COLUMBUS -- -- L.S. Fan, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Ohio State University, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) on February 16, bringing the number of Ohio State NAE members to eight.

National Academy of Engineering (NAE) membership honors those who have made important contributions to engineering theory and practice -- including significant contributions to the scientific literature of engineering theory and practice -- and those who have demonstrated unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology.

In the laboratory, Fan navigates one of the most important areas of research for the chemical, petrochemical, and utility industries: fluidization. Processing plants treat coal, oil, and gasoline in giant, roiling vats of hydrocarbons and catalysts. Even the movement of individual molecules and gas bubbles within the baths affects the efficiency of chemical reactions, and Fan has been studying the motions of these tiny components – a feat that until recently defied even the most powerful computers.

His pioneering research has resulted in important scientific discoveries and new technology applications, and directly contributed to the design and operation of several commercial processes. He has developed engineering principles and processing know-how for synthesizing chemicals that are key to the production of everything from dyes, drugs, and perfumes to paint, paper, and auto parts.

“Dr. Fan's accomplished career and his ground-breaking research are evidence of his important contributions to the study of chemical engineering,” David B. Ashley, Dean of the College of Engineering, said. “His election to the National Academy of Engineers validates what we already know -- Dr. Fan is an exceptional leader and an authority in his field. We are extremely proud of him and his many successes.”

Jose B. Cruz, professor of electrical engineering and former Dean of the College of Engineering, characterized election to the NAE as the highest honor an engineer can achieve.

Cruz described Fan as a top-notch engineering educator across the board – excellent in his scholarship and research, devoted to teaching, unwavering in his service to the profession and to the university, and active in industrial outreach. In particular, Cruz cited the OSCAR (Ohio State Carbonation Ash Reactivation) process Fan invented for flue gas cleaning in coal-fired power plants – a process that the Ohio Coal Development Office is now funding for its commercial demonstration in the University’s own McCracken power plant.

Aside from enabling power plants to burn sulfur-rich coal in a more cost-effective, environmentally sound way, Fan’s process may one day increase the use of Ohio coal in the nation's industries and create jobs in economically distressed areas across the state. “Even if he improves coal burning by a few percent, Fan will save Ohio hundreds of millions of dollars,” Cruz predicted. More than his coal work, Fan is proud of the three chemical engineering books he has written, including one from 1989 that is still referenced in almost every research paper concerning gas-liquid-solid fluidization today.

On February 16, the NAE elected 74 engineers and eight foreign associates to its membership, bringing the total U.S. membership to 2,061 and the number of foreign associates to 154.

Along with Fan and Cruz, Ohio State’s eight NAE members include Robert Wagoner and James Williams, both professors of materials science and engineering; Robert Rapp and Paul Schewmon, both emeritus professors of materials science and engineering; and John Kraus and Robert Kouyoumjian, both emeritus professors of electrical engineering.

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