EDITORIAL pubs.acs.org/IECR
Krishna Deo Prasad Nigam (KDPN)
I
am delighted to present this Festschrift in honor of Prof. Krishna Deo Prasad Nigam (KDPN) of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi). I have had the pleasure of knowing KDPN for over 40 years. He joined UDCT (now ICT-Deemed University) as a Ph.D. student (1972 1976). I had the pleasure to participate in selecting him for a faculty position at IIT Delhi in October 1976. He quickly rose to the position of Assistant Professor in 1979. His outstanding performance led to him becoming a full professor in 1990. I have witnessed, with great interest, his contributions all along. At the time of his elevation to professorship, he was working on the modeling and simulation of flow systems and he was starting to explore gas liquid solid reactors and bubble column reactors. He has had—and continues to have—a remarkable career, one in which his commitment to interdisciplinary studies stands out distinctively. Building on his earlier contributions on coiled configurations for flow inversion, he has vigorously pursued the concept and reached new heights for efficient heat-transfer applications. Based on these research outputs, at IIT Delhi, he was awarded Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1985 1986), with an eminent chemical engineer, Prof. W. D. Deckwar. KDPN has also spent about 10 months at Cambridge University and was associated with one of the leading figures in chemical engineering, Prof. J. F. Davidson. KDPN worked as Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi, from 1999 to 2002. During his tenure, he proved his skill to run a department in an effective and innovative way. The infrastructure was vastly improved with respect to the seminar hall and committee room, as well as some new research laboratories. He also garnered funds to provide the pilot-plant facility for heat exchangers. During his entire tenure, the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Delhi has experienced compounded growth, in terms of research publications and resource generations. His visionary outlook and inexhaustible enthusiasm for technology development brings out the best in him. KDPN’s contributions in the area of multiphase reactors, computational fluid dynamics, and green technology have greatly enriched chemical engineering. He is working on several promising possibilities to develop cleaner and greener technology and energy-efficient innovative devices. The innovative design of a heat exchanger called a “Coiled Flow Inverter”, based on the novel concept of flow inversion, has been strongly recommended by international journals. The high impact and significance of KDPN’s work can be judged from the extensive citations that he has received in research literature for more than 120 research papers, research monographs, such as Perry’s Handbook of Chemical Engineering, Proceedings of the Royal Society London, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Cambridge publications, and textbooks. He has shown remarkable success in combining experimental skills with analysis. Insightful models, supported by sophisticated measurement techniques and computational fluid dynamics, are marvelous examples of his uncanny observations. Continuing his involvement with new approaches, toward establishing interdisciplinary r 2012 American Chemical Society
and global connections, KDPN has worked on several sponsored projects in a functional way and played an important role to strengthen industry academia relations. He has been instrumental in fostering the growth of chemical engineering education and practices in India through his association as Council Member with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), service as National Vice President of IIChE, and involvement in several other chemical process industries. He has also actively participated and contributed as a member of the working party on education of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering. In recent years, to harness the power of process intensification, several industries have embraced the strategies that he envisaged a decade ago. As well as being a distinguished researcher, he is an endowed educator and has inspired a generation of students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His inspiring guidance, systematic approach, and stimulating ideas have helped to shape his student’s research work, as well as their personal attitude toward academics and other career perspectives. His perpetual energy and enthusiasm in research always motivate his students toward successful completion of their work. He has always assisted and advised his students on career paths and professional opportunities. His contributions to the administration of Engineering have been no less remarkable. The recognition from many governing bodies (such as Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, GOI; Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, GOI; Board Member at Engineers India Limited and National Fertilizers Limited; various scientific advisory Committees; Member Accreditation at the European Process Intensification Centre; active participation in Gas Liquid Solid Meetings (and bringing it to India in December 2007); and many more) are the additional feathers in the cap of KDPN. Recently, KDPN became the 15th Indian scientist to be honored with the Humboldt Research Award for the year 2011. I wish him great success in his new endeavors. M. M. Sharma FRS Emeritus Professor of Eminence Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
Tel.: 91 25291539; 91 25296876. E-mail: profmmsharma@ gmail.com. Notes
Former Director, University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT/now ICT). Special Issue: Nigam Issue Received: September 30, 2011 Accepted: October 13, 2011 Published: February 01, 2012 1437
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie2022459 | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2012, 51, 1437–1437
