Remembering Scott Fogler, 1939-2021

Research Interests

Over the last 20 years Professor Fogler has focused his research on problems in upstream research with focus on asphaltene and paraffin deposition. He has graduated 45 Ph.D. students from his research group and has published over 240 research articles. He and his students are well-known for their work in chemical reaction engineering in petroleum engineering, which encompasses a number of fundamental chemical engineering areas, specifically; reaction engineering, colloids, and multiphase flow. Research topics include: flow, reaction and precipitation; kinetics of wax deposition; fused chemical reactions; gelation kinetics; asphaltene deposition kinetics and remediation; colloidal phenomena; and catalyzed dissolution of minerals. In addition to funding by government agencies, an industrial affiliates program that has been in existence for over 35 years. In the past,  the affiliates consisted of 9 major oil companies that provide $50,000 each. A number of research results are now being used in industrial applications.

Biography

Professor Scott Fogler received a Doctor Honoris Causa on April 15 at Rovira I Virgili (URV) University in Tarragona, Spain in honor of his outstanding contributions to the field of chemical engineering through his teaching, textbooks, and research. The university awards one honorary degree annually and Fogler is the first chemical engineer to receive an honorary doctorate from the URV.

In 2015, the department hosted a 25/50/75 Celebration in his honor on May 16. His colleagues, students, and 35 former students honored him with a 25/50/75 symposium and dinner, where they celebrated 25 years of Scott’s book as the dominant textbook in chemical reaction engineering, his 50 years at the University of Michigan, and his 75th birthday.

Short Biography

H. Scott Fogler is the Ame and Catherine Vennema Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and was the 2009 President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

Professor Scott Fogler received a Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universitat Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain in April 2016, and earned a Diploma in 1985 from the New Orleans School of Cooking. He enjoys teaching undergraduate and graduate chemical reaction engineering courses, and a graduate-level course on strategies for creative problem solving.

In 1996, he was recipient of the Warren K. Lewis award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for contributions to chemical engineering education. Professor Fogler recently finished a 2-year assignment on the President Obama’s commission to study and make a recommendation on the flow of diluted bitumen in the Keystone Pipeline.

Scott Fogler is the author of the 12 books, including the Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, 5th Edition, and Essentials of Chemical Reaction Engineering, which are estimated to be used by 70-80% of all chemical engineering programs in the United States and is dominant also in the world-wide market. Fogler and Professor Steven LeBlanc are co-authors of Strategies for Creative Problem Solving, which won Meriam-Wiley Distinguished Author Award from ASEE in 1996. A research monograph “Migration of Fines in Porous Media,” co-authored by K. Khilar, was published by Kluwer in 1998.

Forty-five PhD students have graduated from his research group. Fogler and his students are well known for their work on the application of fundamental chemical reaction engineering principles to the petroleum industry. They have published over 240 research articles, in an areas such as acidization of petroleum wells, upstream engineering gelation kinetics, wax deposition in subsea pipelines and asphaltene flocculation and deposition kinetics. Other research interests include: flow assurance, reaction engineering, colloids, colloidally induced fines migration, and asphaltene stability multiphase flow. In addition to funding by government agencies, an industrial affiliates program has supported the research on flow and reaction problems in the petroleum industry. Over the last 10 years alone over four million dollars have been provided by nine oil companies to support his affiliates program. Many research results from this affiliate program have been implemented in industry.

Scott Fogler has received a number of distinguished awards at college, university, and national levels. From the University of Michigan he received the Class of 1938 Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1971, the Distinguished Faculty Service Award in 1971, the Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 1972, the Phi Lambda Upsilon Teaching and Leadership Award in 1977, the Excellence in Research Award in 1980, the Ame and Catherine Vennema Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering in 1984, and the Stephen S. Attwood Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research in 1995, and the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 1996 and the Thurnau Professorship in 2006. At the national level he was featured as Ch.E. Educator in Chemical Engineering Education in 1978 and received the Chemical Engineer of the Year Award from the Detroit Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in 1980. He received the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Corcoran Award for Best paper (shared) in 1992 and in 1994 he was named a fellow of AIChE and elected to a three-year term as director of AIChE. In 1995 he was the recipient of the Warren K. Lewis award from the AIChE for contributions to chemical engineering education and in 1999 he received the National Catalyst Award from the Chemical Manufacturers Association. In 2009 he was elected president of AIChE and in 2010 he received the Malcolm E. Pruitt Award from the Council for Chemical Research.

Scott has been the recipient of 13 named lectureships, the inaugural Adler Lectureship at Case Western (1994), the McCabe Lectureship at North Carolina State (1994), the inaugural Tis Lahiri Lectureship at Vanderbilt (1995), the Harry G. Fair Lectureship at Oklahoma (1996), the Merck Sharp & Dohme Lectureship at the University of Puerto Rico (1997), the Phillips Lectureship at Oklahoma State (1997), the Johansen-Crosby Lectureship at Michigan State (1999), the Academy of Chemical Engineers Lectureship, University of Missouri-Rolla (2003), the Merck Distinguished Lecture, Rutgers University, (2004), the Krug Lecture, University of Illinois (2004), Dineen Lecture, University of New Brunswick (2011), Zandmer Lecture University of Calgary (2012), McKetta Lecture, Trine University (2015), and the Centennial Lecture, Lafayette College for the Chemical Engineering 100th anniversary (2015).

Professor Experience

University of Michigan
Chemical Engineering Department
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Associate Dean of Engineering, 1981-1984
Vennema Distinguished Professor, 1984 – present
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, 2003 – present
Department Chair, 1985 – 1990
Professor, 1975 – 1984
Associate Professor, 1971 – 1975
Assistant Professor, 1965 – 1971

Awards

University of Michigan – Chemical Engineering Department Awards

Excellence in Teaching Award, 1993
Excellence in Service Award, 1995
Excellence in Research Award, 1997

University of Michigan – College of Engineering Awards

Class of 1938 Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1971
Excellence in Research Award, 1980
Ame and Catherine Vennema Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering, 1984
Stephen S. Attwood Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, 1995

University of Michigan – University Awards

Distinguished Faculty Service Award, 1971
Phi Lambda Upsilon Teaching and Leadership Award, 1977
Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, October, 1996

State of Michigan

Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year, Michigan Association of State Universities, 2020

Named Lectureships

Adler Lectureship (Inaugural Lecture), Case Western Reserve University, April, 1994
McCabe Lecturer, North Carolina State University, April, 1994
Tis Lahiri Lectureship (Inaugural Lecture), Vanderbilt University, October, 1995
Harry G. Fair Lectureship, University of Oklahoma, May, 1996
Merck Sharp & Dohme Lectureship, University of Puerto Rico, April, 1997
Phillips Lectureship, Oklahoma State University, April, 1997
Johansen-Crosby Lectureship, Michigan State, December, 1999
MSM-UMR Academy of Chemical Engineers Lectureship, April 2003
Krug Lectureship, University of Illinois, May 2004
Merck Distinguished Lectureship, Rutgers University, April 22, 2004
Dineen Lecture, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, March 3-4, 2011
Zandmer Distinguished Lecture Series, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, January 18-19, 2012
John J. McKetta Lecture, Trine University, Angola, Indiana, April 2, 2015
Centennial Lecture, Chemical Engineering, Lafayette College, October 19, 2015

American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award, 1972
Featured as ChE Educator in Chemical Engineering Education, 1978
Corcoran Award for Best Paper in Chemical Engineering Education (shared), 1993
Meriam/Wiley Distinguished Author Award (with S. LeBlanc), 1996
Lifetime Achievement Award, Chemical Engineering Division, 2005

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE)

Chemical Engineer of the Year Award, Detroit Section of AIChE, 1980
Fellow, June 1994
Warren K. Lewis Award for Contributions to Chemical Engineering Education, 1995
F.J. & Dorothy Van Antwerpen Award for Service to the Institute, 2019

Other Honors and Awards

Doctor Honoris Causa, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain, April 2016
Chemical Manufacturers Association, National Catalyst Award, 1999
Fulbright Scholar to Norway, 1974
University of Colorado Distinguished Alumnus Award, 1987

Publications

Selected Publications

Professor Fogler is the author of Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, which is estimated to be used by 70-80% of all chemical engineering programs in the United States and is the dominant book worldwide. The fourth edition (2005) of the book was published with an interactive CD-ROM containing Living Example Problems, Interactive Computer Modules, Interactive Lecture Notes, A Professional Reference Shelf, Web Modules on both standard (Membrane Reactors) and novel (Cobra Bites) applications of chemical reaction engineering. The third edition was recently translated into Spanish and Portuguese. He and Professor Steven LeBlanc are co-authors of Strategies for Creative Problem Solving, which won the Meriam-Wiley Distinguished Author Award from the American Society for Engineering Education in 1996. A research monograph “Migration of Fines in Porous Media,” co-authored by K. Khilar, was published by Kluwer in 1998.

Books and Journal Publications

241. “Chapter 5: Sandstone Acidizing,” (with L. Morgenthaler) Acid Stimulation, SPE Monograph Series, Vol. 26, p. 117 (Feb, 2016).

240. “Chapter 4: Carbonate Acidizing,” (with F. Chang) Acid Stimulation, SPE Monograph Series, Vol. 26, p. 85 (Feb, 2016).

239. “A Combined Asphaltene Aggregation and Deposition Investigation,” (with W. Chaisoontornyotin, N. Haji-Akbari, M. Hoepfner) Energy and Fuels, 30(3), pp. 1979-1986 (2016).

238. The Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, 5th Ed., 992 pages, Prentice Hall, 2016.

236. “Effect of n-Alkane Precipitants on Aggregation Kinetics of Asphaltenes,” (with N. Haji-Akbari, P Teeraphapkul and A. T. Balgoa) Energy and Fuels, 29, 4, pp. 2190–2196 (2015).

235. “Fundamental Investigation of Wax Diffusion Characteristics in Water-in-Oil Emulsion,” (with Sheng Zheng),) Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 54, 16, pp. 4420-4428 (2015).

234. “Teaching Creative Thinking and Transitioning Students to the Workplace in an Academic Setting,” (with M. Senra) Chemical Engineering Education (2014).

233. “Effect of Asphaltene Concentration on the Aggregation and Precipitation Tendency of Asphaltenes,” (with N. Haji-Akbari and P. Teeraphapkul) Energy and Fuels, 2014.

232. “Design Strategies for Reduced-Scale Surface Composition Gradients via Chemical Vapor Deposition Copolymerization,” (with Y. Elkasabi, A. M. Ross, J. Oh, M. P. Hoepfner, J. Lahann, and P. H. Krebsbach) Chemical Vapor Deposition, 19 (2013).

231. “Effects of Operating Conditions on Wax Deposit Carbon Number Distribution: Theory and Experiment” (with S. Zheng, F. Zhang and Z. Huang) Energy & Fuels, 27, 12, 7379-7388 (2013).

230. “Multi-scale Scattering Investigations of Asphaltene Cluster Breakup, Nanoaggregate Dissociation, and Molecular Ordering,” (with M. Hoepfner) Langmuir, 29 (49), pp. 15423-15432 (2013).

229. “Strategies for Creative Problem Solving, (with S. E. LeBlanc and B. Rizzo) 3rd edition, 341 pages, Prentice Hall, September 2013.

228. “The Fractal Aggregation of Asphaltenes,” (with M. Hoepfner, C. Vilas Boas Favero and N. Haji-Akbari) Langmuir, 29 (28), pp. 8799-8808 (2013).

227. “A Unified Model for Aggregation of Asphaltenes,” (with N. Haji-Akbari, P. Masirisuk, and M. P. Hoepfner) Energy and Fuels, 27 (5), pp 2497-2505 (April 2013).

226. “A Fundamental Study of Asphaltene Deposition,” (with M. P. Hoepfner, V. Chuenmeechao,, V. Limsakoune, and T. Maqbool) Energy and Fuels, 27 (2), pp 725-735 (2013).

225. “Response to Comments on ‘The Effect of Operating Temperatures on Wax Deposition’ by Huang et al.”,” (with Zhenyu Huang) Energy & Fuels, 26, 12, pp. 7390-7392 (2012).

224. “Wax Deposition in Stratified Oil/Water Flow,” (with Rainer Hoffmann, Lene Amundsen, Zhenyu Huang, and Sheng Zheng) AIChE Journal, 26, 6, pp 3416-3423 (May 2012).

223. “Counterintuitive Effects of the Oil Flow Rate on Wax Deposition,” (with Yingda Lu, Zhenyu Huang, Rainer Hoffmann and Lene Amundsen) Energy & Fuels, 26, 7, pp. 4091-4097 (2012).

222. “A Fundamental Model of Wax Deposition in Subsea Oil Pipelines,” (with Zhenyu Huang, Hyun Su Lee and Michael Senra) AIChE Journal, 57, 11, pp. 2955-2964 (2011).

221. “The Effect of Operating Temperatures on Wax Deposition,” (with Zhenyu Huang, Yingda Lu, Rainer Hoffmann and Lene Amundsen) Energy Fuels, 25 (11), pp 5180-5188 (2011)