Benny Freeman is the William J. (Bill) Murray, Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor of Chemical Engineering and has been a faculty member for 33 years. Dr. Freeman’s research is in polymer science and engineering and, more specifically, in mass transport of small molecules in solid polymers. He currently directs 25 Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows performing fundamental research in gas and liquid separations using polymer and polymer-based membranes and barrier packaging. His research group focuses on discovery of structure/property relations for desalination and gas separation membrane materials, new materials for hydrogen separation, natural gas purification, carbon capture, and new materials for improving fouling resistance and permeation performance in liquid separation membranes. His research is described in approximately 500 publications and more than 30 patents/patent applications. He has co-edited 5 books on these topics. His research has served as the basis for several startup companies, including Energy-X and NALA Systems. He served as Chair of the Membranes Area of the Separations Division of AIChE in 2002, Director of the Separations Division from 2003 to 2008, and Chair of the Separations Division in 2011. He co-organized a Topical Conference on Membranes for the Separations Division in 2003. He served on the AIChE Fellows Admission Committee from 2013-2018, and he chaired the committee in 2017. Beyond AIChE, he served as President (2005-2006) and a member of the Board of Directors (2001-2012) for NAMS, the North American Membrane Society, and he chaired the Gordon Research Conference on Membranes (2004).