Honoring the Contributions of George Gavalas †
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Honoring the Contributions of George Gavalas ² “Let no one ignorant of Mathematics enter here” (ΑΓΕΩΜΕΤΡΗΤˆΣ ΜΗΔΕΙΣ ΕΙΣΙΤΩ) is said to have been written above the doorway to Plato’s Academy (for an expanded description, see ref 1). While Professor George R. Gavalas of Caltech had no such restriction for the students who sought his guidance, all who have studied at Gavalas’ academy leave with a deep ap- preciation of the role that sophisticated mathematical tools can play in solving engineering problems. George Gavalas began his life’s work in chemical engineering at the National Technical University in Athens. After receiving his Diploma there in 1958, George moved to the University of Minnesota, where he studied under Rutherford Aris, completing his Ph.D in 1964. His record at the University of Minnesota is still the stuff of legend, and his landmark publication “On the Theory of Reactions in Continuous Mixtures”, 2 with Rutherford Aris, became the starting point for decades of work by George and others on the analysis of complex reacting systems and continuous mixtures. ² David Allen wrote this on behalf of the students and collaborators of George Gavalas. 2871 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2004, 43, 2871-2872 10.1021/ie0401051 CCC: $27.50 © 2004 American Chemical Society Published on Web 05/13/2004
Transcript of Honoring the Contributions of George Gavalas †
Honoring the Contributions of George Gavalas†
“Let no one ignorant of Mathematics enter here”(ΑΓΕΩΜΕΤΡΗΤÃΣ ΜΗ∆ΕΙΣ ΕΙΣΙΤΩ) is said to havebeen written above the doorway to Plato’s Academy (foran expanded description, see ref 1). While ProfessorGeorge R. Gavalas of Caltech had no such restrictionfor the students who sought his guidance, all who havestudied at Gavalas’ academy leave with a deep ap-preciation of the role that sophisticated mathematicaltools can play in solving engineering problems.
George Gavalas began his life’s work in chemicalengineering at the National Technical University inAthens. After receiving his Diploma there in 1958,George moved to the University of Minnesota, wherehe studied under Rutherford Aris, completing his Ph.Din 1964. His record at the University of Minnesota isstill the stuff of legend, and his landmark publication“On the Theory of Reactions in Continuous Mixtures”,2
with Rutherford Aris, became the starting point fordecades of work by George and others on the analysisof complex reacting systems and continuous mixtures.
† David Allen wrote this on behalf of the students andcollaborators of George Gavalas.
2871Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2004, 43, 2871-2872
10.1021/ie0401051 CCC: $27.50 © 2004 American Chemical SocietyPublished on Web 05/13/2004
Joining the faculty at Caltech in 1964, George con-tinued to make important advances in the applicationof advanced mathematical tools to chemically reactingsystems. His monograph on Nonlinear DifferentialEquations of Chemically Reacting Systems3 and hisanalysis of pore growth in reacting systems4 are justtwo of many contributions that have had a significantimpact on the field of chemical reaction engineering.Increasingly over the past several decades, George’swork has involved a significant level of experimentation.His work on zeolite membrane systems5 and his frame-work for modeling reactions in porous media6 have beenwidely cited.
Not the least of George’s contributions has been thementoring he has provided to generations of studentsat Caltech. As I reflect on what George taught me, mymind always returns to the lessons I learned on the useof mathematical models in testing our understandingof reacting systems. George taught me to use math-ematical models to simplify, to identify critical param-eters, and to map out the directions of experiments.They are lessons that I have used often.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of George’sarrival in Pasadena, and on this occasion, we celebratehis contributions to chemical reaction engineering withthis special issue of Industrial & Engineering ChemistryResearch. The issue contains contributions from manyof George’s former students and past and currentcollaborators. The papers represent the broad range offields to which George has made contributions, from coalchemistry to inorganic membranes and from computa-tion and theoretical studies to materials synthesis.
It has been reported that Socrates said, “Employ yourtime improving yourself by other men’s writings so that
you shall come easily to what others have labored hardfor.” For 40 years, we have all gained much insight fromGeorge’s writings; we offer the contributions in thisissue of Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. in the spirit of repayingthat debt, and we note that, perhaps, what should bewritten above the door to George’s academy at Caltechis “Let no one leave here ignorant of mathematics”.
Literature Cited
(1) Fowler, D. H. The Mathematics of Plato’s Academy: A NewReconstruction, 2nd ed.; Clarendon Press: Oxford, U.K., 1999.
(2) Aris, R.; Gavalas, G. R. On the Theory of Reactions inContinuous Mixtures. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 1966,260, 351-393.
(3) Gavalas, G. R. Nonlinear differential equations of chemicallyreacting systems; Springer-Verlag: Berlin, 1968.
(4) Gavalas, G. R. A Random Capillary Model with Applicationto Char Gasification at Chemically Controlled Rates. AIChE J.1980, 26, 577-585.
(5) Yan, Y. S.; Davis, M. E.; Gavalas, G. R. Preparation ofZeolite ZSM-5 Membranes by In-Situ Crystallization on PorousR-Al2O3. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1995, 34, 1652-1661.
(6) Sahimi, M.; Gavalas, G. R.; Tsotsis, T. T. Statistical andContinuum Models of Fluid Solid Reactions in Porous Media.Chem. Eng. Sci. 1990, 45, 1443-1502.
David Allen
Department of Chemical Engineering c0400Ctr Energy/Environmental Res., M/C R7100
10100 Burnet Rd., Bldg.133University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78758-4497
IE0401051
2872 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 43, No. 12, 2004
