My provisional decision to study chemical engineering at Princeton, after delays, led to a B.S.Ch.E. from Northwestern in 1984. Deciding to become a professor, I received an S.M. (1988) and Ph.D. (1993) from MIT’s Course X. My overall research area is energy and environment, including using applied chemical kinetics on molecular-weight growth processes in flames. My doctoral research was on the chemistry of fullerene formation in flames. Four years as a post-doc for Prof. Jack Howard extended that research to calculating thermochemical properties of fullerene precursors, combined elementary-step kinetics and aerosol dynamics modeling. In further post-doctoral research, I studied NOx trap automotive catalysts, and detailed chemical kinetics combustion modeling.
In 2001, I began to attend local AIChE section meetings, plus Annual Meetings when they were held nearby. I presented unfunded research results at conferences, and performed some consulting work. Since 2013, I have worked to encourage AIChE to create a committee addressing the many challenges and recognizing the unique abilities of members of the profession with a disability. In 2022, I am completing my sixth and final year as a Societal Impact Operating Council (SIOC) member. I am on AIChE's EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) Task Force. I am also a member of AIChE’s The Climate Solutions Community. I am a leader in personal support communities and political activist movements.
Dr. Pope is an author on 14 peer-reviewed journal publications and 34 technical conference presentations. A senior member of AIChE, he also is a long-time member of the Combustion Institute and the American Chemical Society.