The Donald L. Katz Lectureship

The lectureship is named in honor of the late Donald L. Katz, who was a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan for many years. Dr. Katz was an inspiring teacher, outstanding leader, and imaginative investigator in the field of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Technology. He was the recipient of 24 national and international awards for his technical achievements and public and professional service, including election to the National Academy of Engineering and a citation and award of the National Medal of Science by President Reagan in 1983.

Professor Katz attended the University of Michigan, earning B.S. (1927), M.S. (1932), and Ph.D. (1933) degrees in chemical engineering: he completed his doctorate under the direction of G.G. Brown. After working at Phillips Petroleum for three years, he joined the University of Michigan faculty. During his tenure on the Michigan faculty, he supervised 39 doctoral students, was department chair for ten years (1951-1961), served on (and chaired for three years) the Ann Arbor Board of Education (1948-1957), was President of the AIChE (1959), and Chairman of EDUCOM (1971-1972). He also served some 60 industrial and governmental organizations as a consulting engineer during his professional life. Professor Katz’s extraordinary accomplishments in petroleum engineering, reservoir engineering, underground gas storage, heat transfer, and phase behavior resulted in the publication of nearly 300 papers, ten books, nine monographs, and nine patents.

Professor Katz remained active in consulting and writing until a few weeks before his death in May, 1989. His final book, Natural Gas Engineering Production and Storage, co-authored with Robert L. Lee, was published by McGraw Hill in January, 1990.

Past Recipients

2023 Enrique Iglesia University of California Berkeley

2022 Linda J. Broadbelt Northwestern University

2019 Zhenan Bao Stanford University

2018 Emily A. Carter Princeton University

2017 Paula A. Hammond Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2016 David A. Tirrell California Institute of Technology

2015 Babatunde A. Ogunnaike University of Delaware

2014 Kristi S. Anseth University of Colorado at Boulder

2013 Michael F. Doherty University of California, Santa Barbara

2012 Jay D. Keasling University of California, Berkeley

2011 Jens K. Nørskov Stanford University

2010 Carol K. Hall North Carolina State University

2009 Professor Mark E. Davis California Institute of Technology

2008 Professor James A. Dumesic University of Wisconsin

2007 Professor Mark A. Barteau University of Delaware

2006 Professor David V. Boger University of Melbourne

2005 Professor Pablo G. Debenedetti Princeton University

2004 Professor Robert S. Langer Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2003 Professor Jerome S. Schultz University of Pittsburgh

2002 Professor Klavs F. Jensen Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2001 Professor Alice P. Gast Stanford University

2000 Professor Donald R. Paul University of Texas at Austin

1999 Professor Douglas A. Lauffenburger Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1998 Centennial Symposium

1997 Professor John M. Praunitz University of California, Berkeley

1996 Professor Edward E. Cussler University of Minnesota

1995 Professor Robert A. Brown Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1994 Professor Richard M. Felder North Carolina State University

1993 Professor Stuart W. Churchill University of Pennsylvania

1992 Professor Matthew Tirrell University of Minnesota

1991 Professor Keith E. Gubbins Cornell University

1990 Professor J.D. Seader University of Utah

1989 Professor Bruce C. Gates University of Delaware

1988 Professor H. Ted Davis University of Minnesota

1987 Professor Daniel I.C. Wang Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1986 Professor L. E. Scriven University of Minnesota

1985 Professor John A. Quinn University of Pennsylvania

1984 Professor Alexis T. Bell University of California, Berkeley

1983 Professor Joe D. Goddard University of Southern California

1982 Professor Thomas F. Edgar University of Texas-Austin

1981 Professor John H. Seinfeld California Institute of Technology

1980 Professor Lawrence B. Evans Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1979 Professor Robert S. Schechter University of Texas-Austin

1978 Professor James W. Westwater University of Illinois-Urbana

1977 Professor Rutherford Aris University of Minnesota

1976 Professor Cedomir M. Sliepcevich University of Oklahoma

1975 Professor Riki Kobayashi Rice University

1974 Professor J.R.A. Pearson Imperial College of Science and Technology, London

1973 Professor Arthur E. Humphrey University of Pennsylvania

1972 Professor Neal R. Amundson University of Minnesota

1971 Professor R. Byron Bird University of Wisconsin (Inaugural Lectureship)