2023 AWARDEE

Dr. Bhattacharyya, UK Alumni Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky, received the Alan S. Michaels Award for his work in the development of stimuli responsive functionalized membranes and the application of membrane technology to solve critical environmental and societal challenges, including the development of high-performance masks and air filtration systems for protection against Covid-19 infection. DB has also been a mentor to hundreds of undergraduate students and dozens of PhD students. The breadth of DB’s contributions to membrane science is truly impressive.

DB has also been an active contributor to the membrane community, having organized 3 separate NAMS meetings in 1992, 2001, and 2018, while serving as a member of the Board of Directors for many years and as President of NAMS (from 2015-2016).

2020 AWARDEE

Dr. Andrew Zydney, Bayard D. Kunkle Chair and Professor of Chemical Engineering, Penn State University received the Alan S. Michaels Award for his work in microfiltration, membrane fouling, and applications of membranes in bioprocessing, a field that was also at the core of much of Alan Michaels’ pioneering efforts. Zydney's work has not only provided important fundamental understanding of the behavior of membrane separations, it has also had a major impact on the design and development of important commercial membrane processes while helping to shape the overall direction of membrane-related research in bioseparations.

Zydney has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the North American Membrane Society, first from 1998-2006 and then from 2016-2019. He served as President of NAMS from 2002-2003 and has co-organized two highly successful NAMS meetings: Baltimore in 1997 and Pittsburgh in 2019.

2017 AWARDEE

Prof. Kamalesh K. Sirkar, Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), received the Alan S. Michaels Award for his long and distinguished career that has included making fundamental contributions to the field of Membrane Science and Engineering from membrane fabrication to transport processes and performance of membrane systems and his lifelong service to the membrane separations community.

Kam’s service to the membrane community is exemplary. He has served in NAMS as a Director from 1996 -2001 including serving as President in 1998-1999; he has also been a major contributor to the Separations Division of AIChE. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of “Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering” since 2011. He has published close to 200 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and has been cited over 10,000 times.

2014 AWARDEE

Professor Georges Belfort, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received the Alan S. Michaels Award for his work on ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and membrane fouling, which have led to significant advances in the application of membrane processes in the biotechnology industry, and also for his long-standing service to NAMS and the broader membrane community.

Professor Belfort is known to us for many years as a pioneer and leader in the understanding and application of membranes. He was one of the founding members of NAMS and served as President of the organization from 1995 – 1996. Georges is an active supporter of young membranologists, a consultant and advisor to numerous membrane companies, an instructor for membrane courses, and a long-time advocate for membrane science.

2011 AWARDEE

Dr. Norman N. Li, NL Chemical, received the Michaels Award for his pioneering contributions to the development of supported liquid membranes, mixed matrix membranes, and service to the membrane community.

Dr. Li is the author of 45 U.S. patents, 20 edited books, and 100+ technical papers. He also served as NAMS’ president in 1992-1993, organized ICOM 1990 in Chicago, and established the ECI Advanced Membrane Technology conference series.

ICOM 1990 was so successful that the meeting generated the funding that currently supports NAMS' numerous award programs. All of the students who receive travel support to NAMS meetings are beneficiaries of Dr. Li's efforts.

2008 AWARDEE

Professor William J. Koros received the Michaels award for his seminal research in polymer materials for advanced membrane-based separations. Professor Koros' contributions over more than 30 years have had a profound and lasting impact on both fundamental and applied concepts related to polymer membrane-based gas separation for energy-efficient air separation, hydrogen purification, and natural gas separation.

He has provided exemplary service to the profession by serving as secretary of the NAMS Board of Directors for more than 15 years and by serving 17 years as the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Membrane Science, overseeing a period of explosive growth in the number of submissions and the quality of the journal - a leading publication in the membrane field.

2005 AWARDEE

Professor Paul, The University of Texas at Austin, received the Michaels Award for forty-plus years of significant contributions to the fundamental foundation and commercial development of this field by synergistically integrating academic research with industrial collaborations.

Professor Paul's continued collaboration with industry has helped to translate the discoveries made in his lab into commercial products for liquid and gas separations. He has published over 500 papers, 200 or so relating to membranes. Last year there were over 20,500 citations of these papers.

Professor Paul has also been very active in numerous editorial boards and professional organizations, including the founding committee for the North American Membrane Society. He has truly left an indelible mark on the membrane industry.

2002 AWARDEE

Dr. Baker, Membrane Technology and Research Inc., received the inaugural Michaels Award for his scientific inventiveness in a number of membrane fields, ranging from controlled release to gas separation, as well as, his demonstrated achievements in transitioning developments in membrane science and engineering into commercial reality.

He is the founder and President of Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. His career in membrane science and technology has spanned 35 years, with contributions in gas separation, pervaporation, and controlled drug release.

Dr. Baker was a colleague of Alan Michaels first at Amicon, and then later at Alza Corporation. He has co-authored 92 peer-reviewed publications; and was inventor/co-inventor on 89 patents.