Chemical engineers awarded Damehood and MBEs in 2020 New Year’s Honours
3rd January 2020
Chemical engineers and Fellows of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), Professor Lynn Gladden, Professor Adisa Azapagic and Mark Apsey, have been recognised in the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours list.
Gladden, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, has been recognised with a Damehood for services to academic and industrial research in chemical engineering. Azapagic and Apsey have been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Gladden is also the Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. She is internationally recognised for her work on advancing magnetic resonance imaging techniques, originally developed for use in the medical sector, and using them in engineering research to gain a greater understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena that determine the performance of chemical processes and their resulting products.
Alongside her research, Gladden has held numerous research oversight roles in the UK and abroad, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Cambridge from 2010 to 2016.
She also volunteered as a Trustee for IChemE from 2015-2018 and is a judge for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.
Azapagic, Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester, was recognised for services to sustainability and carbon footprinting. She has been an active volunteer for IChemE’s sustainability work, and reviewing and assessing university chemical engineering degree programmes so they meet the highest standards required for accreditation.
As the founding Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Production and Consumption, she has been instrumental in developing the reach and reputation of the journal, which looks at the interactions between technology, consumption and policy to help identify more sustainable solutions from both production and consumption perspectives.
She was also the Chair of the technical committee for an inaugural international conference in October 2018, which focussed on the themes of the journal.
Azapagic’s research considers aspects of sustainability in different regions around the world and addresses issues of industrial significance, as well as those that affect people in everyday life. This includes the carbon footprint of different types of sandwich fillings and convenience food; and the environmental sustainability of electricity generation in different regions.
She said:
“I’m pleased that my contribution to sustainability has been honoured by an MBE. I see it as a recognition of not only my work but also of the invaluable contribution of my colleagues and students who work hard to make chemical engineering more sustainable.”
Apsey, Director at Ameresco, was recognised for services to sustainable energy and energy efficiency. He leads the company’s technical and business development teams focusing on helping organisations identify and implement energy efficiency and renewable projects across all sectors.
He is a founding Board member and the current Chair of the IChemE Energy Centre, where he led the centre’s Energy and Resource Efficiency (ERE) task group. The task group launched a guidance framework and several case studies to help chemical engineers from different sectors around the world understand strategies and approaches to improve energy and resource efficiency.
Apsey also worked with the Future Climate - Engineering Solutions (FC-ES) to develop and publish an updated Energy and Climate Planning to 2050 Phase 4 Framework. This framework will help engineering communities around the world develop engineering-based national plans to 2050 to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to a sustainable level.
He is co-ordinating the ERE task group and collaborating with several UK engineering institutions to develop a UK national energy plan for 2050.
Apsey said:
“It is a huge surprise and honour to be recognised for services to sustainable energy in the Queen’s New Year's Honours List 2020. I am grateful to everyone I have worked with so far on this journey. We have so much more to do and I take inspiration from this award to continue working hard to do everything we can to protect the life support systems of our single shared planet.
“Chemical engineers are uniquely placed to act in some of the most energy and resource intensive industries and I am hopeful we can all come together to transition to a net zero carbon future as quickly as possible.”
IChemE President Stephen Richardson said:
“Many congratulations to Professor Lynn Gladden for being awarded a Damehood and to Professor Adisa Azapagic and Mark Apsey for being awarded MBEs in the New Year’s Honours. I’m absolutely delighted that they have been recognised for their many years of outstanding contributions and dedication to chemical engineering.
“They each truly deserve these honours for their leading work in research and industry, which are helping to advance chemical engineering in energy, sustainability and chemical processes to provide very significant benefits to wider society.”
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Left to right: Professor Lynn Gladden, Mark Apsey and Professor Adisa Azapagic
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Contact
For more information please contact:
Rachael Fraser, Communications Executive, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534435
e: rfraser@icheme.org
Ketna Mistry, Communications Executive, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534484
e: kmistry@icheme.org
What is chemical engineering?
Chemical, biochemical and process engineering is the application of science, maths and economics in the process of turning raw materials into everyday, and more specialist, products. Professional chemical engineers design, construct and manage process operations all over the world. Oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, synthetic fibres and clean drinking water are just some of the products where chemical engineering plays a central role.
IChemE
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) advances chemical engineering's contribution worldwide for the benefit of society. We support the development of chemical engineering professionals and provide connections to a powerful network of around 37,000 members in 100 countries.
We support our members in applying their expertise and experience to make an influential contribution to solving major global challenges, and are the only organisation to award Chartered Chemical Engineer status and Professional Process Safety Engineer registration.
More information: www.icheme.org