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Hosted by NSM's mathematics department and the
Cullen College of Engineering's chemical engineering department, the
event will consist of three interrelated lectures presented by Martin
Feinberg, professor of chemical engineering and mathematics at Ohio
State University. Through three lectures – "The Strange Relationship
of Mathematics and Chemistry," "Understanding Bistability in Complex
Enzyme-Driven Reaction Networks" and "An Unsolved Problem in Chemical
Engineering" – Feinberg will discuss Amundson's contributions to the
development of innovative mathematical methods applied to complex
problems in engineering and chemistry.
Among his important intellectual contributions,
Amundson was the first person to apply the principles of non-linear
mechanics to lumped constant chemical reactor systems, enabling him to
explain chemical reactor instability, oscillatory behavior and
parametric sensitivity. Amundson also established the field of
chemical reactor engineering, being the first to couple reaction with
diffusion. With the threat of the essential use of coal, Amundson
initiated a systematic and exhaustive development of the gasification
of coal char, the products of which would have been used in fuel
synthesis. Through this, he realized that the physical geometry of
convective natural circulation could be applied to the emergency
cooling of nuclear submarines in case of power failure. He constructed
a physical and mathematical model and participated in the design of
that system in the first nuclear submarine – the Nautilus.
A three-time graduate of the University of
Minnesota, Amundson received his B.S. in chemical engineering in 1937,
M.S. in chemical engineering in 1941 and Ph.D. in mathematics in 1945.
Upon receiving his degrees, he remained at the university teaching
both chemical engineering and mathematics, as well as serving 25 years
as head of the chemical engineering department. He joined UH's
chemical engineering department in 1977, served as provost and vice
president of UH from 1987-89 and is still teaching today. He is a
member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering and American Academy of Arts and Science. The chemical
engineering building is named Amundson Hall at the University of
Minnesota. |
