Dr. Cornelius Masuku, Associate Professor of Engineering Practice in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, is part of a select group of early career chemical engineering researchers invited to present research for publication in the fourth AIChE Futures journal, a top generalist archived research journal of the chemical engineering profession. Invitations are based on nominations by chemical engineering department heads and chairs, the AIChE Journal editorial team, and Consulting Editorial Board.

Dr. Masuku’s manuscript is on Modular Biomass- and Gas-to-Liquids Processes with Integrated Product Refining. "The focus of my manuscript is on conceptual designs of modular processes that consider optimal arrangements of units for a given objective function while taking advantage of synergistic integration of modules within the overall flowsheet," explained Dr. Masuku. "Additionally, there is some emphasis on algorithmic developments on Modeling and Optimization of associated Nonlinear Programs."

The principal objective of the Futures Series is to increase the AIChE Journal authorship by early career researchers less than seven years since starting their academic or industrial career. Manuscripts published in AIChE Futures may be chosen by the Editor and Editorial Board to be part of a select group of contributors to present their work at the AIChE Annual Meeting Futures session.

The AIChE Journal Futures Issues are meant to celebrate new talent and draw attention to pioneering early career research in Chemical Engineering. The Journal’s Editorial Board members are highly regarded in the field.

"Being invited to contribute to this special issue means a lot to me," said Dr. Masuku. "It highlights that my work is being recognized by some of the best researchers in Chemical Engineering as charting a course to some future direction of the field. This gives me a chance to act as a catalyst to help facilitate the imperative paradigm shift of the Chemical Industry towards more efficient, environmentally friendly, and versatile processes."

Dr. Cornelius Masuku joined the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering in August 2020, where his research areas include:

• Development of Modular Gas-to-Liquids Processes with Membrane Steam-Methane Reformer, Fischer–Tropsch Reactive Distillation and Integrated Product Refining.
• Algorithmic developments in Modeling and Optimization of Biomass, Coal, or Natural/Shale Gas Conversions to Fuels, Chemicals, and Electricity.
• Considerations of Innovative Combinations of Processes for Alkane Utilization.
• Development of Surrogate Models for Large-Scale Real-Time Optimization of Energy/Chemical Process Units.

Learn more about Dr. Cornelius Masuku: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=243240

Learn more about the American Institute of Chemical Engineers: https://www.aiche.org/

Source: Dr. Cornelius Masuku, cmasuku@purdue.edu, (765) 496-2538