The 2007 John M. Prausnitz awardee for outstanding achievement in Applied Chemical Thermodynamics is Professor Joan F. Brennecke, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. Professor Brennecke is awarded for her pioneering work in molecular thermodynamics of separations with ionic liquids and local composition effects on reactions in supercritical fluids.

Joan Brennecke has written numerous ground-breaking articles on the use of supercritical fluids (SCFs) as solvents for reactions and the use of ionic liquids (ILs) for separations. Her Nature paper launched a totally new area of molecular thermodynamics focused on liquid solutions made up completely of ions, exciting new researchers as well as seasoned veterans, including Prof. Prausnitz himself. Her scientific papers (more than 100) are among the most highly cited in physical chemistry and chemical engineering, with a cumulative total of more than 3300 times. Through influential and authoritative invited reviews she has alerted the engineering and scientific communities of the many possibilities of environmentally-benign processing with ILs [Brennecke and Maginn, AIChE J., 47, 2384, 2001 (149 citations)] and SCFs [Brennecke and Chateauneuf, Chem. Rev., 99, 433, 1999 (124 citations); Brennecke and Eckert, AIChE J., 35, 1409, 1989, (209 citations)]. Thus, her influence is not just the inventions resulting from her own publications and patents, but the much broader impact she has had in leading the molecular thermodynamics community towards new discoveries and promising technologies.

Joan Brennecke will receive her award on Tuesday 22 May 2007 at 15:20 and will deliver her lecture on Ionic Liquids: Why Experimental Molecular Thermodynamics Matter.

This will be the fourth award in the John M. Prausnitz series, instituted in 1998.  A list of previous awardees follows: