Modeling, design, and controls expert B. Wayne Bequette, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was recently elected a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

“Professor Bequette is an outstanding professor and researcher, and being named a fellow of the AIChE is an important recognition of his hard work and dedication,” said Rensselaer Provost Robert Palazzo. “His research into process control systems for cutting-edge biomedical devices and green energy infrastructure is paving the way for exciting new innovations that will improve our way of life. These are trying, highly complex challenges, and this new honor bestowed upon Professor Bequette is well deserved.”

The AIChE will honor Bequette at the group’s annual conference this November in Philadelphia.

Bequette’s research spans a wide range of topics, from biomedicine and health care to energy and sustainability. He is currently working to develop a closed-loop artificial pancreas for diabetics, with a built-in glucose monitoring system to alert individuals if their blood sugar level is too low.  In related work, he is developing algorithms for the closed-loop control of blood glucose in intensive care units.

In the areas of energy and sustainability, Bequette is investigating the modeling and control of both high-temperature and low-temperature fuel cells, including energy integration to improve overall system efficiency. He is also developing a dynamic model as a basis to improve the design and control of next-generation integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants.

Bequette received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and went on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. Prior to joining the Rensselaer faculty in 1988, he worked for three years as a process engineer for American Petrofina and was a visiting lecturer at the University of California at Davis. Bequette became a full professor at Rensselaer in 2000.

The author of two textbooks, Process Control: Modeling, Design and Simulation (2003) and Process Dynamics: Modeling, Analysis and Simulation (1998), Bequette is a frequent contributor to several journals. He has served as the guest editor of Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics and has edited special issues on process control for the IEEE Control Systems Magazine. He is also a founding member of the editorial board of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, and has chaired several process control conferences.

Bequette received the Rensselaer School of Engineering Research Excellence Award in 2008, and was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers in 2007. He currently serves as president of the American Automatic Control Council, an association of eight engineering and computer science societies that is responsible for the organization of the annual series of American Control Conferences.

Visit http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/WWW/faculty/bequette/bwbres.html for more information on Bequette’s research.