the key to better sleep. A study published in the journal Engineering examined a specific probiotic strain called Lactobacillus helveticus CCFM1320. This probiotic produces a compound known as SAM (S-adenosylmethionine), which helps regulate the body's internal clock and supports the production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. The researchers found that this probiotic could significantly improve sleep quality. The Gut as a Second Brain Neuroscientist Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, the head of sleep at Wesper, a national home sleep disorder diagnostics company, told Newsweek: "The gut essentially acts as a secondary nervous system and creates and releases many crucial neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which also help to regulate nervous system activity. "This allows for two-way communication between the gut and the brain, called the gut-brain axis. Healthy gut microbes are essential to keeping the gut healthy and functioning, and there is ample evidence that gut microbiota dysregulation can negatively impact the activity of the gut-brain axis. Because the brain is highly sensitive, this can lead to poor sleep quality." Stock image of a woman taking pills from her nightstand before bed. Stock image of a woman taking pills from her nightstand before bed. Liudmila Chernetska/iStock / Getty Images Plus Is CCFM1320 a Game-Changing Strain? To test the effectiveness of CCFM1320 in humans, scientists from Jiangnan University conducted a four-week study with 60 volunteers who experienced sleep difficulties. Participants were divided into two groups: one received the probiotic, while the other took a placebo. Results showed that those who consumed the probiotic had better sleep scores, lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and a healthier balance of gut bacteria. Additionally, the probiotic boosted the expression of genes involved in producing and utilizing SAM, a key factor in sleep and overall health. Strain-Specific Benefits Dr. Michel Bass, a board-certified gastroenterologist and the Founding Medical Director at Oshi Health in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, emphasized the importance of strain specificity: "Not all probiotics are created equal. This study identified CCFM1320 as uniquely beneficial for sleep quality. This isn't a generic 'take-any-probiotic' situation—it's about strain-level specificity," Bass told Newsweek. "That's where a lot of public messaging needs to evolve. Just like different medications target different conditions, different strains do different things. And this one appears to enhance melatonin synthesis via SAM methylation—a novel pathway." Probiotic Supplements vs. Fermented Foods Stock image of an assortment of fresh vegetables and meats. Stock image of an assortment of fresh vegetables and meats. esilzengin/iStock / Getty Images Plus While fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, and kefir are beneficial for general gut health, Bass explained that they may not provide targeted probiotic strains at therapeutic levels. "If someone wants to improve things like sleep quality or reduce stress hormones like cortisol, a strong, well-researched supplement—especially one with proven strains like CCFM1320—is usually more effective," he said. "That said, eating fermented foods is still a great daily habit and can complement targeted probiotic supplements." Jason Eastty, owner of Healthspan Longevity in Westborough, Massachusetts, and a nutrition specialist, added that overall good nutrition can combat poor sleep. "Having a nutrient deficiency—like low iron, magnesium, or vitamin D—can throw off your gut microbial balance, leading to poor sleep. Clinical trials have shown that correcting these deficiencies helps microbial diversity and improves sleep efficiency," Eastty said. He also emphasized that a whole-foods diet rich in fiber—from fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains—is essential to feeding the "good" bacteria in your gut.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Vanguard Growth ETF Is a Great Choice for Most, But I Like the Invesco QQQ Trust Better
The Vanguard Growth ETF has been a strong performer over the years. However, the Invesco QQQ Trust's performance has been even better, and its holdings are less top-heavy. That said, investing consistently in these exchange-traded funds is just as important as picking the right one. 10 stocks we like better than Invesco QQQ Trust › The Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: VUG) is one of the most popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) around, and it's a great choice for many investors. The ETF tracks the performance of the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, which includes stocks representing the growth side of the S&P 500. Notably, the ETF holds around 166 stocks, while its value counterpart, the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VTV), carries 331 stocks, since fewer large-cap stocks are classified as growth stocks. Stocks will also sometimes bounce between the growth ETF and the value ETF. For example, last year, Broadcom was one of the top stocks in the value index, but it has since shifted to being a top-10 holding in the growth ETF. The Vanguard Growth ETF is very tech-heavy, with such stocks accounting for 58.5% of its portfolio. Its top three -- Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple -- represent almost 32% of its holdings. Growth and technology stocks have been helping lead the market higher for a long time, which can be seen in the outperformance of the Vanguard Growth ETF compared to both the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) and the Vanguard Value ETF. Over the past decade, as of the end of May, the Vanguard Growth ETF has produced an average annual return of 15.3% versus 12.8% for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and 10% for the Vanguard Value ETF. Overall, the Vanguard Growth ETF is a great option for investors; however, there is one growth-focused ETF I like even more. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) has been one of the best-performing non-leveraged or sector-specific ETFs around. This ETF has outperformed both the Vanguard 500 ETF and the Vanguard Growth ETF over the past decade. As of the end of May, it has generated an average annual return of 17.7%, outpacing its rivals. ETF 5-Year Average Annual Return 10-Year Average Annual Return Vanguard Value 13.9% 10% Vanguard S&P 500 15.9% 12.8% Vanguard Growth 17.2% 15.3% Invesco QQQ Trust 18.1% 17.7% Source: Vanguard and Invesco websites. The Invesco QQQ Trust's outperformance against the S&P 500 isn't just due to a couple of big years. It has been able to consistently outdo the benchmark index over the past decade. In fact, during this period, it has outperformed the S&P 500 more than 87% of the time on a rolling-12-month basis. That's impressive. Like the Vanguard Growth ETF, the Invesco QQQ Trust is also heavily weighted toward tech, with 57.2% of its portfolio classified in that sector as of the end of March. However, the Invesco ETF is actually less top-heavy than the Vanguard Growth ETF, with its top three holdings representing less than 25% of its portfolio (versus almost 32% in the Vanguard ETF). While they share many of the same top holdings, they are more spread out in the Invesco QQQ, which is another reason I prefer it. Here are the two ETFs' top 10 holdings and their weightings: Vanguard Growth Weighting Invesco QQQ Weighting 1. Microsoft 11.3% 1. Microsoft 8.8% 2. Nvidia 10.3% 2. Nvidia 8.7% 3. Apple 10.1% 3. Apple 7.3% 4. Amazon 6.3% 4. Amazon 5.6% 5. Alphabet 5.8% 5. Alphabet 5% 6. Meta Platforms 4.4% 6. Broadcom 4.8% 7. Broadcom 4% 7. Meta Platforms 3.8% 8. Tesla 3.3% 8. Netflix 3.2% 9. Eli Lilly 2.2% 9. Tesla 2.9% 10. Visa 2.2% 10. Costco 2.7% Note: VUG holdings are as of May 31, and QQQ holdings are as of June 17. Growth investors can't go wrong with either the Vanguard Growth ETF or the Invesco QQQ Trust, although I prefer the latter due to its track record of outperformance and its currently being less top-heavy. That said, regardless of which ETF you pick, the key to creating long-term wealth will be consistently investing in it using a dollar-cost averaging strategy. In the long run, this is just as important -- or perhaps even more so -- than trying to pick which is the better ETF right now. Before you buy stock in Invesco QQQ Trust, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Invesco QQQ Trust wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet, Invesco QQQ Trust, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Growth ETF, Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Vanguard Growth ETF Is a Great Choice for Most, But I Like the Invesco QQQ Trust Better was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
