Dr. Rajamani Gounder to receive 2019 College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Award for Early Career Research
Dr. Rajamani Gounder, the Larry and Virginia Faith Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, will receive the 2019 College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Award for Early Career Research. The award will be presented at the 17th Annual Faculty Excellence Awards Banquet at the Ross-Ade Pavilion Shively Club on Friday, April 5, 2019.
Dr. Gounder was nominated by Dr. Fabio Ribeiro, the R. Norris and Eleanor Shreve Professor of Chemical Engineering. Dr. Gounder has had remarkable success in the start of his research career. “One of Dr. Gounder’s first research successes was a new ammonia-titration approach to counting acid sites in zeolites, crystalline oxides with well-defined microporous structures,” explained Dr. Ribeiro.
He noted that Dr. Gounder has added to this success by further extending synthesis methods to direct the placement of aluminum within a zeolite unit cell and controlling the local environment of the associated Brønsted acid sites. “His methods are robust and fully supported by his detailed experiments.”
“The mature scientific insight that guides Raj’s choice of research problems is truly remarkable,” said Ribeiro. “His clear vision of where the current scientific frontier lies has already enabled him to achieve fundamental advances that have moved that frontier forward and changed the field.”
Dr. Gounder received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and joined the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering faculty in 2013. He currently serves as the Director of AlChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division and NSF ERC Thrust Co-lead for CISTAR. Gounder has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Chemical Society, and also was awarded the 2018 Sloan Research Fellowship. His awards include the Phillip C. Wankat Graduate Teaching Award in Chemical Engineering, the Outstanding Mentor of Chemical Engineering Graduate Students Award, and the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering Shreve Outstanding Teaching Award.
At Purdue, Dr. Gounder’s research group has been recognized for studies in developing methods of characterizing and titrating active sites in catalytic surfaces and synthesizing and designing zeolites and porous materials with tailored site and surface properties. Gounder currently has one postdoctoral research associate, 13 Ph.D. graduate students, nine undergraduate students.
Dr. Gounder has delivered more than 60 invited presentations at conferences, lecture series, and workshops, while he also has 45 research publications, one patent, and five patent applications.
“Underlying Raj Gounder’s extraordinary success in both research and teaching is a deep understanding of catalysis at the most fundamental level, a surprisingly mature vision of how to advance the field, logic that orders his approach, and superb communication skills,“ Ribeiro continued. “By receiving the Faculty Excellence Award for Early Career Research, Rajamani Gounder would both be recognized for his ability to master all facets of the career of a successful young academic and would serve as a role model for others to follow.”
Learn more about Dr. Rajamani Gounder at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/people/ptProfile?id=85277
Read the entire list of 2019 Faculty Excellence Awards Recipients: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/People/Awards/Institutional/Faculty/2019/ptIndexYear
Source: Dr. Fabio Ribeiro, fabio@purdue.edu, (765) 494-7799
Writer: Jessica Johnson, john1690@purdue.edu