Chen to discuss the global energy challenge Jan. 23

	John Chen

John C. Chen, former dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, will give a presentation on “The World’s Energy and Environmental Challenges” at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, in Room 466 of Packard Laboratory.
The presentation is part of the weekly seminar series of the department of mechanical engineering and mechanics.
Chen, a professor emeritus of chemical engineering, will discuss energy demand and supply, as well as conservation and renewable energy sources.
Chen made those topics a central part of his agenda in 2006 when he served a one-year term as president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the premiere international professional organization for chemical engineers.
During his tenure, Chen urged engineers to seek technical solutions to modern challenges, especially in developing new sources of energy with environmental sustainability.
In 2007, at the invitation of the Chemical College Board of Engineers in Australia, Chen toured that nation’s east coast to give talks on energy and the environment.
Since joining the Lehigh faculty in 1970, Chen has served as professor in the departments of chemical engineering and also mechanical engineering and mechanics, as chair of chemical engineering, and as director of the Thermo-Fluids Institute.
In his research, he studies transport phenomena in multi-phase systems, an area affecting power production, petroleum refining, polymer processing and other industries.
He has published more than 200 technical articles, including one from 1966, “Correlation for Boiling Heat Transfer to Saturated Fluids in Convective Flow,” which in 2003 received the Classic Paper Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Chen has won 16 other major national or international awards, including the Max Jakob Memorial Award, which is the top international prize for achievements in the science and technology of heat transfer.
—Caitlyn Kennedy