On September 12, 2013, the School of Chemical Engineering will honor Jennifer Curtis (BSChE '83) and Ron Unnerstall (BSChE '83) with the 2013 Outstanding Chemical Award.

Jennifer Sinclair Curtis, BSChE ‘83

Jennifer Sinclair Curtis is Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering at the University of Florida (UF).  Professor Curtis received her BSChE in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1983, and her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 1989.  

She has an internationally-recognized research program in the development and validation of numerical models for the prediction of particle flow phenomena.  She is the co-author of more than 100 publications and has given over 160 invited lectures at universities, companies, government laboratories and technical conferences.  Professor Curtis is a recipient of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Award, a NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the American Society of Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Chemical Engineering Lectureship Award, the Eminent Overseas Lectureship Award by the Institution of Engineers in Australia, the ASEE’s Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering and the AIChE Fluidization Lectureship Award.  

She currently serves as Associate Editor of the AIChE Journal and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Powder Technology and Chemical Engineering Education.  Additionally, she is Co-Chair of the National Academies’ Chemical Science Roundtable and serves on the Governing Board of the Council for Chemical Research.  She is a Fellow of AAAS, AIChE and ASEE.

Ronald J. Unnerstall, BSChE ‘83

Ron Unnerstall received his BSChE degree from Purdue in 1983 with highest distinction, and his executive MBA from Stanford University in 2001.  The Vice President of BP Refining and Logistics Technology in Naperville, Illinois, Ron has more than 30 years of experience in the petroleum industry with his particular focus on the manufacturing and marketing of petroleum products.  The majority of Ron’s career has encompassed all aspects of oil refining, spanning 21 years at  four refinery locations, as well as London and Chicago. 

Prior to accepting the role as the Vice President for BP in 2012, Ron was the Business Leader in BP’s petrochemicals business for two years and was located in Shanghai, China. Before his role as Business Leader, Ron was the President of BP-Husky Refining LLC based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, which is a joint venture between BP and Husky Energy of Canada.  Ron came to the refinery in 2006 and presided over a period of marked improvements in all aspects of the refinery’s performance.