Skip to main content

News

ChBE’s Rimer Elected AIChE Fellow
By
Alex Keimig
Abraham E. Dukler Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering Jeffrey Rimer has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), a recognition that affirms the “high esteem with which his colleagues and peers view his distinctive professional achievements and accomplishments.”
Abraham E. Dukler Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering Jeffrey Rimer has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), a recognition that affirms the “high esteem with which his colleagues and peers view his distinctive professional achievements and accomplishments.”

Abraham E. Dukler Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering Jeffrey Rimer has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), a recognition that affirms the “high esteem with which his colleagues and peers view his distinctive professional achievements and accomplishments” according to AIChE Interim CEO & Executive Director Victor Bohnert.

To be nominated for Fellow, a candidate must have at least 10 years of AIChE membership and a substantial amount of experience in chemical engineering (typically 25 years or more), during which they have shown significant service to the profession. Rimer became involved with AIChE when he entered graduate school, taking up membership and attending annual meetings each fall.

“I’ve been attending for nearly 20 years now, and I’ve held various roles throughout the organization: being director for one of the divisions, chairing various sessions, and being a part of the editorial advisory board for their flagship journal, AIChE Journal, for a number of years,” Rimer said. He described AIChE as a “focal point” for the field and profession.

“AIChE annual meetings are an opportunity to network and are a great place for students to get their first experiences giving talks and poster presentations. They hold a number of different functions for the community and play a big role in keeping everyone connected not just scientifically, but socially.”

Rimer’s research focuses on crystal engineering with two distinct applications, which he says are linked “by trying to understand, at a fundamental level, how crystals grow and how these processes can be manipulated.”

One of his areas of research is catalysis. “We design different catalysts — an example being zeolites — and identify methods to optimize their performance in commercially-relevant reactions. One of our areas of expertise is synthesis and understanding mechanisms of crystallization. Relatively few people focus on investigating aspects of zeolite nucleation and growth, which we do as part of a broader effort to create state-of-the-art materials for catalytic applications.”

The other aspect of Rimer’s research is “very different”, concerning crystals that are implicated in human diseases.

“The objective of this research is preventing the formation of crystals by designing therapeutics that inhibit nucleation and growth of pathological minerals and organic compounds,” Rimer said. “This research has expanded in recent years to include the newly established Welch Foundation Center for Advanced Bioactive Materials Crystallization. The center is geared towards making an impact in the rational development of pharmaceuticals with an emphasis on controlling nucleation and polymorph selection, which is critical to many applications, most notably drug design.”

“In both areas, my group works at the boundary between fundamental and applied research. It’s been a very nice balance between addressing problems at a molecular level but also developing practical ways of tailoring crystal properties for global challenges, such as optimizing catalysts that can impact the chemical industry as part of the emerging energy transition.”

This research was a crucial consideration in Rimer’s appointment, but in many ways, he feels the work has only just begun.

“AIChE relies on Fellows to be instrumental members within the community — to be leaders in the field,” he said. “The organization values this quality and tries to capitalize on it to help the society as a whole. I would like to use this as an opportunity to become a mentor to younger people within the profession… to directly help the future of chemical engineering and be part of that process.”

“I view it as a way of paying it forward,” Rimer continued. “A number of Fellows played an integral role in my career early on when I was a graduate student and later as a junior faculty — helping establish new directions and new opportunities within the field that I think I’ve ultimately benefited from.”

Much like his past, however, he won’t be pursuing these future goals alone.

“While some of the criteria for electing Fellows are based on individual effort, categories such as scholarship and broader impact are the products of team effort. My research group, the students, collaborators and colleagues I’ve had here at the university have all played a role in this. It’s not solely an individual effort, but it is humbling to be thought of as somebody who should be placed as a leader in our field. It’s a tremendous honor.”

Share This Story: