Faculty > Stuart W. Churchill

Stuart W. Churchill

Carl V.S. Patterson Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

B.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1942
B.S.E., Engineering Mathematics, University of Michigan, 1942
M.S.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1948
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1952

email:
phone: 215-898-5579

Current Focus of Research

Although I have been Emeritus since 1990, I continue actively in research and
teaching, primarily because of the privilege of working with our undergraduate
and graduate students.

Turbulent Flow and Convection

New, simplified models of great generality have been devised for the prediction of turbulent flow and forced convection in channels with minimal empiricism. This modeling is now being extended to unconfined flows.

Combustion

The primary objective of our research on thermally stabilized combustion is to minimize the formation of pollutants, e.g., nitrogen oxides, by virtually eleminating backmixing and oscillation. A second objective is to develop a more efficient conversion of the chemical energy in the fuel directly to process heat. We are also investigating the prevention of the spread of fire in high-rise buildings such as the World Trade Center.

Chemical Reaction Engineering

We are currently investigating the errors due to the common oversimplifications such as plug flow and the neglect of interactions between chemical reactions and transport in the modeling of reactors using our improved models for turbulent transport.

Honors and Awards:

• Phi Lambda Upsilon Award of University of Michigan for Outstanding Teaching and Leadership, 1961
• Citation for Research Contributions, Air Force Aeronautical Systems Division, 1961
• Professional Progress Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1964
• Honorary Fellow, Chemical Institute of Canada, 1966
• Honorary Chairman, 9th National AIChE-ASME Heat Transfer Conference, 1968
• Featured Educator, Chemical Engineering Education, Spring 1969
• William H. Walker Award of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1969
• Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Elected, 1971
• Honorary Degree, Master of Arts, University of Pennsylvania, 1971
• National Academy of Engineering, Elected, 1974
• Visiting Researcher Award - Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 1977
• S. Reid Warren Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Pennsylvania Engineering Alumni, 1977
• Warren K. Lewis Award - American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1978
• Max Jakob Memorial Award in Heat Transfer - American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1979
• AIChE Symposium in Honor of 60th Birthday, 1980
• Founders Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1980
• Special Honorary Issue - Chemical Engineering Communications, 1981
• Diamond Jubilee Medallion - AIChE Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion Division, 1983
• Eminent Chemical Engineer, Diamond Jubilee of AIChE, 1983
• Verein Deutscher Ingenieure - Corresponding Member (first in 75 years), 1983
• Featured Engineer - Chemical Engineering Progress, May 1987
• AIChE Symposium in Honor of 70th Birthday, 1990
• Oral History, Center for History of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 1992
• Festschrift - Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, March 1992
• 50 Year Member Award, AIChE, November 1996, Chicago, IL
• AIChE Heat and Energy Conversion Division Award, 1997
• AIChE Institute Lecturer, November 1998 meeting
• Founders Award of National Academy of Engineering, 2002
• Listings:

Who's Who in America
Who's Who in the Midwest
Who's Who in the East
Who's Who in Engineering
Who's Who in Technology Today
International Who's Who in Engineering
Who's Who in Fronteir Science and Technology
American Men of Science
Registered Professional Engineering, Illinois
Blue Book
Engineers of Distinction
Dictionary of International Biography

Selected Publications:

Similitude: Dimensional Analysis and Data Correlation, CRC Handbook of Mechanical Engineering, Chapter 3.3 (1997) 3-28.

A Reinterpretion of the Turbulent Prandtl Number, Ind.Eng. Chem. Res., 41(2002) 6393-6401.

Prediction of Fully Developed Convection with Minimal Explicit Empiricism (with Stefan C. Zajic), AIChE J., 48 (2002) 927-940.

An Analysis of Thermally Generated Pressure Waves (with M. B. Brown), Chem. Eng. Sci., 59 (2004) 1377-1392.

An Analogy between Reaction and Heat Transfer. AIChE Journal, vol.52, No. 11, 3645-3657 (2006)

The Universalities of Chemical Engineering. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. , in press.