CRE Early Career Investigator Award

This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the science and/or technology of catalysis and chemical reaction engineering through publications or practice. The candidate must have made important and specific technical contributions, verifiable by evidential materials, to the discovery, invention, characterization, modeling, development, design or implementation of products, catalysts or processes through ingenious and creative application of chemical reaction engineering and/or catalysis concepts. The award candidate must have earned his/her/their highest academic degree within ten (10) calendar years of the year in which the award is presented. The award is presented biennially (in even-numbered years) to a member of AIChE, or in an unusual situation, to members jointly, for significant contributions. Candidates may be from academia, national labs, or industry.

This award is in honor of the late Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Distinguished Professor and the Robert and Marcy Haber Endowed Professor in Energy Sustainability in the Tufts University School of Engineering. Maria was a world-renowned chemical engineer with expertise in heterogeneous catalysis. She held ten patents, wrote more than 180 technical papers, was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.  One of the legacies of Maria’s distinguished career was her commitment to the mentorship of early-career faculty and her support of the recognition and celebration of their achievements. Therefore, it is our honor to have this award named for her.