Professional Progress Award

Winners of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) Professional Progress Award have two things in common: They are under 45 years old, and they have already had very active careers. That’s the criteria. The winners must demonstrate sustained excellence in the field. What is also notable about the 2006 winner — Joan F. Brennecke, the Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Director of the Notre Dame Energy Center — is that the award cites her for “fundamental scientific and technological contributions to the development of ionic liquids as separation and reaction solvents.” Brennecke has served as a faculty member since 1989. A complete list of winners is available on the AIChE Web site (http://www.aiche.org). Other interesting facts about Brennecke’s selection are that she is only the second woman to be so honored and that she is the first Notre Dame faculty member to receive the award.