Vol. 38, No. 18

1-4-2006
By: Joni Bentz Seal

Fan presented with Sullivant Medal

As a member of the President and Provost's Advisory Committee and a Fellow of the AAAS, Liang-Shih (L.S.) Fan receives many letters from President Karen Holbrook. But the one dated Aug. 12 was special, for it congratulated Fan on being chosen as the 2005 recipient of the Joseph Sullivant Medal, one of the university's highest honors.

The Distinguished University Professor and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, who received the medal Dec. 11 at autumn quarter commencement, said he was surprised but honored. "I am grateful for the university to recognize my work, but it is a significant privilege to be chosen because the caliber of the candidates is outstanding."

The award, established in 1920 by Ohio State professor of physics Thomas C. Mendenhall, is named for Joseph Sullivant, a member of the university's first Board of Trustees. The $10,000 prize is awarded every five years to recognize notable achievements by alumni or faculty. Past honorees have come from a variety of fields, including art, chemistry, electrical engineering, history and surgery.

Fan is one of the world's leading authorities on fluidization and multiphase flow, powder technology, and energy and environmental reaction engineering - the focus of his career since he joined Ohio State in 1978. He holds 12 patents for his work, which includes inventing processes that enable power plants to burn sulfur-rich coal in a more cost-effective, environmentally sound way.

"I started my career in the late '70s when the energy crisis and gas shortage made energy a hot field," Fan said. "Today, it is still very prominent, and the pursuit of clean energy is equally critical."

The field has transformed tremendously during the past 20 years. Traditionally an engineering-based discipline, chemical engineering involved the application of knowledge generated by chemists - but this is no longer the case, Fan said. Today, chemical engineers themselves conduct both organic and inorganic molecular syntheses, an evolution that in 2004 prompted a name change of the department to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

"The biology component has been officially integrated into engineering and can be very challenging for someone like me who started a career long ago to adjust to new directions in the field," Fan said. "Traditional engineering is still extremely important because that expertise is critical for industrial growth, but we have to be mindful of what's coming in the next decade and the increasing role of molecular-based technology, such as nanotechnology."

Fan has authored three books and has received more than 50 awards in recognition of his research and teaching. Most recently he was honored with the E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry from the American Chemical Society and was named a corresponding member of the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias.

As an undergraduate, honors and Ph.D. adviser at Ohio State, Fan said the university's encouragement of undergraduate research provides an excellent learning experience, regardless of the student's long-term academic and career goals. "Performing research helps students appreciate the need for advanced knowledge and gives them the opportunity to generate new knowledge, which is an exciting part of the learning process."

Crucial to the success of the process, Fan said, is to maintain focus and prepare well. "Believe in yourself and what you're doing. Don't move around just for funding," he advises young people. "There will come a time when your field will become 'hot' and have its time in the limelight. You have to be prepared for that window of opportunity."

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