Preface
Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
About 2000 years ago, the Roman poet Terence described himself with a few famous words: “Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto” (I am human, nothing that is human is alien to me). Because science is a human activity, what Terence said about himself applies also to contemporary chemical engineers.
For generations, chemical engineers have taken pride in their versatility. Wherever chemical phenomena have arisen, chemical engineers have sought to understand them and to create useful products from them. Chemical engineering's range of usefulness is larger than that of any other engineering discipline, encompassing fuels; pharmaceuticals; commodity and special chemicals; polymers; inorganic, “soft,” and electronic materials; environmental protection; batteries; textiles; and many more. Three common themes—transport, chemical kinetics, and thermodynamics—unify chemical engineering. Application of these principles extends to a huge variety of products and processes. In recent years, this variety has been extended to numerous new topics including applied biology.
Because of the growing breadth of chemical engineering research and practice, in 2008 Sam Gubins, Editor-in-Chief of Annual Reviews, suggested the establishment of the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Sam kindly invited me to serve as Editor; I thank him for his confidence in me and for the encouragement generously given to me and to the Editorial Committee.
In 1963, a committee of prominent scientists and engineers provided the following advice to the President of the United States:
“We shall cope with the information explosion, in the long run, only if some scientists are prepared to commit themselves to the job of sifting, reviewing, and synthesizing information; i.e., to handling information with sophistication and meaning, not merely mechanically. Such scientists must create new science, not just shuffle documents: their activities of reviewing, writing books, criticizing and synthesizing are as much a part of science as is traditional research. We urge the technical community to accord such individuals that esteem that matches the importance of their job and reward them for their efforts” (PSAC 1963).
Surely this advice, given nearly 50 years ago, is even more relevant today.
The overall purpose of this new Annual Review is to provide guidance and inspiration, not only to those who work in a particular subsection of chemical engineering but also to those who would like to become familiar with recent progress and problems in subsections outside their own area of expertise. Because chemical engineers today are concerned with an ever-growing variety of topics, a significant goal of this Annual Review is to contribute to the integration of chemical engineering and to the unification of the many different interests that comprise the chemical engineering profession.
Consistent with a long tradition among Annual Reviews series, the editors plan to include in each volume an article by a senior distinguished chemical engineer who will present a personal account of his or her career and speculate on the future of the discipline. I am grateful to Bob Bird of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for contributing the first of these articles. With characteristic charm and sly humor, Bob titles his piece “A Gallimaufry of Thoughts.” (For those, like me, who haven’t encountered the word before, the dictionary defines gallimaufry as a hodgepodge or a meat ragout!)
The Editorial Committee welcomes comments, criticism, and suggestions from readers. Such feedback will guide us in the preparation of future volumes.
Finally, it is a pleasure to record here my gratitude to the authors of Volume 1 for their diligent work, to the Editorial Committee, and to Managing Editor Jennifer Jongsma and Production Editor Linley Hall for their dedication to producing a publication that intends to inform, support, and enhance chemical and biomolecular engineering.
John Prausnitz, Editor University of California, Berkeley
U.S. President’s Scientific Advisory Committee. 1963. Science, Government and Information: The Responsibilities of the Technical Community and the Government in the Transfer of Information. Washington, DC: U.S. Gov. Print. Off. 55 pp.
