Dr. Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, received this year’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) Fuels and Petrochemicals Division Award.
This award is El-Halwagi’s third from AIChE for his research in sustainable design of industrial processes and process integration, safety, intensification and simulation. This is the highest honor given by the institute’s Fuels and Petrochemicals Division every year to an individual who has made substantial technical contributions to the petrochemical industries, according to the AIChE website.
“It is humbling to receive this award from the chemical engineers’ premier organization,” El-Halwagi said. “I have been very fortunate to work with brilliant students and colleagues, and I consider that this award is really in recognition of their amazing contributions.”
The award recognizes El-Halwagi’s research in the design of industrial processes with a focus on sustainability and innovation through systems integration approaches.
Chemical industries produce a wide variety of products such as fuels, energy carriers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fertilizers and engineered materials; because of this, they consume tremendous amounts of natural resources and discharge significant amounts of waste. El-Halwagi’s research focuses on the substantial opportunities for making these industries more sustainable by making them more efficient to work better, cheaper, greener and safer by reducing waste and huge amounts of mass and energy.
“My work uses engineering principles and creative insights to generate novel technologies and improved designs that enhance profitability, reduce the consumption of material and energy resources, mitigate the discharge of harmful pollutants and enhance safety and quality,” El-Halwagi said.
“I aim to transform this into a science based on the fundamentals of engineering,” El-Halwagi said. “I hope this award will bring further attention to the research in the field of sustainable design and systems integration and will ultimately lead to a more sustainable tomorrow with well guided and substantial actions starting today.”
El-Halwagi’s previous awards with the AIChE include the Computing in Chemical Engineering Award from the Computing and Systems Technology Division in 2020 and the Research Excellence Award from the Sustainable Engineering Forum in 2009.
“I am thrilled to see Dr. El-Halwagi’s contributions to the chemical engineering profession be nationally recognized,” said Dr. Victor Ugaz, interim department head and chemical engineering professor at Texas A&M. ”His accomplishments exemplify the many ways our faculty are at the forefront of groundbreaking discoveries that improve the quality of life for everyone by providing clean and renewable energy, affordable and sustainable products, and access to abundant food and water.”