Allan Myerson Receives Separations Science Award from American Chemical Society
Allan S. Myerson, Philip Danforth Armour Professor of Engineering, Provost and Senior Vice President of Illinois Institute of Technology was recently announced as the winner of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Separations Science and Technology. Recipients will be honored at the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, in conjunction with the 235th ACS national meeting in New Orleans, LA.
Separation science and technology involves methods in which complex chemical mixtures are separated into pure materials. Myerson received the award for "significant contributions in advancing the field of crystallization as an important separation and purification technique, and applications of crystallization science to process industry." Crystallization is an important separation and purification method used in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries for a wide range of products and materials. More then 60% of pharmaceuticals undergo a final purification step by crystallization. In addition to purity, crystallization is also employed to control the crystal size and final crystal form obtained.
Myerson's fundamental and applied research in crystallization has significant applications in the chemical process industry and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as fostering educational activities. Myerson's work has centered around the study of nucleation (the first step in the crystallization process) and the role nucleation process play in influencing the final crystalline form obtained. Myerson was an early user and adapter of molecular modeling as a means to study impurity-crystal interactions and crystal shape. He edited the first and second editions of "Handbook of Industrial Crystallization" and worked with the ACS in developing the journal, "Crystal Growth and Design," for which he serves as associate editor.
The award is sponsored by the Waters Corp., consists of a cash award and certificate, and as the award recipient, Myerson will deliver a lecture at the annual Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Separations Science and Technology Symposium.
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